The University of South Wales is looking to shed 200 posts amid rising operating costs, according to major media reports. The university has opened a voluntary redundancy programme for professional services colleagues and colleagues in targeted academic areas to reach this target. It has agreed an enhanced redundancy offer for the programme, in consultation with trade unions, and is currently in a consultation period with colleagues and trade unions.
The specific academic areas targeted for redundancies have not been disclosed. A University of South Wales spokesman stated that the university is responding to sector-wide difficulties including declining participation rates, rising operating costs, and changes in policy relating to international students, and aims to protect its long-term financial sustainability. Many blame the changes in rules to visas for higher-paying international students for universities' financial difficulties.
Universities across Wales had a combined £77m-plus deficit at the start of the academic year in September, with Swansea University currently consulting on shedding 55 academic posts across a wide range of subjects. Peter Hill, UCU Cymru regional support official, described the scale of the cuts announced by the University of South Wales as 'shocking'. The UCU union vowed to fight any compulsory redundancies.
The timeline for the voluntary redundancy programme and potential compulsory measures remains unclear.