An investigation has been launched into the £35m deficit that earlier this week led Dundee University to announce 632 jobs were at risk of redundancy at the institution.

The probe commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) will examine the reasons for the “deterioration” in the institution’s finances and attempt to understand how this came as a “surprise to the university leadership”.

The job cuts represent about 20% of the university’s workforce of more than 3,000 people.

Broken down, the full-time equivalent job losses consisted of 197 academic roles, 119 school-based professional services posts, and 316 directorate roles.

The SFC, an arms-length public body of the Scottish government, approved a £22m support package for the university last week.

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The investigation will be headed by former Glasgow Caledonian University principal Prof Pamela Gillies.

Before resigning in December, Dundee University principal Prof Iain Gillespie told staff in November that job losses were inevitable and blamed “an extremely challenging period” for the UK higher education sector.

Gillespie had come under pressure over travel expenses after he and another staff member took flights and accommodation worth £7,154.

He travelled business class from Edinburgh to Hong Kong at a cost of £4,723, while his colleague flew on a cheaper fare of £1,067.

The university said its activity in China was a major part of its global strategy, which it said brought in millions of pounds a year through “student recruitment and in-country education and collaboration”.

Gillespie had said that despite a recruitment freeze and reducing operational expenditure, the university was still looking at a deficit of between £25m and £30m next year.

Last week, interim principal Prof Shane O’Neill told MSPs that “misleading information” had been given to him and others last year over the university’s position.

The SFC’s independent review will consider the role of management and governance, information flows, cultural issues and whether appropriate questions were asked at the university’s executive group, court and committees.

Its terms of reference include looking at “the extent to which, over time, budgets were building in unrealistic savings or income targets which masked the true ability of the university to meet its budget targets.”

It will also examine why “key signs of distress” were not reported to the executive group and court in a timely fashion and why court was only fully informed in November.

Francesca Osowska, SFC chief executive said the body was committed to working alongside the university’s senior team as it finalises and delivers “a financial recovery plan that will see it return to a position of financial health.”

A Dundee University spokesperson said: “We welcome the publication of the terms of reference for the investigation and are committed to engaging fully with it and acting on its findings.”

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