Sussex 2025

The size and shape of Sussex

Find out about the Size and Shape Programme – helping us get closer to our strategic goals.

Sussex 2025 and Size and Shape

In Sussex 2025 we set out our strategic vision to "build on our achievements and evolve as a better university, dedicated to making a better world".

This remains our driving force and it is needed now more than ever. We can be pleased with what we have achieved so far, at this mid-point, but we now need to do more to ensure we remain a competitive institution that is recognised for universal excellence in research, scholarship and education.

This is where Size and Shape comes in. We will need to be bold and take difficult decisions but the outcome will be a University in charge of its own destiny, which is exactly what we need to be.

This is much more than just solving a financial challenge – it’s about realising our vision. Our plan through the Size and Shape programme is to move away from simply avoiding threats and towards pursuing opportunities. These opportunities are laid out in our academic vision, which has at its heart a commitment to investing in academic excellence.

Although we need to address our external challenges, we do not want to become a smaller University. This is why we have started a University-wide conversation about the best shape for our University’s future. Getting this right is our primary goal.

This is a once-in-a-generation chance to become the University we want to and ought to be.

October 2021:

Find out why Size and Shape is important and the next phase in the programme.

Questions about Size and Shape

Here are some answers to questions about this programme of work:

Size and Shape timings

Why has the timeline been extended?

Staff have said they want to engage in development of the draft proposals, so we have extended the timeline to allow this to happen while the enhanced Targeted VS scheme is open.

When do we expect the changes to be implemented?

Implementation of any proposals is likely to begin in early 2022 but end dates will be varied owing to the different scales of changes in each School and Division. New programmes and initiatives are already under way and are going through our governance processes..

When do the final proposals get approved?

We have committed to giving an update to Council on the draft proposals in November, however this doesn’t mean that the proposals will be final as we need to consider the feedback and discussion from staff during this current phase in October.

Is 1PS still going ahead and is it connected to S&S?

1PS was paused early during the Covid-19 pandemic and work restarted in autumn 2020. This pause has enabled us to work on the structure of Professional Services, so that services are organised optimally to support our academic mission and to enable us to deliver a more strategic approach to procurement, to achieve greater economies of scale and improving the quality of service. Read more about 1PS.

Why isn’t the Size and Shape Programme being delayed until the new permanent VC is in post?

The Size and Shape Programme timeline and implementation plan has been agreed with UEG and Council, who agree this is the priority programme that is essential to securing our future and underpinning our priorities for the next years.

The programme is overseen by Provost Rachel Mills, with each Head of School and Divisional Director leading the programme in their local areas.

Our interim VC will allow us to maintain momentum on this important work. There is no need to delay implementation of this programme; in fact there is a clear imperative to get on with delivery to assure the future of the University.

We have listened to the Unions, who want us run an enhanced voluntary severance scheme as part of our full mitigation against any compulsory redundancies. This will open in October 2021.

We have listened to staff who have said they want to engage in development of the draft proposals, so we have extended the timeline to allow this to happen while the enhanced voluntary severance scheme is open. Having your feedback and input in the draft proposals is a very important part of the process.

Senate passed a motion to delay Size and Shape – why aren’t we pausing?

At its meeting on 24 September 2021, Council considered the Senate motion requesting that Council pause further work on Size and Shape pending the recruitment of a permanent Vice Chancellor. Council were assured that the leadership of the Programme has been transferred appropriately and again expressed its view that implementing Size and Shape remains vital for the academic and financial sustainability of the University.  Accordingly, Council believe it is in the best interests of the University to proceed as planned with the Size and Shape programme under the leadership of the interim Vice-Chancellor, the Provost, and UEG.

One of the key requests from Senate was to have greater staff engagement in the draft proposals. We have established a new Senate Working Group, which will meet for the first time in early October. We hope this will be a really constructive way of engaging with Senate that will complement the engagement with Schools/Divisions.

Engagement

How can staff help to shape the proposals?

A key request from Senate was to have greater staff engagement in the draft proposals, so we have provided staff with a number of ways to get involved.

Heads of Schools and Divisional Directors have shared their proposal with their teams and sought initial thoughts. Staff can also share their thoughts via an online feedback form until 5 November. A new Senate Working Group has been set up to provide input.

How can staff understand the wider programme of work across the University?

In the spirit of transparency, once the draft proposals have been shared with the relevant teams, we are publishing the town hall presentations for all staff to see.

Are the proposals being discussed with the unions?

We continue to speak openly and regularly with the campus trade unions.

Voluntary Severance

Why do we need another [targeted] Voluntary Severance Scheme?

We will do everything in our means to ensure voluntary changes, if needed.

As part of our ongoing discussions with the Unions and taking views of Council we are running an enhanced VS scheme as part of our full mitigation against any compulsory redundancies.  Read more about the targeted voluntary severance scheme.

What does ‘targeted’ Voluntary Severance mean?

The targeted Voluntary Severance scheme is only open in a relatively small number of areas of the organisation where a different staffing mix is needed than currently exists.

What will happen if a role is matched or redeployed to a role that is different to the current grade?

We will use the Pay Adjustment policy as the standard approach – so that staff who are appointed to a higher-grade role (or moved to a higher grade role) will, as standard, map across to the first spine point of the higher grade.

Where such a move would result in a reduction in salary (because they are near the top of the lower grade) they will map across to a higher spine point, at the current salary level.

If a staff member is redeployed to a role which is a lower grade, the University’s Pay Adjustment Policy will apply, which means that pay will be protected for up to four years, after which time it would revert to the lower grade.

If we are running a targeted VS Scheme, does it mean there won’t be any compulsory redundancies?

As we have demonstrated already through the running of two Voluntary Severance schemes, projects and activities to reduce areas of non-pay spend we remain committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies if at all possible and it will be only used as a last resort.

Have we carried out an equalities impact assessment (EIA)?

An equalities impact assessment process is built into the scheme (as with previous schemes), we will take equality and diversity issues into consideration during implementation and report on this to VS panels where decisions are made.

How do our student recruitment numbers correlate to where investment is needed?

Most of the areas where we have performed well in recruitment are in the areas where we need urgent investment to support that growth to deliver an excellent student experience. Similarly, some areas facing recruitment challenges in the past remain challenged this year. The result is that the mismatch in resource we currently experience is amplified, which means the school-based reshaping of the staffing mix is essential this year to release the resources for investment in excellence in each area.

Sussex’s educational offer

Are we considering increasing student numbers by offering more online/blended learning models?

The pandemic has taught us how to successfully deliver learning online and we will continue to see how we can use this knowledge to enhance our offer even further in the future.

We have also built up our numbers of Online Distance Learning students and we will continue to respond to our students’ needs and ensure the student experience is of a high standard.

Could we market courses which are low in demand?

We have to invest wisely for the best overall outcome for the whole University using rational analysis.

We need to look at long term trends in student demand, our student satisfaction and reputation, our graduate outcomes and the distinctiveness of our courses in the sector. Some subject areas are sadly declining across the sector. Curriculum review and innovation in design of new offerings is key for our future.

External context

Are the pressures we face at Sussex sector-wide?

The external pressures we are feeling at Sussex (such as a freeze in Home undergraduate fees, and increasing costs connected to pay and pensions) are experienced at many other Universities. We rely more on Home undergraduate income than some other Universities in the sector.

While we work very closely with other Universities and come together on the issues we collectively face, there are also areas that we need to address that are unique to Sussex – and are in part due to us not having looked at our shape for a long time.

Are there plans to work more closely with University of Brighton?

We will continue to explore options for cooperation with other institutions - not just the University of Brighton - where opportunities aligns with the University's strategic priorities.

A good example of where we already do this is with the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, sharing the administration, delivery and benefits of this joint venture.

Finances

Our student recruitment was good this year and we made a larger surplus than forecast last year – why do we need to make cuts?

Due to a long-term freeze in home undergraduate fees, our income per student is falling in real terms and our costs related to pay, pensions and general expenditure are rising. We predict an increase of about £26m in total pay costs alone by 2025 compared with 2020/21. This may rise further due to the ongoing consultation over USS pension contributions and will rise with the new 1.25% employers’ national insurance levy effective from April next year.

Student recruitment this summer has exceeded targets in some of our most popular disciplines and early indications are positive in terms of arrivals/returners. It is highly likely that our overall financial position for 2021/22 will better than we had forecast, but we will still have fewer overall students than in 2019, whereas many of our comparators have grown significantly in size since this date.

Most of the areas where we have performed well in recruitment are in the areas where we need urgent investment to support that growth to deliver an excellent student experience. Similarly, some areas facing recruitment challenges in the past remain challenged this year. The result is that the mismatch in resource we currently experience is amplified, which means the school-based reshaping of the staffing mix is essential this year to release the resources for investment in excellence in each area.

Matching the staffing base of the University to student numbers will continue to be an issue which we need to address year on year through Academic Planning to allow us to optimise growth with excellence in key areas.

We have cash reserves in the bank – why don’t we use them instead of making cuts?

While we have cash balances, these have been raised from lenders and generated from our past activity in order to carry out the essential capital and infrastructure investments required for excellent research and teaching, the staff and student experience.

Council have responded to the financial pressures on the University by reducing expectations about the level of funds for reinvestment over the next few years. The planned annual surpluses now represent a minimum level of financial performance, which is required to make sure we can make essential improvements to the estate, IT and other infrastructure.

There is a significant backlog in infrastructure investment at Sussex that needs addressing urgently and requires we generate more cash annually. Continued under-investment will see long term corrective costs rise, we will fall further behind and enter a downward spiral of waning student satisfaction, lower league table positions, declining applications and, ultimately, a smaller University with even less money to invest.

Why is the University investing so much in buildings and IT infrastructure and not its most important resource – the staff?

To be successful the University must invest in staff, students and the physical and digital infrastructure.

Due to historic under-investment, a significant backlog of estate and IT problems have built up which are hindering education and research.

Continued underinvestment at this critical time will not allow us to achieve our ambition to reverse applications declines and raise our competitive position in the UK and international markets. Continued underinvestment will significantly disadvantage both students and staff.

Without this investment now, the University could enter a spiral of decline which will result in a much smaller University.