26 July 2010
million+ warns against expansion of private universities
The university think-tank million+ has warned the Government against favouring private providers at a time when student numbers are being capped in publicly funded universities.
Responding to the announcement that the BPP College of Professional Studies is to become the first new private university college for 30 years, Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of million+ said: “It has to be a concern that the Coalition Government is permitting an expansion of the private sector where tuition fees will not be regulated at the same time as capping expenditure in publicly funded universities at 2002/03 levels.
“Ministers may use arguments about flexibility and diversity to justify this decision. However the real significance is that this is being permitted at the same time as publicly funded universities are being fined for over-recruitment of students as a result of student numbers in these universities being capped even though applications are running at record levels. There is also a significant question about the student experience and the extent to which teaching and the curriculum in private universities will be informed by research and whether these providers will be permitted to cream-off lucrative areas of teaching.
“Today’s announcement suggests the Coalition will favour private universities, where the motive is to deliver profits for a holding company and for shareholders, at the expense of publicly funding universities where the public interest remains the primary rationale. This may well be one of the defining issues of the Coalition Government’s approach to higher education.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- million+ is a leading university think-tank, working to solve the complex problems in higher education www.millionplus.ac.uk
- For more information, comment or interviews from million+ please contact Victoria Mills on 020 7717 1659 or 07900 277819