Students claim senior management wages at the University of the Highlands and Islands are the highest in Scotland and must be cut.
The Highlands and Islands Students Association (HISA) claims the university partnership spends about £4.7 million annually on senior management pay – £3.2 million more than St Andrews University and £3.3 million more than the University of the West of Scotland.
HISA called for changes to the senior management structure to cut costs after Inverness College UHI revealed plans for voluntary redundancies to save £800,000 over the next year.
Association president Alan Simpson said the move is “just the start of job losses that we believe will become endemic across the University, unless swift action is taken”.
“The University of the Highlands and Islands Partnership is currently spending a significant amount more on senior management pay than any other institution in Scotland,” he said.
“Savings need to be made and the university can do so by using the strength of the partnership to share resources and services.”
A university spokeswoman said HISA’s figure is an aggregated total of 14 senior management teams across the institution and its colleges and not comparable to the other universities.
UHI covers the largest geographical area of any campus-based university or college in Scotland and has the largest student population.
She said the partnership has made great progress to improve the way it works.