Cardiff University must cut or limit some of its activities as it faces an “unsustainable” financial situation, its new vice chancellor has warned. Professor Wendy Larner, who became the university's first woman VC when predecessor Professor Colin Riordan stepped down from his £289,275 job, said “tough decisions” must now be made.

Speaking on Thursday, November 2 she warned that home tuition fees no longer cover teaching costs for universities, leaving Cardiff and other institutions in “a challenging position” as prices rise. Writing in WalesOnline’s sister publication the Western Mail on Thursday social scientist Professor Larner said doing things the same was not an option, and changes must now be made.

Marking two months in the role as vice chancellor she said a new strategy for Cardiff University would be developed in the new year and some work would have to stop - although she did not say where any cuts might fall. Professor Larner has asked staff and others to be part of a debate about that, admitting she did not have all the answers. Cardiff, like other universities was hit by strike action last year, affecting summer graduations. You can read more about that here.

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“I can already sense acceptance among our staff that staying the same is not an option. We will need to prioritise,” Professor Larner warned, adding: “This will inevitably involve making tough decisions about stopping or limiting some activities, changing the way we work and cutting out tasks that don’t add value.”

With home tuition fees no longer covering costs and the “government’s rhetoric on immigration” making the UK increasingly unpopular to higher paying international students, the way universities have worked for the last few decades is now in question, she added.

Before joining Cardiff University at the start of this term Professor Larner, was Provost of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Before moving to Wellington, she was Dean of social sciences and law and professor of human geography for ten years at Bristol University.

Her comments follow warnings from Cardiff Metropolitan University Vice Chancellor Professor Cara Aitchison that Wales’ lower tuition fees put universities here at a disadvantage. Professor Aitchison, who is retiring next year, has said for several years that student tuition fees in Wales must rise in line with those in England or universities here won’t be able to compete long term.

Professor Aitchison has said that institutions in Wales should be able to charge an extra £250 as they do across the border. The Welsh Government has insisted there are no plans to raise tuition fees. Asked about tuition fees earlier this year a Welsh Government spokesperson said: "There are no plans to raise tuition fee levels. We recognise that every sector, public or private, is feeling the pressure of high inflation. "

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Professor Larner has now announced Y Sgwrs Fawr - The Big Conversation with staff and others to discuss the way forward for Cardiff University. She said she has enjoyed getting to know staff in her first term as Vice Chancellor but the university needs to promote its success more.

“We have an exceptional community, full of talented people, who really care about the future of our university and making a meaningful contribution to society. I am really enjoying getting to know our staff and students.

“I said recently in a staff message that I don’t think our staff know just how good we are. Cardiff seems a naturally modest institution, and we need to get better at celebrating loudly our successes.”

Professor Larner moved to Wellington from Bristol University, where she had been Dean of social sciences and law and Professor of human geography from 2005 to 2015.

She was a lecturer and then senior lecturer at the University of Auckland (1997-2004). She has also been a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Queen Mary, and a Guest Professor at the University of Frankfurt.

In 2018 Professor Larner became the second-ever female President of the Royal Society Te Apārangi and is the first-ever woman to be Vice Chancellor at Cardiff University.

The full text of Professor Wendy Larner’s commentary on her first months as Cardiff University Vice Chancellor

"It’s nearly two months since I took up my post as Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University. I was drawn to Cardiff because I could see the importance of the university to this small, ambitious, progressive country.

"We have huge potential – and a huge responsibility – to use our expertise, curiosity and knowledge to make life better first and foremost for the people of Wales, as well as for the wider world. We have an exceptional community, full of talented people, who really care about the future of our University and making a meaningful contribution to society.

"I am really enjoying getting to know our staff and students. I said recently in a staff message that I don’t think our staff know just how good we are. Cardiff seems a naturally modest institution, and we need to get better at celebrating loudly our successes.

"That said, I am taking up the Vice-Chancellor role at an existential moment for universities. Our financial situation is, frankly, unsustainable. Home tuition fees no longer cover teaching costs.

"Student expectations of us have grown. Not only have home fees remained the same for the last 10 years or so, the unit of resource available to fund each student’s education and experience has declined. Increasingly we subsidise the cost of research from our own budgets.

"It leaves universities like Cardiff - and the sector as a whole - in a challenging position. We are very lucky to have a strong and vibrant community of international students who bring diversity and different perspectives to our classrooms.

"Increasingly though, universities are seeking to grow rapidly the number of international students they educate, driven by the high fees these students pay. International markets are incredibly turbulent post-pandemic and the UK government’s rhetoric on immigration makes the UK an increasingly less popular choice for international students who are welcomed to the US, Australia and Canada.

"We have staff who are making the case for better pay. We are in the midst of a cost of living crisis. Our students are looking to us for support and to help to protect them from this crisis; but we’re also seeing our own cost base rise on everything from food to energy.

"The way universities have worked for the last few decades is now in question. When you take over a senior leadership role like Vice-Chancellor, many look to you for the answers to our greatest challenges.

"I’ve been clear with our community that I don’t have all the answers, but what I do have in abundance is some of the best minds to draw on. That’s why in my first few days as Vice Chancellor I launched Y Sgwrs Fawr - The Big Conversation.

"This is a collaborative and consultative exercise to understand the changes that Cardiff University needs to make to ensure it is sustainable for Wales’ future generations. As well as staff and students, external stakeholders from government, industry and communities also have an important role to play in our conversation.

"It will lead to the development of our new strategy in the New Year. I can already sense acceptance among our staff that staying the same is not an option. We will need to prioritise.

"This will inevitably involve making tough decisions about stopping or limiting some activities, changing the way we work and cutting out tasks that don’t add value.

"As I consider the journey ahead of us, my mind is drawn to Dame Professor Teresa Rees, an inspirational and influential social scientist, who died recently. Terry’s mark on cementing the rights of women in modern Wales and beyond is well documented.

"Less well known is the role she played in shaping Cardiff University, and her wonderful ability to take people on a journey of change, even when that journey was difficult. I’ll be drawing inspiration from her example as we navigate our new path."