Newcastle University will be able to boost its full time student numbers by 350 following a pioneering partnership designed to secure the future of lifelong learning.

About 3,000 students of the Newcastle University's Centre for Lifelong Learning have been told that the future of the centre is secure following a strategic partnership with Sunderland University.

The new partnership, which has still to be rubber stamped, will maintain the part-time higher education courses already offered through the Newcastle centre and Sunderland's School of Education and Lifelong Learning. The courses will be managed by Sunderland University.

It means that Newcastle University will be able to focus on attracting more full-time students as part of its restructuring programme -- which has seen around 300 staff take voluntary redundancy.

There are already more than 18,000 students at the university compared with around 16,600 for the previous year and the institution is looking for savings of £8m a year to help it compete with the country's top 10 universities.

Professor Madeleine Atkins, Newcastle University's pro vice chancellor for teaching and learning, denied yesterday's announcement would make the university more elitist.

She said: "Quite the reverse, because this means Newcastle University is able to expand its full time places for young people and develop our partnership with schools and colleges in the Tyneside area. Professor Christopher Edwards, the vice chancellor of Newcastle University, said the new partnership would secure the lifelong centre's future.

"Throughout the process we have responded to the concerns staff and students have expressed and this outcome is a win-win situation for them," he said.

Doug Ambrose, student representative for the Newcastle centre, said students "strongly supported" the partnership.

"Moreover, it demonstrates that Newcastle University has listened to and responded to the concerns of the students," he said.

The two universities hope provision may also be widened in future to include other institutions within the region.

Mike Collier, One NorthEast chief executive, said: "This new partnership is most welcome in promoting lifelong learning to so many students."