Students ‘ being put off by vice chancellor’s £450,000 deal’

BRITAIN’S best-paid vice chancellor has been blamed for a 6 per cent decrease in applications to her university since this time last year.

Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, 65, is facing calls to stand down from her £451,000-a-year post running the University of Bath over claims she may be putting students off.

The university has attracted criticism from politicians this year over her salary, £1.6million grace-and-favour home and expenses bill. They say it is inappropriate for university chiefs to be living lavish lifestyles when student fees have risen to £9,250 a year.

Yesterday, critics said Bath’s drop in applications could indicate students are turning to rival universities because of the reputational damage caused by the row. The 6 per cent drop in overall applica- tions to Bath compares unfavourably with 6 per cent rises at rivals including Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter. Loughborough, UCL and Warwick.

Former Labour education minister Lord Adonis said: ‘The vice chancellor is steadily undermining her own univer- sity…It is obviously time for her to stand down before the university suffers more reputational damage.’

The preliminary figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service were in a leaked email sent by the university’s head of undergraduate admissions, who voiced concerns about the drop.

The email showed UK stu- dent applications were down 2.8 per cent amid a 1.1 decrease to all universities and a 4.4 per cent rise for its competitors. EU applications were down 7 per cent, compared to an 8.2 per cent rise for its six rivals. Non-EU overseas applications were down 18.46 per cent compared to an 11.5 per cent rise for its competitors. The email said: ‘It is clear Bath is underperforming the sector and our immediate competitors, and in the case of international applications, significantly so.’

Local Labour councillor Joe Rayment claimed prospective students were being turned off after ‘googling’ University of Bath and seeing the criticism.

However, Mike Nicholson, the university’s director of student admissions, said it was still early in the admissions round and ‘there is clear evidence that our applicants are generally applying later in the admissions cycle’. The UCAS deadline is January.

‘Reputational damage’