Universities will have to justify high salaries for vice-chancellors and provide consumer protection contracts for students, the universities minister will say today.
Jo Johnson will take a swipe at vice-chancellors’ pay, which has faced growing criticism in recent weeks. The highest paid university head earns £450,000, three times the prime minister’s salary.
Speaking to The Times before a speech for Reform, an independent think tank, he said that the “upwards ratchet has been out of control for too long”.
The issue had been raised before but insufficient progress was being made, he said, adding that there had to be clear evidence of highly paid vice-chancellors outperforming those at comparable institutions.
The teaching excellence framework, which was piloted this year, gave a gold ranking to some little-known institutions and a bronze award to some leading universities. When it is fully operational, the framework will add to pressure on universities to justify high salaries. The government cannot force universities to reduce or limit salaries as they are independent bodies but Mr Johnson said he was confident that transparency would lead to restraint.
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Mr Johnson will also set out plans for universities to draw up stronger contracts with their students, clearly setting out what they can expect from a university education, in order to ensure better value for money.