Cost increases and budget insufficiencies are to result in staff redundancies at Queen Margaret University according to an announcement last week. Escalating pensions and skyrocketing energy expenditure have been blamed for the estimated 35 job cuts, dubbed by University Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Anthony P. Cohen as, "a regrettable situation."

As a signatory to a 2005 national pay settlement for university staff, QMU has been obliged to increase lecturers' salaries either by 2.5 per cent or in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) for September 2008, whichever is higher. With a steadily rising inflation rate, and June's five per cent RPI figure, it has become apparent that QMU will not be able to meet its financial obligations once the pay increase is implemented.

Cohen said: “Over the last two years, we have achieved the great assets of the university title and of our innovative new campus, both of which give us tremendous bases for growth and development. We must now strengthen our financial position to ensure that we can take full advantage of this opportunity.”

In an attempt to mitigate the job losses, QMU has offered staff the opportunity to apply for voluntary severance or to express an interest in early retirement where appropriate.

It is still uncertain whether further cuts will need to be made to such areas as the arts and extra-curricular activities. When asked if these monetary cut-backs would affect the standard of education offered by QMU, the university’s student officers said: “It is very hard to predict the outcome of the cuts. However the Students' Union is confident that the new campus can facilitate the absorption of these cuts due to its compact design, which requires less administrative and teaching staff than the old campus.”

Further south, more than 200 staff are set to lose their jobs at the University of Plymouth after years of financial uncertainty. Staff numbers are to be reduced by 223 – a cut of approximately 6.5 per cent from the current number of around 3,400. An internal strategy review revealed that a £10 million cut in costs was needed after the university admitted to “a historic overspend.”

A spokeswoman has said that the review will necessitate a "reshaping" of Plymouth's "academic offering" but that this will "ensure that the institution remains robust and goes from strength to strength."

The proposal has been criticised by representatives of the university’s unions who say the institution's reputation had been "built upon the expertise and commitment of the staff over many years."

The president of Plymouth's University and College Union (UCU) branch, Mike Sheaff, added: "As the union representing academic staff, we do not accept the proposal for over 200 academic staff redundancies."

Mr Sheaff further criticised on the timing of the announcement: "Great distress and anxiety has been caused by this announcement, particularly at a time when staff are working hard to welcome 30,000 new and returning students.

"We oppose any redundancies that are used to fund new investment."

The financial crisis is thought to have commenced with the sudden death last January of Professor Roland Levinsky, the University’s Vice Chancellor, who had put in place ambitious expansion plans.

The UCU's general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "We believe the new building programme, put in place by the previous vice chancellor, and the policy of centralising to Plymouth have been major factors in the build up of the huge deficit.

"We reject outright any suggestions that the current crisis is merely attributable to rising costs and current economic difficulties. The deficit was built up during a period when inflation was at historically low levels.

"It is not UCU members in Plymouth who should have to pay the price for the university's financial mismanagement.”

Throughout the period of review, confidential advice and counseling will be made available to those staff affected.

The university’s Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Wendy Purcell, has defended the plans. She said: “There will be the need for a small number of redundancies. However, we hope to achieve the majority of these through voluntary means and will do all that we can to minimise compulsory redundancies.

"We are taking great care in the way we do this to protect our academic standing as an institution that enjoys high esteem across our teaching and research.

"We are an excellent university, and are now shaping ourselves to sustain a great future.”