The report collated figures taken from the most recent university financial statements and existing freedom of information requests, and found:
- Average basic pay (before pension contributions and benefits in kind) is over £200,00
- Just two principals have a salary below that of the First Minister
- Across 18 institutions, 88 individuals earn more than the First Minister
- On average, across Scotland the highest university earner receives 16.10 times the lowest (full-time equivalent)
In its submission to the consultants undertaking the development of the governance code, NUS Scotland has called for an explicit maximum ratio between highest and lowest earners, staff and student representation on university remuneration committees, and greater transparency in the setting and reporting of senior level pay.
Robin Parker, President of NUS Scotland said: “It’s unjustifiable for university principals and other senior staff to routinely be paid such large sums.
"There are 88 senior staff members at Scottish universities who earn more than the First Minister, and across our institutions the gap between the lowest and highest paid is too large, with some receiving almost 20 times that of the lowest paid university employee.
“Universities need academic autonomy, but they should not have the freedom to pay such large salaries and to allow large gaps between those at the top end and the lowest paid.
"There are hundreds of millions of pounds of public money quite rightly going into universities over the next few years, we must make sure that this money is used on the front line, not on increasing already substantial senior salaries.
“At a time when everyone is feeling the pinch it would be completely out of touch for university principals to think we didn’t need to have greater controls on such high levels of pay. Last year’s review into university governance was absolutely right to recognise that controversies over high pay undermines the trust we put in our universities.
"When there are senior managers getting paid far above and beyond what even the First Minister does, while the tens of thousands of staff below them receive a fraction of that, you can see why.
“The forthcoming governance code for Scottish universities provides the opportunity to start addressing the imbalance we see in university pay.
"A maximum pay ratio between highest and lowest earners and greater staff and student input into pay decisions are just two ways we can tackle inflated pay. These need to be defined in to code to ensure that we have that vital trust in our universities and those who are leading them.”