Director: Daniel C. Levy
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Director: Daniel C. Levy |
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PROPHE Summary: A U.S. corporation, Kaplan Higher Education, is applying to the
Quality Assurance Board to establish a for-profit degree-granting
university in the United Kingdom. If approved it would be the UK's
first for-profit university with independent authority to grant
degrees. The move was prompted by a change in the law governing
degree-granting authority. It is now possible for a private company
with four years of experience in a degree partnership with an existing
university to acquire its own power to award degrees. Kaplan currently
owns Dublin Business School and Holburn College in the UK. The proposed
university would take advantage of existing facilities and offer
programs in law, business, and information technology.
For a full story (shown with permission) see EducationGuardian.co.uk,
November 21, 2006, "US firm bids to open UK university,"
by Donald MacLeod. PROPHE Observation: Because the of the crowded and competitive domestic education
market in the U.S., for-profit education corporations are looking oversees
for expansion opportunities. The barriers to establishing private for-profit
institutions in many countries, however, remain substantial. Ambiguities
in the legal environment often mean that companies must affiliate with
existing public universities, or must maintain formally nonprofit status
in order to have a presence in country. Many countries, therefore, that
do not allow for-profit education, nevertheless find for-profit providers
masquerading in their midst. These arrangements, though, are not ideal
from the companies' perspective. They create uncertainty in revenue
and profit potential, as well as limit the autonomy of the owners to
expand into open markets. The UK case suggests that companies are willing
to submit to regulatory approval once rules are established that formalize
their status as for-profit entities. Moreover, even though the new rules
require four year's experience in country before degree-granting authority
will be granted, the existence of numerous for-profit owners operating
under the old rules mean that the changes will have an immediate effect.
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