Key Performance Indicators

Education

Our vision: In 2025, we will be recognised nationally and globally for providing transformational education. We will put student success at the heart of our mission, supporting every student from every background to achieve outstanding outcomes; preparing our students to thrive in their future lives and nurturing our community of educators to support and promote student success. 

KPI 3: TEF: University to retain TEF Gold award and each subject area offered by the University to obtain TEF Gold subject level at each assessment point.

KPI 4: National Student Survey: University to remain firmly established in the top 25 of UK institutions through the period 2019-2028, and each subject area offered by the University to reach the top 20% of their subject area through the period 2019-2028.  

KPI 5: Graduate Outcomes: University to be firmly established in the top 25 of UK institutions and each subject area offered by the University to be in the top 20% of their subject area by 2025, and to sustain these positions through the period 2025-2028.

KPI 6: Student Outcomes (Equality and Diversity): by 2025, University to have no significant equality attainment gaps for measures of student success at institutional level; and to maintain this through the period 2025-28.

Education and Research

KPI 7: Research Degrees:

a. Completion: University to exceed the UKRI minimum submission threshold (submission within 12 active terms) at the institutional level by 2025; maintain this performance and consistently to meet the minimum threshold in all departments by 2028.

b. Awards: University’s average number of doctoral awards per FTE of academic staff with research in their contract to be equal to benchmarks achieved by research-intensive Universities. 

Research

Our vision: In 2028, we will be recognised nationally and globally for the international excellence and world-leading quality, scale and impact of our research. Our research will continue to focus on asking difficult questions, challenging conventional wisdom, tackling with rigour the questions that matter for people and communities and putting ideas into action to improve people’s lives. 

KPI 8: REF: Institutional and subject research profile as indicated by performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF): University to be in the top 20 nationally for overall research profile in the 2021 REF, and each Unit of Assessment submitted by the University to be in the top 20%, using TGUG methodology.

KPI 9: Citations: To be ranked in the top 40 of UK institutions for citations per publication by 2025; and in the top 25 of UK institutions for citations per publication by 2028.

KPI 10: Income from Research:

a. Average research income per FTE for academic and research staff, calculated at institutional and cost-centre levels, to meet (by 2025) and exceed (by 2028) average benchmark achieved by research-intensive UK universities.

b. Research income from industry calculated at institutional level, to meet (by 2025) and exceed (by 2028) average income from industry achieved by research-intensive UK universities.

c. Total income reported in HEBCIS calculated at institutional level to meet (by 2025) and exceed (by 2028) average reported by research-intensive UK universities. 

Finance

Our vision: We will have grown the University, enabling us to offer transformational education to about 20,000 students, to achieve transformational research through a community of about 1,000 researchers, to extend our knowledge base by investing in new disciplines that meet the needs of our time and to ensure the financial sustainability of the University.

KPI 11: Financial Sustainability

a. Institutional cash surplus to be at least 5.5% annually.

b. Liquidity: minimum requirement for access to cash to fund expenditure determined by risk-based assessment of minimum liquid funds.

c. Debt servicing costs: Minimum ratio of earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to debt servicing costs to be 2 to 1.