Dear Members of the University of Aberdeen Court,

We the undersigned write to you with significant concerns about the proposals for institutional restructuring contained in the Senior Management Team’s ‘Adapting for Continued Success’ project.

In the most recent ‘Town Hall’ meetings and in visits to Schools, the Principal, Provost and several other members of the Senior Management Team (SMT) have repeatedly referenced the challenging funding environment that Scottish universities face. The interim senior governor also made this point in a ‘letter to the editor’ in The Scotsman (25 March 2025).

None of us would dispute that the local, national and international challenges facing our institutions are placing a great strain on the sector, and we do not propose that we stand still. Nevertheless, the proposals in the Adapting for Continued Success (ACS) would exacerbate those challenges, increase the strain on an already diminished workforce and irreparably damage the student experience and our reputation as a leading global university.

In particular, the following represents some of the concerns of staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders with regards the approach taken by SMT towards these proposals:

• Utilizing an external consultancy firm responsible for significant staffing cuts at other universities.
• Closely guarding data and repeatedly disallowing challenge or peer review.
• Hand-picked committees and working groups with limited input.
• The by-passing of the Senatus Academicus in proposals affecting the academic fabric of the institution, contrary to its statutory role under the Universities (Scotland) Act 1966.
• Proposing staff-student ratios (SSRs) that are simply unworkable in the context of providing excellence in educational standards and leaving staff space to engage in world-leading research.
• Proposing more cuts to academic jobs.
• Focusing on investing in transnational education and campuses abroad while proposing cuts to staffing locally.
• Repeatedly shifting the goalposts when it comes to ‘savings targets’ for individual schools and departments – while more senior staff are paid six-figure salaries and business class flights become the norm.

It is clear that SMT do not look on staff as assets at this institution – with the Principal and Provost highlighting staff salaries account for 67% of the institution’s expenditure – and yet staff regularly go above and beyond in the service of this institution.

Staff have repeatedly been asked to increase workloads, to accept a ‘pause’ on promotions, to come up with new revenue plans, to act as marketers, consultants, counsellors and managers, in addition to the ‘day job’ of excelling as educators and researchers. Students are treated as an afterthought, the collateral damage of excessive SSRs and limited contact time with teaching staff; the local community abandoned to pursue cheaper labour overseas.

The University of Aberdeen has a proud 500-year plus history, and we exist as a charitable institution. Our mission – as the previous principal was apt to repeat – is ‘to be open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others’.

It is hard to see how these proposals help us to maintain this mission. We urge you to reject these proposals, to allow others time to put forward an alternative proposal which provides a more cohesive and community-minded approach to the future of this institution.

Yours sincerely,