Delta adds to UEL woes

Staff at the University of East London fear that database problems and a lack of capital investment could jeopardise external reviews.

A report from the institution's Quality Assurance and Enhancement Committee says difficulties with the student records system had led to a lack of student data and performance indicators, causing grave problems.

"The lack of performance indicators was seriously compromising the university's quality assurance procedures and risked serious criticism in forthcoming external subject reviews," it says.

A university spokeswoman said the problems were with Delta, a new student records system introduced to be Y2K compliant. "There were teething troubles," she said.

The report also warns that levels of capital equipment funding are so low that some departments risk losing accreditation from professional bodies.

"In the faculty of design, engineering and the built environment, there are concerns... that this could jeopardise the re-accreditation of courses," it says.

Funding for extra equipment is needed for the applied sports sciences programme to become accredited through the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, the report adds.

The university spokeswoman said that many of the issues that had been raised in the report have been addressed.

UEL has been through turbulent times recently following the revelation that the university faces a £2.5 million funding gap and is considering redundancies and closing courses.