EDUCATION Secretary Angela Constance has written to students to promote new legislation which will change the way universities are run.

In a letter to student unions at institutions across the country, Ms Constance said the Higher Education Governance Bill would increase democracy and accountability.

The move comes after the university councils of St Andrews and Glasgow, which represent alumni, wrote to graduates urging them to oppose the controversial Bill.

The letter from Ms Constance said: "We know how important it is for us as a country to have qualified people with the right skills and knowledge to contribute to our society and economy.

"It is why this Government continues to value and invest in you as students as well as in our universities... but we also want a more modern and accountable governance framework for universities to work within.

"At its heart, this Bill seeks to enable every voice on campus to be heard, not least those of students and the associations that represent them."

The Bill includes proposals to appoint trade union members to universities' ruling Courts for the first time and make the powerful post of Court chair elected - potentially clashing with the historic role of rector.

Because the process of the appointment and election of governing body chairs will be detailed in ministerial regulations, universities believe that will threaten their autonomy.

Senior administrators also fear ministerial interference will lead universities to be reclassified as public bodies which would end their status as charities and damage their ability to raise millions of pounds in additional money.

In October, Glasgow University graduates were sent a letter encouraging them to lobby their MSPs over the legislation.

John Marsh, convener of the business committee of Glasgow University's General Council, said the Bill introduced a level of political control that "reduces the independence of universities and threatens their academic freedom and charitable status".

Meanwhile, a letter from Graham Wynd, convener of the business committee of the General Council of St Andrews, to his institution's alumni said the legislation would "burden universities and the public purse with extra regulation and bureaucracy that will stifle enterprise and jeopardise the positive contribution that universities such as St Andrews make to the economy".

However, Mary Senior, Scotland official for the UCU lecturers' union, said earlier this month that the measures "have the potential to make our universities more democratic, transparent and accountable".

The origins of the Bill date back to 2011 when a number of universities, including Glasgow and Strathclyde, brought forward course cuts.

There was a strong feeling from the wider communities these institutions serve that consultations with staff and students were rudimentary and decisions were motivated by economic considerations rather than academic ones.

There have also been long-running concerns over the spiralling salaries of principals and the increasing autonomy of their senior management teams.