Not complacent 1

Once again The Times Higher appears to be objecting to the world-beating performance of UK universities in attracting international students ("Complacent staff could lose foreign enrolments", February 10).

It has long been recognised that the quality of our teaching and our support for international students are the most crucial factors in our efforts to attract these students for the benefit of our institutions, our student communities as a whole and the UK more generally.

Most universities routinely consult their international students to assess their satisfaction. The benchmarking project you mention is one example of this. We do it because we believe it to be very important to understand our international students, and our findings are valuable in helping us improve our services. How you translate this into a headline and a story that suggests universities are complacent is beyond comprehension.

David Baker
British Universities International Liaison Association