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Your open letter to ministers (Leader, THES , June 8) neatly summarised the most urgent challenges facing higher education. New Labour has set ambitious targets for high-quality growth. So far it has tried to do this on the cheap. I would press another claim: to attract and retain those who are excluded, ministers must provide more generous but targeted financial support for part-time students.

John Field
Professor of lifelong learning
University of Warwick