The university was due to give a presentation to the board of the teacher training college today.

Both Stranmillis and St Mary's university colleges are facing a fall in the number of students they are allowed to accept because of the downturn in the number of pupils in schools.

The chairman of Stranmillis governing body, Steve Costello told the BBC this morning that there was no intention to sell the site in south Belfast.

It has been suggested that the university's School of Education would move to the Stranmillis site. He also said that current student numbers of around 1,000 were predicted to drop to under 500 in five years and that this was unsustainable.

DUP MLA Jimmy Spratt said staff have complained they are in the dark about the proposal. He is also worried that the result could be the loss of the site to developers. A Department for Employment and Learning spokesperson said: "It is for Stranmillis as an incorporated body to bring forward any proposals to the Department about its future direction.