Search for
Search for
Search forUniversity of Derby makes a £7.2m profit
Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 14:00
An increase in core funding grants, special funding grants and tuition fees helped turnover for the year to rise by 12% to £101m. It made a £2.7m profit in the previous year.
It comes as students starting in 2009 will be asked to pay £3,325 per year in tuition fees.
The average student leaves university owing in the region of £15,000.
University managers said they were pleased with the headline profit, published today as part of the annual accounts.
The profit shows a turn around in fortunes for the university which in 2001 had an operating deficit of £2.4m.
The Higher Education Funding Council expects universities to make 3-5% profit on turnover to ensure that they have sufficient funds for new developments.
Pro vice-chancellor and finance director Hari Punchihewa said any surplus money was used to reinvest in good facilities for students.
He said: "We don't have the reserves that some universities can draw upon, so we need to earn money.
"In the past 12 months, we have used our profit to upgrade 170 lecture theatres and classrooms and employ more staff to reduce the student to staff ratio.
"This has come down from 30 students per tutor to 24."
The university has also been using its surplus money to provide bursaries – cash handouts – for students.
Mr Punchihewa said: "We have means-tested bursaries for low-income families, £350 bursaries for students coming to us from partner schools and we also have £400 bursaries for Derbyshire people, regardless of income.
"Anyone in receipt of all three bursaries could potentially get up to £2,000 of financial help each year of their degree.
"Every penny we earn from Government grants, fees and private income is put back into the university."
Major projects this year include cladding the main tower blocks at Kedleston Road, refurbishment at Britannia Mill, in Mackworth Road and new sports facilities in Buxton and Derby.
But the current economic climate has still had an impact on the university's financial situation.
The proposed sale of the former Harpur Hill college building in Buxton has been postponed.
The university has also been forced to increase its pension contributions by 1% to offset the fall in global investments.
Mr Punchihewa said: "This is in line with most other public sector bodies. This is the result of a number of global factors affecting the economy and in this respect, beyond our immediate control."
James Chick, vice president of the Derby Students' Union, said: "Any surplus being re-invested can only benefit students."
Comment on this story