Government plans to bring in more private colleges have been described as threatening to emulate the US model by allowing more than 1,000 universities in England, but by others as a positive route to innovation in a sector ¡°resistant to change¡±.

The Green Paper contains proposals to reduce ¨C or even scrap entirely ¨C the requirement for institutions to have a certain number of students before they can apply for university title (the present threshold is 1,000), arguing that universities ¡°should not be so limited by the size or location of the student body¡±.

It also proposes that the degree-level teaching track record required before institutions can apply for degree-awarding powers be reduced from four years to three, and that ¡°more flexibility¡± be introduced into the definition of track record so that it includes factors such as ¡°the track record of individuals within the organisation¡±.

Some of the Green Paper¡¯s plans on private providers have been seen as seeking in particular to aid the New College of the Humanities, the private institution set up by the philosopher A. C. Grayling.

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Aldwyn Cooper, vice-chancellor of the private not-for-profit Regent¡¯s University London, said: ¡°I¡¯m keen to see more private investment, whether it¡¯s for-profit or charitable investment, in developing new and different higher education institutions ¨C but it¡¯s the reputation we have internationally for the quality of our degrees that is the most important thing.

¡°We risk, with some of the proposals, I believe, the likelihood that we will erode that ¨C and quite rapidly.¡±

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Professor Cooper said that the Green Paper ¡°seems to be suggesting that every higher education institution will become a university¡±.

He added: ¡°If we were going down an American model we would already have something like 1,500 universities. We are distinctive in Britain because we are very tight about the definition of a university and the kind of [student] experiences and quality it has to demonstrate. I think it would be detrimental if we were to lose that.¡±

Professor Cooper said that proposals to consider the ¡°track record of individuals¡± were ¡°bizarre¡±. He added: ¡°The fact that they are eminent academics or very good public debaters does not mean that they know how to run a university, which is a most extraordinarily complicated set of processes.¡±

But Professor Grayling, master of NCH, said that it was remarkable the sector has been ¡°so resistant to change, evolution and competition.

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¡°The highest quality new providers have the potential to innovate ¨C to bring fresh ideas, cutting-edge curricula and new teaching methodologies to the table.

¡°Allowing these providers a quicker and more streamlined route to degree-awarding powers and university status, subject to continuing strict assessment of quality, is a positive step forward in offering greater choice and improved quality of university experience.¡±

john.morgan@tesglobal.com