A HIGHER education boss has resigned from her post after she was suspended.

Blackburn College said the dean of its University Centre, Helen Mathers, was no longer on its pay roll after tendering her resignation.

Acting dean Christine Kenyon will fill the role while the posit-ion is advertised.

Ms Mathers was suspended last term while an investigation into her ‘management style’ was undertaken.

At the time, the college said there were some ‘potential’ issues over how Ms Mathers handled some aspects of her role.

According to the college, the suspension was a neutral act undertaken as part of disciplinary protocols.

Blackburn College had tasked Ms Mathers to develop programmes designed to give students skills which local employers need, as well as to develop partnerships with industry leaders.

She was also responsible for resources, recruiting staff, and maintaining and improving standards.

Principal Ian Clinton had stressed that the actions she carried out appeared to have been ‘motivated’ by, and in the interests of, the students and Blackburn College in general.

Mr Clinton said: “Further to previous correspondence I can confirm the former dean of higher education, Helen Mathers, requested leave of absence for personal reasons and subsequently has taken the decision to resign. It is on that basis that we are advertising for a new dean of higher education.

“While the position is vacant we have an acting dean to ensure the smooth running of the University Centre.

She is working closely with the two associate deans and the vice-principal. This will make sure that students are not adversely affected during this interim period.”

The £14million University Cen- tre opened in September 2009 and boosted student numbers by 300 to more than 1,000.

It offers degrees validated by institutions such as Lancaster University, but the college is in the process of securing accreditation to validate its own degree programmes.

In line with expansion plans, £7million has been approved to further expand the University Centre to focus on degree courses in sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which will bring the total number of degree-level students to almost 4,000.