Aberystwyth University has announced plans to restructure in a bid to cut costs as the Vice Chancellor says higher education is going through some ‘unprecedented challenges’.

In a statement, the university said: “Following on from the ongoing review of non-academic departments, the next phase of the process will include a review of all academic units, including looking at portfolio and curriculum as well as resourcing.

“The aim will be to ensure that all areas remain in line with the needs of learners as they prepare for successful careers, as well as ensuring that departments remain well-placed to conduct world leading research while operating as efficiently as possible in order to achieve cost savings.

“While the proposed changes will ensure continued focus on student experience, they will also respond to significant financial challenges within the higher education sector. Projected to achieve significant reductions in running costs, the latest restructure phase is planned to save around £16m by the end of the 2027/28 academic year.

“The reviews of academic units will build upon the ongoing process of adopting an academic schools structure which will incorporate all current academic areas, as well as the ongoing restructure of non-academic departments.”

Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University, Professor Jon Timmis said: “The Higher Education sector is going through some unprecedented challenges – bringing about a necessity to adapt our institutions to very different circumstances.

“At Aberystwyth, we are focussed on maintaining our excellent student experience, while at the same time facing up to the fact that government regulated tuition fees now lag significantly behind the costs universities are paying to teach students.

“For some years, universities have attracted higher fee-paying international students as an important income stream, but recent changes in UK visa and immigration metrics have significantly impacted universities’ ability to recruit international students and consequently made domestic recruitment more competitive.

“Adapting universities to be financially sustainable cannot be achieved without some very difficult decisions. We will need to work through those tough choices as we proceed to restructure our University.

“Once restructured, we will employ fewer staff, which will help to ensure future sustainability of the university. These financial challenges are something the whole university sector is grappling with, and we must act to secure a prosperous future for our University and its wider community in our wonderful part of mid-Wales.

“We recognise the uncertainty this can bring and will provide support and seek to work with our trade unions. We are committed to trying to mitigate redundancies where possible and will be giving staff access to a voluntary severance scheme.”

The academic unit review will begin in February and will begin with schools currently under formation, before moving on to other departments.