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It is difficult to tell whether Susan Bassnett really has a grasp of figures, since there are none in her column.

So, following the title's exhortation ("It's time for us all to do the maths"), let me work through some relevant ones. With a student-to-staff ratio of 20:1 and average additional fee income of ?1,500 per student, each academic will be generating about ?30,000 extra in three years' time. Let us modestly ask for, say, a third of this to be spent on pay, half of which will go to support staff. That leaves ?5,000, or about 12 per cent of the average academic salary (including pension), available for a pay increase beyond the usual inflation level.

Niall MacKay

York