Vice Chancellors at Warwick and Cov spend nearly £375,000 to cover flight expenses

Vice Chancellors and Deputy Vice Chancellors at Warwick and Coventry Uni spend a combined figure of £371,737 to cover their flight expenses between September 2013 and September 2016.

According to a FOI request by The Telegraph, flights in this period included business trips to Hong Kong, Sydney, L.A., San Francisco, New York and Rio De Janeiro.

Warwick University’s Nigel Thrift claimed a total of £100,471 during the three year period, whilst the current Vice Chancellor, Stuart Croft, claimed a total £37,228.

One of the most expensive trips made by Nigel Thrift was a £7,441 business class trip to Melbourne, whilst Deputy Vice Chancellor at Cov Uni is said to have spent £5,457 on a business class trip to Africa. The cheapest trip made by a Warwick University member of staff was £77.61 on a business class trip to Budapest made by Nigel Thrift in 2015. The price of this trip was discounted due to British Airways Business loyalty points.

A Warwick University staff responded: “Please note that due to the nature of travel undertaken and that work is required to be undertaken while travelling, the University permits business class travel for these members of staff.”

While universities are charging home students £9,000 for tuition fees, Vice Chancellors Nigel Thrift and Stewart Croft came under scrutiny for their high salary totalling at £349,000 and £280,000 per annum.

In December 2016, Warwick students marched in protest in response to these outrageous expenses. Members of the Warwick for Free Education group occupied the university’s new conference centre ‘The Slate’, worth £5.3 million. Protesters have expressed their fears about student debt and staff being overcompensated for their roles.