Online optimists 2

Readers might think there are no other higher education opportunities in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk other than those at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge University and Suffolk College, ("City of Bricks and Mortar"; "Essex looks to join Suffolk bid", THES , August 15) .

However, the Open University has more than 17,000 students in the East of England with 4,000 in Cambridgeshire and nearly 2,000 in Suffolk.

Despite the success of distance learning, most thinking on higher education expansion is stuck on bricks and mortar and moving people, which can only add to the burdens of our inadequate transport system.

Roger Mills
Regional director, Open University