Abstract

Today, Universities UK (UUK), the representative organisation of all universities in the United Kingdom (UK), is hosting an event to discuss a new consultancy report written by a team from CHEMS Consulting and Kingston University. This report analyses the growth and implications of private and for-profit higher education providers in the UK. The UUK report is timely given the for-profit sector is growing in many countries while basic data so far remain limited.

This article provides an overview of current patterns and the role of for-profit provision in European higher education. The continent has been considered as one of the last regions in the world where the public higher education sector remains largely unchallenged by for-profit growth. Are changes underway? What are the main forms of for-profit higher education that are currently being offered in the UK and Europe? And, with many for-profit institutions worldwide having expanded during the recent global economic downturn, what are the likely implications of this growth for publicly-funded higher education institutions?