Nearly one in five roles at Arts University Bournemouth will be axed to “protect its long-term sustainability”, it has been confirmed.
The university is looking to make 75 potential redundancies across its academic, technical and professional services teams, which make up 18.8% of its total workforce of 400 staff.
Lisa Mann, the university’s chief executive, said that “every effort” has been made to avoid potential compulsory redundancies, including a pay reduction for both herself and the vice-chancellor, but the financial outlook “remains difficult.”
“We recognise the impact this will have on valued colleagues. However, the scale of the financial challenges we face – particularly in the context of reduced student numbers – means that we must take further action now to protect the long-term sustainability of the university,” she said.
The Bournemouth Echo reports that at a meeting with staff on Friday (16 May), the university’s senior leadership team presented options for mitigating potential compulsory redundancies, including voluntary redundancy and reducing full-time hours to part-time.
‘Safeguarding the future’
Chief finance and operating officer Mehjabeen Patrick added: “The university has already taken significant steps to reduce costs across the institution, but the current financial pressures we face are unprecedented.
“Such decisions are never taken lightly. Our responsibility as a senior leadership team is to ensure that AUB remains financially resilient so we can continue to support our students, staff, and wider community for the long term.”
“This is about making difficult choices now to safeguard the university’s future.”
The university, which teaches more than 3,000 students across a range of courses including acting, performing arts and creative writing, has posted a deficit in each of the last three financial years – £4.1m in 2020/21, £2.2m in 2021/22, and £1.1m in 2022/23.
Last year, the Office for Students said financial issues faced by many universities are worse than previously thought.
It has predicted that for the current financial year (2025/26), 108 of the 270 higher education providers in the UK will be facing “low liquidity” – where they do not have enough cash to cover 30 days of expenditure, a figure that includes 17 specialist creative providers.
