Vice-chancellor pay to face increased scrutiny in proposed ‘name and shame’ league tables

The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced a proposal to introduce a university ‘league table’ that highlights vice-chancellor incomes against ‘value for money’ offered to students.

Universities that consistently deliver ‘poor outcomes’ for students could be “named and shamed” by Phillipson’s proposed league tables.

Determiners for ‘good outcomes’ include the number of graduates going into employment or further education.

The proposal comes amid increasing scrutiny of vice-chancellor incomes across UK universities. An investigation by The Times earlier this year found that average pay for Russell Group university vice-chancellors was £405,000 a year.

Warwick’s Vice-Chancellor Stuart Croft was found to have claimed over £600 on private car hire to London among other expenses last year, in addition to his £339,000 annual salary

In addition, vice-chancellors were found to claim £24,900 on average on international travel and expenses. Warwick’s Vice-Chancellor Stuart Croft was found to have claimed over £600 on private car hire to London among other expenses last year, in addition to his £339,000 annual salary.

Concern over the lack of accountability and regulation comes during a bout of financial instability for higher education institutions. The Office for Students said in November that “bold and transformative action” is needed to counteract a projected £3.4 billion income decrease in 2025/26.

Under the Education Secretary’s plans, universities will be required to provide evidence to the Department for Education of how they are working to improve graduate job prospects.

A hard rain is going to fall on universities that continue to be so blasé about executive pay increases while letting down students

Whitehall source

Those with the lowest number of students going into employment or further education will be “named and shamed” by the league tables.

One Whitehall source said: “A hard rain is going to fall on universities that continue to be so blasé about executive pay increases while letting down students. This government is determined to deliver greater value for money and better propsects for graduates as part of its plan for change.”

Currently, the London School of Science & Technology offers the worst graduate prospects in the country, with only 40% of graduates moving into jobs or further education.

Their Deputy CEO, Ali Jafar Zaidi, was paid £338,757 in 2024. In comparison, the Vice-Chancellor of Arts University Plymouth is paid over £130,000 less at a university with 60% ‘positive graduate outcomes’ – which is still the sixth lowest progression of any UK higher education institution.

There’s a pretty tenuous correlation between vice-chancellor pay and the outcomes students obtain […] It’s reducing and simplifying complexities to a single soundbite

Professor David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia

Imperial College London, on the other hand, is the highest performer by this metric, at 87.8%, however it is Oxford and Cambridge that employ the two highest-paid chancellors in the country, £50,000 a year more than any other universities. Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, received a £577,000 package in 2024.

Vice-chancellors across the country are concerned that an emphasis on ‘value for money’ and graduate employment rates could “damage efforts to help young people from poorer backgrounds”.

Professor David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, said: “There’s a pretty tenuous correlation between vice-chancellor pay and the outcomes students obtain […] It’s reducing and simplifying complexities to a single soundbite.”

Professor Colin Bailey, Principal of Queen Mary University of London, highlighted how the ‘league table’ metric could easily give way to discriminatory admission practices: “We don’t want them to be an incentive for universities to focus on students who already have family connections and ties to business.”