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I was one of those customers referred to by Roger Waterhouse. As a paying student, the basics and image were as important to me as the support. What I encountered were two-hour lectures with little time for questions or discussion; lectures read verbatim from notes; handwritten, barely legible acetates; and handouts that were an incoherent jumble of photocopied text, diagrams and tables; all running alongside presentation-skills courses with higher standards expected of students.

Compare lecturers with doctors, solicitors, technical advisers and salesmen who seek to provide the customer with a favourable image of the organisation they represent.

It is 40 years since I did my first degree, and this recent university experience left me disappointed. Like many customers, I left to explore other ways to get what I wanted.

John Coutts
Farnham