The salaries of English vice-chancellors rose almost twice as fast on average as the pay of rank-and-file university staff in the past academic year, new figures show.

University leaders in England saw their basic salary rise on average by ?8,000 to ?253,000 in 2017-18 ¨C a 3.1?per cent increase, according to the Office for Students¡¯ very first analysis of senior staff remuneration, which was on 12?February.

That compares with the 1.7?per cent basic pay uplift to UK university staff in 2017-18, which rose to 2.4?per cent for the lowest paid that year.

On salary alone, England¡¯s highest-paid vice-chancellor was Dame Glynis Breakwell, who received a basic salary of ?470,000, up from ?462,000 in the previous year, in her final full year in office at the University of Bath.

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As revealed by ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ in December, the Open University paid the most to its head of institution in 2017-18 after its departing vice-chancellor, Peter Horrocks, pocketed a ?255,000 pay-off for loss of office on top of his ?321,000 basic salary following a staff revolt against a planned efficiency programme. Once salary and benefits of ?89,000 were paid to his successor, Mary Kellett, the OU paid out a total of ?718,000 towards the cost of the vice-chancellor¡¯s post, the OfS report says.

Vice-chancellor pay by university

Click on each column to sort or use search box to find an institution

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Source: .

Note: If there was more than one vice-chancellor employed at an institution in either the 2016-17 or 2017-18 academic year this may skew the figures. A "*"? after the name denotes institutions that had changes of leadership over the period.

The University and College Union said that the report exposed the OfS as ¡°lightweight¡± and a ¡°paper tiger¡±, which had ¡°failed to look at the excessive rises enjoyed by some vice-chancellors or tackle the expenses and other benefits in kind that have plagued universities in recent years¡±.

¡°The report simply regurgitates some of the analysis done by UCU and others in recent years, but pulls its punches on how to address the problem,¡± said Matt Waddup, head of policy at the UCU.

¡°The OfS fails to ask why some vice-chancellors are still picking up double-digit pay rises and doesn¡¯t even look at their expenses or other benefits in kind,¡± he added, stating that the report ¡°sends a message that those who accept such largesse have nothing to fear from the new regulator¡±.

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The report also details how average total remuneration paid to heads of providers, including pension payments and subsidised accommodation, increased by ?5,000 to ?299,000 in 2017-18.

The report also sets out the pay ratios between the heads of providers and all staff, which ranged from 3 to 13.4. The median was?7.2.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the OfS, said that it was ¡°good to see signs of pay restraint at some universities, with some vice-chancellors refusing a salary increase¡±.

¡°A number of governing bodies have reduced the basic pay of their vice-chancellor, though we acknowledge that it can be difficult to revisit contractual obligations while a vice-chancellor is in post,¡± he added.

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Ms Dandridge added that ¡°it is not for the Office for Students to set a vice-chancellor¡¯s pay¡± and that the regulator ¡°understand[s] that running a university is a significant and complex task, and it is right that those who excel in their roles should be well rewarded¡±.

¡°Despite this, where pay is out of kilter, or salary increases at the top outstrip pay awards to other staff, vice-chancellors should be prepared to answer tough questions from their staff, student bodies and the public,¡± she continued.

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The analysis reports that payments for compensation for loss of office across all providers in 2017-18 totalled ?151?million. This represents less than 1?per cent of total staff costs.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com