A former executive at Glasgow Caledonian University’s controversial New York campus received £254,000 before any students had graduated.
Cara Smyth’s salary package included an £11,400 “bonus and incentive” payment that was separate from her salary. She recently left the University.
Caley has also increased the loan available to the project from around £3.8m to £19.3m in six years.
Dr Nick McKerrell, Convenor of the Combined Union Committee at GCU, said: “Giving such an eye watering salary to Cara Smyth at a time of pay restraint is highly insensitive.
"At the same time staff are making the difficult decision to take industrial action over their pay freeze.
"Incredibly this puts Cara as one of the highest paid people in Scottish Higher Education for overseeing a campus of less than 100 staff and students.”
The satellite was opened by former First Minister Alex Salmond at a high-profile launch in New York in 2014.
However, although Glasgow Caley spent millions on its US outpost, no students could be taught because the institution did not have a teaching license.
Glasgow Caledonian New York College (GCNYC) was eventually granted degree-granting authority in 2017 and the first cohort completed their studies in the following year.
Forty-one students have so far graduated.
The University’s latest accounts reveal the rising subsidy earmarked for a project spearheaded by principal Pamela Gillies.
Glasgow Caley has agreed to lend a maximum of $25.5m, which in UK currency is £18.2m. This was up from around £15m in the previous year.
Over 75 per cent of the total has been drawn down so far.
In 2013, the ceiling on the loan stood at $5m, or £3.8m, and has been increased ever since.
Separate filings from across the Atlantic also reveal the financial package for the most senior figure on the project.
Smyth, who was Vice President of GCNYC until recently, benefited from total remuneration in 2017 of $335,174, which works out at around £255,000.
This includes £208,000 “base” salary, £6,351 relating to pension payments, as well as the bonus and “other reportable compensation”.
A GCU spokesperson said: “Glasgow Caledonian New York College remains a long-term, strategic investment and will be an integral part of Glasgow Caledonian University’s forthcoming 2030 strategy.
“The Vice-President’s remuneration is in line with the duties and responsibilities involved and is regularly benchmarked against the sector in the US.
"We can confirm that Cara Smyth, the Vice-President of GCNYC has now left her post to pursue a new venture.
"Cara leaves with the thanks and appreciation of everyone at GCU and GCNYC after her six years in the role.”
