The University of East Anglia failed to?move as?quickly as?its competitors in?targeting international student recruitment but can still be?saved despite the ¡°Darwinist¡± nature of?UK higher education, according to?the troubleshooter brought in to?steady the ship at?the under-fire institution.

David Maguire told Times Higher Education that efforts to?cut ?45?million from UEA¡¯s budget over the next two years would be?¡°difficult¡± but the task could be?done while protecting the ¡°jewels of?the university¡±, including its?renowned creative writing course.

The former University of Greenwich vice-chancellor, who has held interim posts at the universities of Dundee and Sussex, was brought in by the Norwich-based institution after the sudden departure of David Richardson in February. Professor Richardson quit as vice-chancellor when it emerged that UEA had repeatedly missed its student recruitment targets, helping to?fuel a ?13.9?million deficit, projected to double next year.

Campus resource: How to build a stronger pipeline for international student recruitment

Employees have borne the brunt of the cutbacks, with 400 positions ¨C equivalent to 10?per cent of the workforce ¨C lost through redundancies, severance and resignations. The University and College Union has said morale is at ¡°an all-time low¡±.

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¡°It has affected staff ¨C both those receiving difficult news and those delivering it,¡± said Professor Maguire.

¡°We¡¯re in the midst of that at the moment. But we have a really good plan that we are executing against, and we will deliver the savings and close the gap in due course.¡±

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The rapid expansion of high-reputation universities had had an impact on UEA¡¯s student numbers, Professor Maguire said, but 20 to 30 other institutions were in the same position and some ¡°have responded perhaps a little bit better than us, if I¡¯m honest¡±.

While the rest of the sector heavily targeted international student recruitment as finances were squeezed, UEA ¡°didn¡¯t move as fast or as far so wasn¡¯t able to mitigate these issues until it was a little bit too late¡±.

¡°But the good news is there is actually quite a lot we can do to address that and to make ourselves competitive,¡± he said.

Professor Maguire said he was already working on a plan for growth that would ¡°concentrate and focus on a smaller number of areas which we can do really well on a global scale¡±.

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Many fear that this places arts and humanities subjects at risk, but he said ¡°we see value in scientists working alongside social scientists and creative people. I?think that is part of the appeal of a place like this.¡±

The threat to the creative writing course had been ¡°grossly misrepresented¡± by a ¡°few heavy hitters making selective use of the facts¡±, Professor Maguire said. In?reality, the university is seeking to avoid closing any subject areas or departments and its staff-student ratios would remain healthy, he insisted.

While chasing after international recruitment was ¡°not without risks¡± given the current policy climate, Professor Maguire said, there was still a huge appetite for UK higher education abroad.

He was under no illusions that the university had to hold its own in a competitive market. ¡°There is a Darwinian dimension to this. It is survival of the fittest, and we need to do our best to play the game by the rules that have been set,¡± he said.

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Policymakers could do more to ensure a fair fight, however, according to Professor Maguire, first by looking again at the requirement for schools to report Russell Group entrants as a key performance indicator, ¡°which encourages them to push pupils towards those institutions¡±.

¡°What we also really need is stability of long-term funding and an idea of what the regime will be for international students ¨C not for the next six months but for the next several years.¡±

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tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com