Half of the universities in the Russell Group gave their bosses an overall pay rise in 2019-20, newly-released accounts have revealed.
In a year when students had to push for rent refunds, no-detriment policies, and tuition fee refunds, 12 of the 24 elite universities paid their Vice Chancellors more than in 2018-19.
In fact, the average overall pay packet for a Russell Group head honcho was £389,340 – up £8,000 from the year before.
Exeter’s now-retired head Sir Steve Smith was the highest-paid Russell Group boss last year, with a £185,000 bonus for his performance over the previous seven years taking his total renumeration to £584,000.