The personality touch

I was extremely interested to read the article on the advent of psychometric testing in higher education ("New tests will probe employee suitability", April 20).

But my interest in its use comes from a slightly different angle.

The personal tutor system simply does not provide adequate pastoral support at many UK universities.

And the reason for this is because good personal tutoring cannot be measured against teaching success or research output. It succeeds only when the tutors have intrapersonal qualities as well as interpersonal skills.

Never mind the promotion purposes - everyone should have their personality assessed to decide whether or not they are suitable to be placed in a personal student contact role.

Russell Delderfield
Learner Development Unit
Bradford University