THE University of Exeter has announced the return of TERS, or The Exeter Release Scheme, a voluntary self-severance scheme first launched in 2020, and reintroduced to a larger degree in 2024. Since its original implementation, TERS has been a point of controversy for Exeter’s UCU (University College Union) branch, who have argued against its necessity and effectiveness. In a Q&A held in March 2024, the University’s President and Vice Chancellor Lisa Roberts said that accepted TERS applications must be “in the strategic, financial and operational interests of the University”. TERS was launched to combat financial strain on the University, but in an exclusive statement, the EUCU rebuked, “money can’t be too tight — senior management swapped their bonuses for a 12 per cent pay rise!”
The UCU aren’t alone in their concern: an anonymous academic department contacted Exeposé with a statement of discontent at the announcement of the next round of TERS, or, as the UCU have labeled it, TERS 2.0. The anonymous department told Exeposé that “the impact of the previous round of TERS on student experience (including the worst staff-student ratio of the Russell Group and reduced module options) hasn’t been assessed — who knows what the next round will do”. Echoing the UCU’s worried statement, the anonymous department told us that “people are losing their minds picking up extra work, tasks are being shunted onto faculty who don’t know how to do them, and the loss of another 160 PS staff could bring the show grinding to a halt”.
TERS 2.0 was first reported to the UCU by “concerned members of staff high up in the faculties” rather than through official university channels. They told us that “none of the campus unions were consulted on TERS 2.0” and reiterated that it is “the wrong approach, at the wrong time.” In the last round of TERS, the university lost around 200 staff members; the UCU suggests that “losing 200 or more staff suddenly on the 29th August will have a terrible impact on student experience”, notwithstanding the present impact of staff losses in 2024.
The UCU are also worried about the impact of TERS on module options, which they say are “one of Exeter’s top selling points for students and something that sets us apart from other unis.” According to The Complete University Guide, the University of Exeter ranks fourth in the Russell Group for student satisfaction; losing optional modules could change this.
And it’s not just students who might suffer — the UCU adds, “We’re worried about the impact on workloads and mental health of staff, especially in our overstretched professional services and with C4C challenges looming. We don’t accept the financial wisdom of this approach. TERS has a huge upfront cost — the last round cost nearly £13m in severance pay and still hasn’t made that money back. We think a £100k salary cap could save nearly as much as another round of TERS, without losing a single member of staff.”
“People are losing their minds picking up extra work”
Anonymous department, University of Exeter
Staff are clearly concerned about this change, with the anonymous university department telling Exeposé that there should be “proper data […] demonstrating the impact of TERS so far and what plans are in place to mitigate the impact of the next TERS”, describing the “general atmosphere here and in the sector as a whole of insecurity, terror, etc.” They described TERS 2.0 as “risky and incautious” with “uncertain gains”, arguing that “without TERS upfront payments, we’re in the black with operating surplus and we have a good reserve too. We can weather the storm for a few years with steady management — no need to recklessly and unstrategically lose another 200 staff or more.” If TERS 2.0 does have to go ahead, the anonymous department have called for a staggered release to avoid “chaos when students arrive in September”; they said that the University “can’t absorb the impact of potentially 400 job losses in just over a year and then rejig the entire teaching structure of the uni.”
Both the UCU and the anonymous university department told Exeposé that they feel that there are better alternatives to saving money than resorting to TERS again. The anonymous department suggested that “we need more creative, impactful and just ways of managing costs”, advising a “£100k salary cap which would save approx £5-6m per year (i.e. one per cent operating surplus) without any upfront costs or job losses or impact on student experience of any kind”.
The University’s targets and objectives with TERS 2.0 are unclear. The anonymous department told Exeposé that “there’s no shared target and no shared strategy for how much we need to save and how many job losses UEB think we need — this is an abdication of leadership, and a failure to take staff along with them.” The department feels that the university hasn’t listened to staff concerns, including surrounding mental health and wellbeing: “Management’s blithe assertions that there is no workload and mental health crisis amongst staff, especially in our decimated professional services, were met with bitter derision and laughter by most staff, and taken as a sign that UEB are totally out of touch about conditions on the ground here.”
“We’re worried about the impact on workloads and mental health of staff”
University College Union
Exeposé reached out to the Students’ Guild for comment on the return of TERS: “We know students are concerned about what potential staff redundancies could mean for their course. While the process is still ongoing and we don’t yet know the full impact, we want to reassure students that we’re here to make sure your voice is heard where it matters most. Our academic reps are working hard to make sure your experience isn’t negatively affected, and student needs stay front and centre of discussions. Contact your rep at exeterguild.com/acrep.”
A spokesperson for the University also provided a statement on TERS: “All universities are facing long-term external pressures, based on long-term factors including rising costs, the realterm reduction in the value of the home student fee and a continued decline in the international student applications to UK universities. We continue to take action across all areas, to ensure our financial position remains strong whilst protecting our student and staff experience. These steps include improving the efficiency of our research and teaching activity, reducing our non-pay spending where possible and using digital transformation to develop new ways of working. We have also reopened our entirely voluntary release scheme for qualifying staff, providing an opportunity for some staff to leave the University to pursue other career interests or retire early. The scheme will be carefully managed to ensure there is no impact on teaching, research and learning. It is important to stress there are no plans for compulsory redundancies.”
“The scheme will be carefully managed to ensure there is no impact on teaching, research and learning.”
University of Exeter
Despite having “no plans for compulsory redundancies”, the UCU and anonymous department alike have demonstrated concern for the impact another round of TERS could have on staff and students. They feel let down by leadership and continue to question the necessity of voluntary redundancies, especially at the tail-end of August, just before students arrive in September. The anonymous department told Exeposé, “we need leadership who will defend our university (and our sector) for staff and students; we don’t need unimaginative managed decline.”
* Corrected the approximate number of staff released in 2024 from around 180 to 200 on 28/05/2025
* Corrected year TERS was first introduced from 2024 to 2020 on 28/05/2025
