Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to confirm that UCL has adopted a similar policy to the
National Centre for Tactile Graphics in HE as stated by Dr Hinton. The
sales techniques used by Hobsons' sales team are familiar to anyone who has
been stuck next to an encylopaedia salesperson on a train i.e. over
familiarity mixed with 'the once in a lifetime - special deal for one month
only', school of selling. This is usually followed by a barrage of
telephone calls. The UCL Committee for People with Disabilities agreed that
UCL recruitment should be 'academically driven' via UCL Prospectus, WWW etc.
At 12:43 02/06/97 +0100, you wrote:
>Dear Colleagues,
> We have suffered Hobsons' sales techniques for several years
>now. As the convenor of the Midlands Skill group said at the end of the
>first year, "It seemed that every time I answered the phone, there was a
>salesman from Hobsons on the end of it"
>
>Our response was quite simple: We refused to take paid advertising in these
>publications (or any similar ones) from that point on. This was a considered
>policy decision worked out in discussion with our Head of Admissions and our
>Dir. of Publicity and Communications. Disability-relevant information
>features in our general advertising of courses, and there is good sense in
>ensuring that the Disability Statement etc is linked to the CANDO database.
>Our "recruitment" of disabled students is "academically-driven" and not
>"disability-driven" and so does not need and cannot afford this sort of
>money for advertising of this kind.
>
>I was once faced with a straight choice between £1700 for a powered hoist
>for a severely-disabled student and roughly the same amount for a glossy
>advert with Hobsons. No prizes for guessing which option triumphed!
>
>We also seem to have been troubled recently by yet another such publisher
>(or subsidiary). The latest caller began by talking about what we were doing
>and whether we thought it would make an interesting article in such-and-such
>a magazine (a colleague took the initial call so the name hasn't stuck).
>Only after a long conversation did it emerge that the whole purpose of the
>call was to sell paid advertising.
>
>My philosophy is to try and do a decent job and then rely on "the bush
>telegraph". It's a lot cheaper! (--- and seems to be pretty efficient, too)
>
>Yours, Ron Hinton
>
>
>
> Dr R.A.L.Hinton
> Director, National Centre for
> Tactile Graphics in Higher Education
> & Senior Tutor to Students with Disabilities
>
> Education Dept.
> Loughborough University,
> Leics. LE11 3TU
> United Kingdom
>
> Tel: 01509-222770 Fax: 01509-223912
>
>
>
PATRICK MULCAHY
Disability Co-ordinator
Academic Services
Registrar's Division
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
Tel: (0171) 391 1343 [voice or minicom]
Fax: (0171) 380 7327
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
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