Military metaphor

You report that universities prepared for the millennium "with military rigour" ("Hogmanay tactics", THES, December 24/31). This was a sobering metaphor as it conveyed surprise that universities should be able to plan in a far-sighted and thorough manner. If The THES expresses such a sentiment, public perception of Britain's universities is unlikely to be any more flattering. Universities will know they have turned the corner in public relations when we see a headline somewhere saying the armed forces have prepared with academic rigour. A goal to work towards?

David Head, University of Northumbria at Newcastle