PADDY Farrington (Letters, April 17) discusses some of the issues that The Open University faces across the UK. He is right that student numbers have declined in England and that this is due at least in part to changes in student funding.

However, it is also right that, almost 50 years after its founding, the university seeks to ensure that it is best able to support its students for the next 50 years. Recruitment trends in Scotland, with steady growth to almost 16,000 students in recent years, show that the OU has a crucial role to play in making higher education accessible to all, regardless of background or previous qualifications.

OU students can be found in every part of Scotland. They are a diverse group, but have one thing in common: they have busy lives, and our approach to learning and teaching enables them to fit their study around other commitments. That might be family or work, with almost three-quarters are employment. Twenty per cent of OU students in Scotland declare a disability, and 17 per cent live in our most-deprived communities – with that figure rising to 40 per cent in Glasgow.

The world of work is changing, and it has never been more important to have access to flexible, high-quality learning throughout our lives. Economic and social justice demands it, and I look forward to working with our stakeholders and students to ensure that the OU in Scotland continues to play its part.

Susan Stewart,

Director, The Open University in Scotland,

10 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh.