5 point action plan issued to the VC
The recently released UH Staff Opinion Survey of November 2022 showed that only 25% of staff think the University Leadership Team – your Executive – listens to and responds to their views. This is 20% less than the HEI sector average of 45%.
Since 75% of staff do not think that your Executive is listening or responding, we believe urgent action is required to address a crisis of confidence in the University’s leadership. Words will not suffice. Instead, listening and responding needs to be judged by the quality of the decisions your Executive makes.
Our Five-Point Action Plan for starting to address the crisis is below. It brings together some of the issues we have been raising with senior managers. We believe it is time for these issues to be addressed.
We therefore call on you and your Executive:
- To pay London Fringe Allowance of £3,750 per annum
- in order to address the higher cost of living in and around London and repair UH recruitment and retention rates
2. To cut workload hours by 10% across the board
- in order to begin addressing the longstanding problem of increasing workloads
3. To offer permanent contracts to active visiting lecturers who want them
- In order to begin to reduce casualisation, reward hard-working VLs and address increasing workloads
4. To commission an independent review of the recruitment of international students
- in order to address the numerous complaints about its mismanagement
5. To end the compulsory recording of seminars
- in order to begin restoring pedagogic autonomy and reducing micromanagement