Letter: Luton staff courses

The context of Luton University's discussion on staff development is rather wider and better known than your article inferred ("Staff boost student roll-call", THES , June 8).

The university is attempting to establish a third semester presence in the region and the discussion of faculty projections of student numbers reported related primarily to this, as funding council money for this session and next were confirmed back in March.

Colleges in the Bedfordshire Federation for Further and Higher Education are in talks with the university about their staff obtaining teaching qualifications to Further Education National Training Organisation standards, as they will be required to do.

The university has also long provided courses for administrative staff but has never accredited them, though it could in many cases. We aim to change this but have not included such numbers in our estimates for this session - and, in any case, they would have been small.

Finally, the no-confidence vote in two pro vice-chancellors and me was supported by about 350 staff of 1,500 or so eligible to vote and 55 redundancies are planned, not 60.

Dai John
Vice-chancellor
University of Luton