Universities need to rethink their business models for core research and teaching work or face having to undertake 鈥渞epeated restructurings鈥�, according to a former vice-chancellor.

Chris Husbands, who ran Sheffield Hallam University from 2016 to 2023, said there had been 鈥渕ajor strides in rethinking operating models, particularly for professional services鈥� in recent years but less focus on institutions鈥� 鈥渃ore delivery model鈥� including staff-student ratios, the structure of staffing and estate use.

鈥淲ithout a secure and deliverable core academic model, institutions are simply going to be forced into repeated restructurings on other aspects of their activity. And that鈥檚 not going to be healthy for institutions or the sector,鈥� Husbands told a webinar on sector collaboration hosted by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) and Jisc.

With institutions on their own 鈥渟truggling with change鈥� and聽little prospect of significant funding聽coming from central government, Husbands said the sector needed a 鈥渟hift in the culture of leadership鈥�.

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While the competition that has defined higher education for the last 15 years had brought 鈥渞eal benefits鈥�, said Husbands, it had also 鈥渄elivered homogeneity, duplication, over provision and overlaps and that needs to change鈥�.

Hypercompetition 鈥� reflected in the regulation and funding regime 鈥� had also driven the management culture in the sector, said Husbands, but what leaders now needed to ask was 鈥渉ow they work effectively with others in terms of thinking about the institution in the context of its place鈥�.

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惭辞谤别听collaboration and service sharing聽has been repeatedly raised as a way of ensuring English institutions can get themselves onto a firmer financial footing after suffering from a long-running fee freeze and聽dwindling international recruitment.

Sam Sanders, advisory lead for education, skills and productivity at accountancy firm KPMG, told the event that this difficult context had allowed conversations 鈥渢o be had that until now sometimes haven鈥檛 had the airspace they need鈥� and it was an opportunity 鈥渢o really explore options that I think logically we鈥檝e all known are entirely feasible for a long time, but really haven鈥檛 had the impetus behind them鈥�.

Sanders said 鈥渨e should assume everything鈥檚 in scope until we find a good reason for it not to be鈥�, especially given many services universities offer are not 鈥渦nique selling points鈥�, as they do not differentiate the experience they offer to students compared to other institutions.

This allows 鈥渁 very, very long list of things you could look at鈥� for universities 鈥渋ncluding things that have traditionally been completely out of scope鈥� and seen as being part of the academic domain, Sanders said.

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Panellists, however, agreed that in collaborating on services, there was a risk that the sector would become too dependent on single suppliers.

This 鈥渃ould hand huge power to a private contractor鈥�, said Husbands, while Sanders flagged the risk that this one singular service on, for example, student record-keeping, could 鈥渟tifle innovation and stifle the competition required to keep that thing up to date鈥�.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen in some areas with a very small number of credible competition options, the investment over multiple decades in key products hasn鈥檛 been there, and that鈥檚 one of the challenges鈥�, he said.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com