School gate: why the snobbery against less well-known universities?

Students are reporting lecturers who arrive late or skip class by texting a hotline set up to stamp out academic tardiness.

Lecturers' unions have denounced the practice at Manchester Metropolitan University as "snooping" but student leaders say they just want to improve the learning experience.

The students' union set up the "Late" hotline after repeated complaints about cancelled lectures and students sitting around waiting for their teacher. The university also rated 12 points below the national average for organisation and management in the latest National Student Satisfaction Survey - a drop of 3 points from the previous year.

If a lecturer is more than ten minutes late or if a class is cancelled at the last minute then students can text details of the guilty party to their union representatives.

"We wanted to find out the scale of the problem, ten minutes late may not seem like a lot but it does have an impact" Nicola Lee, president of the students' union said.

Posters around the university feature the message "If you're on time, why is your class LATE?"

The hotline receives around 20 texts every week about delays and cancellations affecting up to 2000 students. The content of each text is reported back to the heads of discipline in each department. "It could be having an impact on students," Ms Lee told The Times.

"We want to see that students are getting the learning that they are entitled to." Students should be told in advance if their lecture is cancelled so they don't make wasted journeys or organise child-care unnecessarily, she said. "It is not a witch-hunt. It's about finding out if learning takes place."

A spokesman for the University and Colleges Union said: "The relationship between lecturer and student is key to higher education and schemes that encourage either to spy on the other, however well intentioned, undermine that bond."

Professor Kevin Bonnett, deputy vice-chancellor for student experience at Manchester Metropolitan University, said he supported the campaign. "We are trying to develop professional skills in our students, including encouraging them to be on time, so we must also behave in a professional manner and set an example."

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