Rewards for ‘unsustainable’ Moves+ scheme cost University £25k over two years

The University of Warwick spent £25,000 on rewards as part of its Moves+ scheme, which was pulled in June due to rising operational costs. 

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, submitted via WhatDoTheyKnow, confirmed the five-figure budget for rewards claimed through the programme, which ran for just under two years.

The scheme, which was introduced at Warwick in September 2023, encouraged staff and students to be active by awarding points for exercise which could then be converted into rewards.

Despite the scheme’s popularity, the University closed their Moves+ operations on 30 June, citing rising costs associated with its operation.

92,342 rewards were redeemed by users across the two years of the scheme’s operation, with free food and beverages proving the most popular

A new scheme, which will be run through the existing UoW Sport app, is set to replace the scheme in August. Similar to Moves+, the scheme will reward users for taking part in exercise with incentives, such as discounts from major brands.

92,342 rewards were redeemed by users across the two years of the scheme’s operation, with free food and beverages proving the most popular.

49,801 food and beverage rewards were claimed, including the popular hot drink reward which allowed users to cash in 1,200 points in exchange for a hot drink from a campus outlet.

35,292 redemptions were made for entries to prize draws, while 7,249 rewards claimed were classified by the University as ‘other’. Rewards once available through the scheme included branded merchandise from Rootes Grocery Store, such as the University hoodie and tote bags.

The FOI also revealed that the scheme had 17,059 registered users, including 13,568 students and 1,276 members of University staff.

Warwick Sport said that it had been absorbing additional costs during the duration of the programme, a move which eventually became “unsustainable”. The University of Bristol’s Moves+ scheme also closed in May, due to ongoing software issues with the app.

Expenditure on rewards has been predominantly directed towards other University campus outlets, thereby ensuring that the financial investment remains within the University rather than being allocated externally

University spokesperson

While the rewards budget shows that the University of Warwick spent at least £25,000 on operating the app, more money was likely spent on fees paid to the app developers, OpenPlay, who conceived the app for universities across the UK in 2019.

The University of Warwick refused to confirm how much had been paid to the developers for the use of the programme, claiming that “the release of this information would prejudice the University and the supplier’s commercial interests”.

Other costs incurred during the operation of the programme, such as market research or testing, were also not confirmed by the University.

A spokesperson for the University told The Boar: “Over the course of its two-year cycle, the Moves+ app has successfully engaged a significant portion of the Warwick campus community, with over 13,000 students interacting with the platform annually.

“Expenditure on rewards has been predominantly directed towards other University campus outlets, thereby ensuring that the financial investment remains within the University rather than being allocated externally.”

The new rewards scheme, which is set to replace Moves+, will be launched on 18 August, in time for the new academic year. The University has said that the new scheme will provide “greater cost effectiveness”, while continuing to offer “a range of benefits as part of our broader Warwick Sport offering”.