University Rich List 2024

The government spends approximately £22 billion a year to fund each cohort of undergraduates in England.[1] This consists of around £20 billion in tuition fee and maintenance loans, only 65 per cent of which is expected to be repaid in full,[2] as well as another £1 billion in teaching grants.[3] While spending on higher education generally is a net positive for taxpayers, due to increased tax revenues from a more educated workforce, this is mainly driven by the highest earning graduates. The exchequer makes a loss on the degrees of around two fifths of men and half of women, with an even greater disparity when comparing between the most and least academically selective universities where exchequer returns are close to zero.[4]

While university degrees generally lead to graduates earning more over the course of their working lives, there is a great deal of variation among graduates. Lifetime returns on a degree range from zero to negative for some creative arts and languages graduates, but up to £500,000 for those studying medicine and economics. Over the course of their working lives, 15 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men will not have achieved positive net lifetime returns, meaning they would have been better off had they not gone to university.[5]

Despite this, university bosses continue to receive substantial sums even as four in ten higher education providers face budget deficits,[6] and 60 per cent of top UK universities fall in global rankings.[7] Vice chancellors, who received an average of £325,000 in 2022-23 - up £15,000 on the previous year,[8] called on the government to increase per student funding by between £2,000 to £3,500 a year, the cost of which would be borne by students and taxpayers.[9]

This note builds on research previously conducted by the TaxPayers’ Alliance in 2020 and presents the remuneration of senior university staff as well as median graduate salaries and global rankings of these institutions, comparing these across universities. It highlights where greater numbers of highly paid staff have not corresponded with better educational outcomes, but also where senior staff are delivering world class education and value for students and taxpayers.

 

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Key findings

  • Across 105 universities, there were at least 10,447 university staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration in 2023-24. Of these, at least 2,703 received over £150,000 in total remuneration.
  • 64 universities responded in both 2024 and 2020. Within this group, the number of staff receiving:
  • over £100,000 grew by 68.8 per cent from 3,142 to 5,305.
  • over £150,000 grew by 78.8 per cent from 709 to 1,268.
  • The total cost of staff receiving total remuneration over £100,000 in 2023-24 is estimated to be at least £1,221,444,320, although this is likely an undercount as exact figures were not provided in many cases.

International rankings

  • According to the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), 67.8 per cent of universities examined fell in the international ranking from 2019-20[10] to 2024,[11] by an average of 21 places:
    • Sheffield Hallam University fell 75 places. In that same period the number of staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration increased eight fold, from 14 to 112, the most of any university.
    • Oxford Brookes University fell 244 places. In that same period the number of staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration increased by 269 per cent, from 16 to 59.
    • The University of Bristol fell 17 places. In that same period the number of staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration increased by 254 per cent, from 158 to 560.

Staff to student ratios

  • Excluding specialist arts and music universities, in 2023-24 there were an average of 6.24 staff receiving total remuneration of over £100,000 per thousand students.[12],[13]
  • Universities with the most staff receiving total remuneration of over £100,000 in 2023-24 per thousand students were:
    • London Business School with 64.78 per thousand students,
    • Imperial College London with 55.31 per thousand students,
    • the London School of Economics and Political Science with 23.32 per thousand students,
    • and the University of Cambridge with 22.89 per thousand students
  • Universities with the fewest staff receiving total remuneration of over £100,000 in 2023-24 per thousand students were:
    • the University of Suffolk with 0.29 per thousand students,
    • Buckinghamshire New University with 0.42 per thousand students
    • and Northumbria University with 0.52 per thousand students.

Median earnings

  • Average median earnings three years after graduation at non-specialist universities was £27,506 in 2021-22, the latest year for which figures were available. This is around £3,981 more than the median gross annual pay of all 22 to 29-year-olds in 2021 which was £23,525 in 2021.[14]
    • The University of Hull had median graduate earnings of £25,200, around £2,306 lower than average. However, it had a ratio of 7.21 staff receiving over £100,000 per thousand students in 2023-24, 15.5 per cent more than average.
    • Royal Holloway, University of London had median graduate earnings of £26,800, £706 lower than average. However, it had a ratio of 14.92 staff receiving over £100,000 per thousand students in 2023-24, more than double the average.

Highest remunerated individual

  • The individual with the highest remuneration relative to their university’s median graduate remuneration was from the University of Stirling. They received £415,000, or 14.8 times the university’s median graduate remuneration (£26,800 in median earnings plus a 4.5 per cent average employer pension contribution).[15]

Specialist art and music universities

  • Average median earnings three years after graduation at specialist art and music universities was £6,398 lower than non-specialist universities, ­­­­at £21,108 in 2021-22.
  • The Courtauld Institute of Art had the highest ratio of staff receiving over £100,000 in 2023-24 relative to the student population, with 12 staff in this category for just 605 students. From 2020-21 to 2024 the college fell 146 places in international rankings.

 

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CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL DATASET

 

[1] Institute for Fiscal Studies, Higher education, 11 December 2023, ifs.org.uk/education-spending/higher-education, (accessed 8 August 2024).

[2] Bolton, P., Student Loan Statistics, House of Commons Library, 10 July 2024, p.4.

[3] Drayton, E. et al., Annual report on education spending in England: 2023, Institute for Fiscal Studies, December 2023, p.91.

[4] Britton, J. et al., The impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings, Institute for Fiscal Studies, February 2020, p.8-9.

[5] Ibid. p.8.

[6] Office for Students, Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England, 16 May 2024, p.2.

[7] Witherow, T., UK universities slide down global rankings as China makes its mark, The Times, 16 May 2023.

[8] Jack, P., Average vice-chancellor pay rises to £325,000 despite sector crisis, Times Higher Education, 16 January 2024, www.timeshighereducation.com/news/average-vice-chancellor-pay-rises-ps325000-despite-sector-crisis, (accessed 10 September 2024).

[9] Mason, R. et al., Ex-ministers warn UK universities will go bust without higher fees or funding, The Guardian, 19 May 2024.

[10] Center for World University Rankings, World University Rankings 2019-20, 2020, cwur.org/2019-20.php, (accessed 3 October

2024).

[11] Center for World University Rankings, Global 2000 list 2024 Edition, 2024, cwur.org/2024.php, (accessed 3 October 2024).

[12] Figures calculated using 2022-23 student numbers as 2023-24 data was not available.

[13] Higher Education Statistics Agency, Where do HE students study?, 12 September 2024, www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-study, (accessed 3 October 2024).

[14] Office for National Statistics, Earnings and hours worked, age group: ASHE Table 6, 1 November 2023, www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/agegroupashetable6/2021revised/ashetable62021revised.zip, (accessed 9 October 2024).

[15] Green, N., How much are employer pension contributions?, Unbiased, 3 October 2024, www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/tax-business/running-a-business/how-much-are-employer-pension-contributions, (accessed 9 October 2024).

 

 

 

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