Universities in Jeopardy: The University of Montpellier Voices Its Concerns
Committed to upholding a public university that focuses on professional training and intensive research, Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier, wishes to express his concerns regarding the increasing financial pressures facing institutions of higher education.
For many years now, universities have been asked to take on new responsibilities (commitment to the ecological transition, expanding support for career placement, establishing a presence in regional areas and smaller cities, improving support for inclusion and disability, initiatives to promote student health, and efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence), the costs of which have never been fully covered by the government.
More recently, the government has implemented numerous human resources measures that have not been fully compensated:
- This is the case with the so-called “Guerini” index-linked measures (a 3.5% increase in 2022 and a 1.5% increase in 2023, with a 5-point adjustment in 2024), representing a cost of 7 million euros in 2024 for the University of Montpellier, a cost that will be carried over into 2025;
- This is also true of other initiatives launched by the government (the sustainable mobility allowance, the CET, the telework allowance, etc.), which represent an additional cost of 3 million euros already borne by the institution in 2024—a cost that will also be carried over into 2025.
Without questioning the value of these measures for our community, it is nevertheless important to point out that the government must stand by its decisions and cannot leave it up to its service providers to fund the measures it announces. It stands to reason that the decision-maker (the government) should be the one to foot the bill!
At the same time, the University has had to absorb—and continues to absorb—the rising cost of utilities resulting from the energy crisis (an additional €2 million in uncompensated costs per year). By 2025, the total cost of all the previously mentioned uncompensated measures will already exceed €12 million. To date, the significant level of internal revenue generated by the University of Montpellier, combined with rigorous management, has made it possible to offset the impact of these additional expenses imposed by the government.
However, added to this is the government’s very recent announcement that it will increase, without compensation, contributions to the Special Allocation Account for the civil service pension scheme (CAS Pensions), which will result in an additional cost of 5 million euros. In total, we are therefore already facing €17 million in uncompensated costs for the 2025 budget. These costs, which are not covered by the State, are putting the University in a difficult position by significantly depleting its working capital (reserves).
However, universities’ working capital is not a “war chest,” as some might believe. It is the result of sound and rigorous management that enables the institution to carry out large-scale operations for the benefit of our students and staff. Forcing us to draw heavily on our working capital—thereby depleting it or even reducing it to zero—would lead to the complete collapse of the University!
Faced with this gradual withdrawal of state support, universities will be forced to scale back their initiatives—particularly in the areas of building renovations, support for innovation and research, educational investments, and course offerings—even as French universities have gained undeniable visibility in international rankings in recent years.
This is a serious blow to those who dedicate themselves to our institutions every day.
This is a serious blow to the role universities play as a social ladder for our students.
This is a serious blow to the economic development efforts we represent in our regions.
Ultimately, this is a serious blow to the appeal of higher education and research in France.
The University of Montpellier, deeply committed to the values of public service, cannot accept that it will no longer be able to pursue the ambitious momentum it has successfully set in motion.