Letter: Business schools that follow the market

Sir: Anyone reading Roger Trapp's article on MBAs would form a misleading view of the range of MBA provision in the UK. The part-time programmes that address the needs of working managers have been the key form of MBA delivered by the new universities for some years. Many of the comments concerning 'academic' as opposed to 'practical' management education refer only to a narrow group of providers of full-time programmes.

Part-time programmes, as provided by many of the institutions from the former polytechnic sector, are designed for practising managers. They would not have survived if they did not deliver a high level of development related to managers' working experiences. Many such courses have always included personal development and teamwork as key ingredients.

It is time that newspapers woke up to the fact that the new universities are a discrete group, providing a distinctive kind of education.

Yours faithfully,

PAUL GRISERI

Course Organiser, MBA

London Guildhall University

London, EC2