UK Vice-Chancellor pay is a matter of public record, published each year as required by the Office for Students in our annual financial statements.

The Vice-Chancellor's salary accounts for the responsibility of managing a large and complex organisation with multimillion pound budgets and thousands of staff and students.

Professor Karen Stanton was appointed as permanent Vice Chancellor for UAL in March 2025 after a full global search. UAL Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen Stanton’s salary is currently £319,225.00 per annum.

The Vice-Chancellor’s base salary is benchmarked against the Higher Education sector. Recently published data from the indicates the average UK VC salary for 2023/24 was £340,901. Karen has chosen to opt out of the pension scheme at UAL, saving the University approximately £50,000 per year.

About the role of the Vice-Chancellor

The Vice-Chancellor is the most senior member of staff at the University. They chair the Executive Board and are the Accountable Officer for the Office for Students. They are responsible for the budget, which at UAL is approximately £500 million, and for ensuring that the University adheres to external regulatory requirements, from financial accountability to freedom of speech, and the quality of the student experience, education and research.

Our current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Karen Stanton, was appointed in March 2025. Karen has worked in higher education for over 30 years. Before taking up the role of Interim Vice-Chancellor at UAL between September 2024 to March 2025, she was previously Interim Vice-Chancellor at Bishop Grosseteste University and Vice-Chancellor of York St John University and Solent University. Read Karen’s profile.

How is the Vice-Chancellor's salary decided?

The Vice Chancellor’s and other senior staff salaries are set annually by the Remuneration Committee, a sub-group of the University’s Court of Governors. The Court has final approval of the salaries.

The Committee currently consists of the Chair of Governors and 3 other members of the Court. Their decisions are informed by the Committee of University Chairs’

The Committee considers the pay review and objectives for the Vice-Chancellor, ensuring the salary is competitive while exercising control of overall costs. Any pay increase is proposed considering a comparison with pay awards made to all staff across UAL, including other senior post holders; a detailed benchmarking exercise, comparing remuneration across the sector; and the Committee’s own assessment of the Vice-Chancellor’s performance during the previous year.

The Committee is also mindful of the University’s strategic interests, the public interest and the safeguarding of public funds.

Read more in our annual financial statements.