These are due to a combination of factors largely outside of our control, such as increasing costs associated with inflation, rising energy and pension costs, and a UK undergraduate fee that has remained at the same level for more than a decade, meaning it is now worth around two thirds of its value when introduced in 2012.
Furthermore, the Government’s actions to reduce the overall number of international students in the UK, despite the many economic and cultural benefits they bring, is making the financial picture for universities much worse.
This means that our income is lower than forecast while overall costs have increased. We must therefore take steps now to reduce costs to ensure that we remain in a healthy financial position and to underpin our plans for growth.
Plans for the future
We are implementing a plan for 2024/25 that will put us on a sustainable financial pathway, allowing us to continue to be a large and popular university. This is focused on student recruitment and success, growing our revenue, and controlling our costs.
Later this year we will open our flagship Howard Street development in Sheffield. It will deliver a modern, efficient, and environmentally sustainable campus, providing outstanding facilities for our students and staff. It will also deliver significant regeneration of a key gateway to the city centre and provide a new public green space for local people.
This development underlines our commitment to Sheffield and our important civic leadership role in the region – as an employer, learning provider, and anchor organisation. We are proud to make a positive contribution to the local economy through our teaching, research, collaborations with partners and employers, and our support for local communities.
We are also completing a thorough review of our course portfolio to ensure we can build on our outstanding record of providing qualifications that prepare graduates for highly skilled jobs. In the current financial situation – and in the absence of any likelihood of improved funding from Government – we must look for new ways to enhance our offer through opportunities to diversify income.
One example is our plan for a London campus, which will see us deliver provision in the new Brent Cross Town development, as the HE partner in a regeneration project financed by a private developer and Barnet Council. Due to open in 2026, it will enable us to expand our reach in the capital, create opportunities for students from Sheffield to benefit from placements and work experience, and present a wider offer for international students.
Cost-saving measures
Several cost-saving measures have already been put in place at the University this year, such as a Voluntary Severance Scheme for academic staff as part of a change programme in which some roles were also removed from our structure. However, several new roles were created, meaning the number of redundancies has been kept to a minimum. A similar Voluntary Severance Scheme was open in June 2024 to non-academic (Professional Services) staff, and there will be some organisational change to follow. Overall, we need to reduce pay costs in Professional Services by approximately 20%, which is approximately 400 roles.
Throughout these programmes of change we are doing everything possible to avoid any compulsory redundancies. As usual, we are engaging with trade union representatives as part of collective consultation.
Looking forward
Despite the challenges we face, Sheffield Hallam continues to be one of the largest and most popular universities in the country. Our students bring significant economic, cultural and social benefits to the city, and we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of new and returning students to the Sheffield in September 2024. Throughout this period of change we are working to ensure that we minimise any disruption for our students and maintain the levels of quality that we are known for.
This is a difficult time for our University community, as it is for universities across the country who are having to make tough decisions about the way they operate. At Hallam, we are proud of our Gold-rating teaching in the Teaching Excellence Framework, our award-winning research, and our role in the city and region. Our mission to transform lives will continue to shape all that we do, and we will work to ensure that any changes we make are consistent with this ambition.
