#uwesu

Selection of work at UWE Students' Union Freshers' Fair 2014.

UWE's Vice Chancellor, Steve West, earned £314,632 for the year 2012/13 receiving an additional £52,434 on the previous year.  This came in the form of a £24,158 performance-related bonus and greater pension payments. According to UWE: “…the bonus was awarded after the institution met a series of targets, including those relating to student satisfaction, financial health and graduate employability.”  

In 2013 UWE’s  National Student Survey (NSS) over all satisfaction score increased to 86%, four percent on the previous year, bringing us into line with the national average.   In a recent statement Vice Chancellor Steve West told students and staff that;

“This is an excellent achievement and puts us right back where we should be. I know that a great deal of hard work and effort lies behind these results and I want to express my appreciation for the progress that has been made in a year.”

It is worthwhile taking a look at the key points of improvement that Steve points to as strengths, such as ‘Teaching on my course’ where we gave score of 88%, just above the national average, and matched national standards for‘academic support’ and ‘learning resources’. Impressively, teaching staff achieved a 6% increase on last years‘Feedback on my work has been prompt’ scores and ‘Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand’ went up 5%. We are also in the “top quartile” nationally for ‘My communication skills have improved’ (83%) and ‘The library resources and services are good enough for my needs’(89%)

These areas of improvement are *all* the result of front line work. This improvement is only possible thanks to the amazing hard work of teaching and library staff and the relationship between the student representatives on courses, the student union team and those members of staff. Surely those people responsible for improving ouracademic community should be rewarded? You would think so. However, year on year the union has its Block Grant, funding from the university, cut and in real terms teaching staff are facing an 11% pay cut.

 However, according to our Stevie West;

“The only theme where we continue to underperform against the national average is on ‘Organisation and Management’  - UWE = 76%, sector average = 78%, but we have still increased by 3% on last year’s result.”

How exactly does a 3% increase that is still below the national average behind the scenes add up to an almost20% pay increase for Steve, while an improvement of double that in front line teaching earns a pay cut? Nominally thanks to “student satisfaction” and financial health right? Well, I’d like to argue that its actually because Steve and previous SU executives have kept students in the dark over some key issues that might leave them mighty dissatisfied.

Ok, so here is where it gets really grim. I did a bit of maths after looking at the SU’s finances that are available for the time I’ve been a student (2009-2013) and the Block Grant situation looks like this:

Year

Block Grant

Difference on  Previous Year.

2012-2013

£840,800,

Down 5.0%

2011-2012

£885,100

Down 5.0%

2010-2011

£931,700

No change

2009-2010

£931,700

Up 1.5%

  However, factoring in inflation etc. the 2009-2010 University Block Grant  would be worth £1,058,000.00 today. That is a real terms cut of £217,200! A little more maths shows that as a 20% reduction in the last 4 years. Let me repeat that:  UWESU'S FUNDING HAS BEEN CUT BY 20% IN THE LAST 4 YEARS!!! 

Meanwhile, UWE's staff is also facing a 13% pay cut in real terms to their income. This, according to staff unions, includes workers already receiving less than the Bristol Living Wage of £7.65/hr. It would seem UWE is too poor to pay its workers properly, some of whom are relying on food banks and pay day loans to survive, nor does UWE properly fund the vital work of the students union despite the university's £9million surplus … unless its for a stonking great bonus for Steve! 

So Steve West has not only been swinging the axe of austerity at our staff, cutting our courses, driving out staff and making life impossible. He has also bled valuable resources from the students union to massage the finance figures - all to eventually line his own fat pocket!

What Steve doesn’t understand is that the SU is an essential life line for many students. The fact that he (and the presidents who have said nothing for these 4 years) thinks he can get away with that whilst also taking such a huge increase in his own pay shows just how little he cares for students.

All the earnings of the university are only possible thanks to students. Whether through government money (money they we pay in taxes or we pay back from our extortionate fees) that is allocated to the university per student at a national rate, or private funding subsidies which follow that state funding.  

Yet us students seem to have our share cut time and time again, along with the people who provide the learning environment we come here to be part of – our teaching and support staff. What we need now is a bottom up campaign between the students union and the trades unions to fight for a fair deal in higher education.

I'm not here to make empty promises in my campaign. Fighting to increase the Block Grant by 20% - taking backour share of the pie - will take a real, socially rooted campaign from the students. I'm here to help build that movement, with you the students, and to do what ever it takes to win.