UK universities shift to teaching-only contracts ahead of REF

I don't see the point of asking these universities for comment - besides a disingenuous response, are we expecting them to admit that there are making preparations to game the next REF assessment?

It’s not just the REF. Many universities have expanded the number of students. This means more need for teaching. A better measure would be teaching only staff-student ratio. Check wether these have changed over the years and how many of the teaching only staff were hired as ‘teaching only’ and how many were moved from the research pathway into the teaching pathway. That would give a better picture of strategic changes.