Move to confer BPP with university college title signals government's desire to expand private sector in higher education

Britain is to have its first new private university for more than 30 years, it was announced today.

BPP, which offers business and law degrees at 14 sites across the country, will become a university college with immediate effect.

The title is awarded to smaller higher education institutions that deliver a limited range of degrees and qualifications.

The move – approved by the universities minister, David Willetts – signals the government's desire to expand the number of profit-making private sector institutions in higher education.

Willetts said it was "healthy to have a vibrant private sector working alongside our more traditional universities". This would create a "dynamic and flexible" degree system and could encourage online degrees, he said.

BPP which intends to offer healthcare and teaching degrees in future, will not receive public funding and will be allowed to set its own fees.

An increase in private universities could reduce the pressure on university places. Figures published this month by the university admissions service, Ucas, revealed that about 170,000 people will miss out on a place at university in England this autumn, as applications surged by 11.6% – a record high.

But trade unions, such as the University and College Union, believes private universities are not in the interests of students. They say institutions should be publicly funded and democratically accountable.

The last time the title university college was conferred was for Buckingham University College – now the University of Buckingham – in 1976.

Carl Lygo, BPP's chief executive, said: "The education landscape is changing, and over the next decade we will see a different picture emerging, where both students and employers will drive demand for their preferred method of study and training.

"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."

It comes ahead of a review into higher education this October, led by the former BP chief executive, Lord Browne, which is expected to tackle the rise in demand for university places.

UCU said private companies were not subject to the same academic rigour or public scrutiny as publicly-funded universities. They are also exempt from Freedom of Information legislation.

UCU's general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "Today's news could mark
the beginning of a slippery slope for academic provision in this
country.

"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."

Some 96% of professors do not believe it should be easier for private
companies to become universities, a poll the union conducted this
month of just over 500 professors found.

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