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In your leader (March 12), you state that "before long, exam papers will have to be set". This does not accurately reflect the urgency needed in settling the Association of University Teachers dispute. The assessment boycott started when many June exams were due to be set; these papers are now more than two weeks late. In my own department, final-year project demonstrations should have started last week - they have already been postponed until after Easter.

Meanwhile, The Universities and Colleges Employers Association still insists that it will not negotiate with the AUT on the substance of the pay proposal, roundly rejected by AUT members. The reality is that Ucea has days, not weeks, in which to pull its head out of the sand and to re-open meaningful negotiations with the AUT. And, apparently, now with the Educational Institute of Scotland too.

Alan Williams
President, Manchester AUT
University of Manchester