The vast majority of current UK vice-chancellors held a senior university leadership position before taking the top job, but it is those recruited from outside the sector that appear to have the greatest impact on performance, according to a new study.

Amid the ongoing financial crisis in the UK sector, the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) examined the career backgrounds of 153 UK vice-chancellors who held the top position in February 2025, and warned that it has rarely been tougher to be a university leader.

This may in part explain why there has been significant turnover recently ¨C with nearly half of the vice-chancellors the study looked at appointed since 2022.

The average tenure of just over five years is below that of a chief executive at a FTSE100 company, and?appears to have fallen from a few years ago.?As a result of this chop and change,?a third of leaders are now women?¨C with almost all appointed in the past five years.

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Three-quarters of the sample were appointed after holding a senior university leadership position elsewhere, such as deputy vice-chancellor or pro vice-chancellor.

A further 12 per cent had worked as a vice-chancellor immediately prior to their appointment, but this rate was much higher among Russell Group institutions (33 per cent).

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The finds that this group of repeat vice-chancellors had the most impact on university performance, as judged by changes in league tables. Those hired from outside the sector also oversaw a similarly big improvement in ranking position, although they made up?only 5 per cent of the whole sample.

Authors said the strong performance of those leaders from outside the sector could be a result of their?¡°particular set of skills¡± that are useful for running a large organisation, but which may be harder to acquire in academia.

¡°It could be that institutions that are struggling are more likely to take a risk on a different kind of leader, and these institutions have more room to rise up in rankings ¨C though the weighting should account for some of this.

¡°Or it could be that lacking a vested interest in the processes and procedures of institutions, those from outside the sector feel more able to make more significant changes that tend to pay off.¡±

While it might be tempting for institutions to play it safe during ¡°precarious¡± times such as these, Josh Freeman, policy manager at Hepi and a co-author of the report, said the snapshot findings show that ¡°safety first isn¡¯t always the best strategy¡±.

¡°Institutions will be looking for someone who can inspire excellence in challenging times. Our universities must be bolder and consider candidates of all backgrounds, including those from different mission groups and outside higher education.¡±

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By comparing the ranking of an institution when a vice-chancellor took over with its most recent ranking, the analysis reveals that leaders who came from a Russell Group university or a foreign institution performed the worst.

Tessa Harrison, HE Partner at GatenbySanderson and a co-author of the report, said she hopes it ¡°sparks fresh thinking and braver conversations about the talent pipeline for the future of UK higher education¡±.

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¡°Now, more than ever, it¡¯s vital to reflect not only on what it takes to lead a university, but what it means to lead for the whole sector.¡±

The Hepi report recommends that those recruiting vice-chancellors should be ¡°brave¡± ¨C challenge assumptions about who can lead institutions and not to ¡°confuse academic credibility with being credible with academics¡±.

¡°Now is the time for identifying a broader field of candidates, bringing in greater diversity and thinking laterally, even when a simpler or ¡®safer¡¯ option may seem the more obvious strategy.¡±

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It also urged universities to appoint a selection committee capable of making unpopular decisions, rather than one that always focuses on ¡°preserving shared values¡±.

In a foreword to the report, Chris Husbands, former vice-chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, writes that the job has become more definitively that of a chief executive, with ¡°overtones of being a football manager¡±, because of having to lead in the shadow of league-table performance.

¡°The appointment of a vice-chancellor is always a hinge-point in the development of any institution. It is costly and time-consuming, which means the stakes are high for both the university and the successful candidate.¡±

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patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com