Britain is to have its first new private college offering business and law degrees at 14 sits in the country for over 30 years. In the nearest future BPP plans to provide online healthcare and teaching degrees. Establishing of the university college with immediate effect shows the government’s desire to increase the number of private institutions in higher education. Davis Willets said that a private sector set along with traditional universities would create a “dynamic and flexible” degree system. The university will be undependable from public funding and it will set its own fees for students.
According to Ucas, the university admissions service, almost 170,000 young people will be rejected a place at university in England this autumn. At the same time a sudden increase in number of private universities will reduce an immense pressure upon universities concerning places. However, trade unions believe that private universities are not in need of students and they acknowledge that institutions should be publicly funded.
The title university college is awarded to small universities that offer not many qualifications. In 1976 such title was given to the University of Buckingham. Carl Lygo, BPP’s chief executive, wrote in his essay: “We see ourselves as a pioneer in this field, and hope that our unique status and self-funding model will lead the way in which other providers will be able to operate in.”
UCU’s general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “Encouraging the growth of private providers and making it easier for them to call themselves universities would be a disaster for the UK’s academic reputation. It would also represent a huge threat to academic freedom and standards. It is essential that David Willetts listens to our finest minds instead of being wooed by a private sector more interested in profit than probity. Private providers are not accountable to the public and do not deserve to be put in the same league as our universities.”