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HEPI / Centre for Education Economics Roundtable Lunch: ‘Senior Executive Pay in Education’

  • 18 September 2018 - 18 September 2018
  • 12pm to 2.15pm

On Thursday 18 September 2018 HEPI and the Centre for Education Economics will be hosting a roundtable lunch on the topic of senior executive pay in education.

Education, even when not directly paid for by taxpayer money, is an area where according to common discourse executive pay should not exceed that of the Prime Minister. Set against this, the trustees appointing and rewarding these executives argue they have to compete in an increasingly global market. Moreover, given the size and scope of many education institutions today, the skills sets required by these executives are not necessarily found in the grass-roots of their sectors but are sometimes claimed to be more akin to those running private corporations and industry, arguably requiring similar levels of executive pay to attract the best talent. These issues are frequently discussed in relation to university vice-chancellors and multi-academy trust CEOs.
More specifically in higher education, the issue of vice-chancellors’ pay (how and in what way it is set) has become a lightning rod for discontent in the HE sector across a broader range of issues from the perceived erosion in employment rights for academic staff, especially early career researchers, through to the funding and financing of higher education (and the move to the student loans system) which culminated in the damaging pensions row which engulfed the sector earlier this year.

The HEPI / CfEE roundtable will bring together senior leaders and policy experts in the field to consider:
• Does the evidence justify the scale of increase in senior executive pay in institutions?
• How global (and competitive) is the education recruitment market?
• How can the education sector become more transparent in the setting of senior salaries?

James Croft, CfEE Chair and Acting Director, will introduce the roundtable, handing over to Nick Hillman, HEPI Director, to chair the discussion with opening comments from Chris Sayers, Chair of the Committee of University Chairs, and Leora Cruddas, CEO of FASNA (https://www.fasna.org.uk/) to kick-start the conversation around the table.

 

Invite-only. For further details please contact Sarah Isles, HEPI Development Director at [email protected] 

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