Sheffield university seeks cuts for £54m shortfall

The University of Sheffield [UoS] has announced that it has a £54 million shortfall in its annual budget and a drop in student numbers since last year of 2,200 or 7%. This should raise alarm bells across the sector. At many other universities there have been significant drops in numbers of international students and nursing and teaching students, with enrolment down in some areas by 50%.

We don’t yet know how Sheffield university management plan to deal with this. Universities UK, the university bosses’ consortium, has made clear its view that fees must rise to meet Higher Education budget shortfalls.

At UoS management have already closed the world-renowned archaeology department, leaving intact only a small research unit in a limited space. The language school has been amalgamated into another department, and cuts have been made through “natural” attrition.

On the University’s own financial reporting, it has over £1.5bn in assets and cash reserves of £250m. Sheffield is not a university on the brink.

But management see an opportunity to make cuts where they can. Every single department has been told to look for “savings”. No redundancies have been announced yet.

At Sheffield Hallam university, a programme of cuts is in process. A recent round of strike action was suspended while a deal was put to University and College Union (UCU) members. The university has said that no pay rise will be conceded to staff this year.

The university sector has largely become dependent on fees, particularly from international students, and we are seeing the Hostile Environment for migrants take its toll.

Added recently to the list maintained by Queen Mary University UCU ( bit.ly/cuts-uni) of universities with cuts have been Sunderland and Hull.

Sunderland pleads a drop in student numbers and funding shortfalls. One place where they are seeking cuts is on childcare for students and staff. Hull faces the second round of cuts in less than a year, and a reduction of over 10% in academic staff.

In Sheffield, students are planning to meet with campus unions to discuss what the situation means for students and workers. We know from previous experience that to be organised early is vital to a strong campaign. It’s vital that pressure is generated to drive forward strong demands: no cuts, no redundancies.