Looking to the future

Staffing

The University’s entire cost base is being considered for reduction to bring us to a position of financial sustainability. 

We have made a substantial cut in our non-staff expenditure, and will continue to make progress in this area.  However, as a people-based organisation, much of the saving is  from staff cost reductions, with two voluntary severance schemes, which ran in summer 2025 and spring 2026, helping us achieve a level of savings to date.  

The first voluntary severance scheme, which ran from June to July 2025, had a target reduction of 300 roles as a critical part of our recovery journey. In total, 428 applications (367.13 full-time equivalent or FTE) were received, of which 290 (244.9 FTE) were approved.  

The second voluntary severance scheme ran in February and March 2026, with a broad target of up to 180 FTE staff leaving, with a recurrent saving on staff costs in excess of £10m. In total, 212 applications (equivalent to 189.95 FTE) were received. Of those, 143 applications were approved.  

Overall, through the period 1 August 2024 to 1 May 2026, the University’s staff headcount reduced by 675.  

The University needs to save an additional £20m, on an annual basis.  Much of this saving will have to come by reducing the size of our workforce.  We began collective consultation on workforce change on 16 June 2026, with the proposed reduction of about 190 further jobs, on a full-time-equivalent basis.  

Organisational structure

Going forward, the University’s operations will be transformed; we will be leaner and more efficient in our activities, while remaining committed to excellent teaching and impactful research. We will provide the best possible experience for our students, managing our finances with prudence, while examining all opportunities to attract additional income and investment.   

We have restructured from eight academic Schools to four academic Faculties and are realigning our professional services, with a view to being a leaner, more efficient organisation.

Change across Professional Services 

We know that we need to do things differently. Our Professional Services have evolved over time in a fragmented way. Our costs and staffing are higher than sector benchmarks. Many colleagues face high and sometimes unmanageable workloads . 

We have a vision for a new model for Professional Services - integrated, rationalised and improved - which will deliver: 

• a more financially sustainable model   
• more joined-up services  
• less duplication and complexity   
• a healthier culture with clearer accountability   
• more manageable workloads with a focus on the right things   
• stronger and clearer career pathways. 

Proposals for change

Our proposals for change, currently under consultation with our campus unions, are:

• in Student Services, where we are looking at doing some things in significantly different ways, notably in the range of student health and wellbeing services as well as in careers and employability;
• in Estates, including withdrawing from operation of the Botanic Garden;
• refocusing how we support skills and academic development for students and staff, including withdrawing from pre-entry English language teaching and locating staff-focused academic development with the quality and enhancement team;
• in Academic and Corporate Governance, which will now incorporate strategic planning and health and safety functions to strengthen our governance, risk and compliance activities;
• merging Global Engagement and Future Students and External Relations into a single directorate, including relevant Faculty-based roles;
• further developing our newly established Student and Education Support Hub to integrate Registry and Student Services;
• further establishing Library and Academic Services to focus on our Library Services, consolidating learning technology services from across Faculties;
• establishing a single Research and Innovation Operations Hub integrating colleagues from Research administration in our Faculties, Research Finance (with line management of post-award retained in Finance) and Research and Innovation Services.

Change across the academic university 

When the financial crisis became clear, it was recognised that operating with eight academic Schools was fragmented and problematic in finding efficient and effective ways to operate.  

In particular, it was difficult to provide high-quality, efficient services when many professional services staff were embedded locally. Furthermore, there is significant strategic benefit to be gained from enhanced interactions between disciplines and subject areas at a time when interdisciplinary work in research and education is increasingly valued.  

The four-Faculty model offers potential to embed consistent practices, processes, and policies across the Faculties, enhancing student experience and the quality of our education and research.  

This model also enables a leaner leadership structure and enhanced interdisciplinary working, as well as the impetus to rationalise and develop the University’s education portfolio.

Proposals for change

The proposals for change under consultation point towards an increased focus on our core activities of teaching and research. Within those there are also changes, as we concentrate on areas of strength and potential.

Our academic provision will stay broadly the same, but there are proposals to suspend degrees to varying levels in some subjects, most notably Mathematics, Languages, and Philosophy.

There is no change to our undergraduate course provision for September 2026 entry, and any student who starts in September will be able to finish their degree at Dundee.