The BPP University College of Professional Studies, just created this week, is the first privately run university college in Britain in 30+ years and only the second in its history. A for-profit provider has been given the name and the institution. More.

So in steps the private sector, which can at least take those who can afford its significantly higher prices. BPP focuses on providing bankable qualifications such as law, accounting and business (the name refers to the initials of the three accountants who set it up). Students studying accounting at its business school in London, as well as those engaged in distance learning, reckon that its pricey courses are generally regarded by employers as being of higher quality than those in many public-sector universities.

BPP also competes in the lucrative market for postgraduate education. This is unregulated, so state-funded universities charge hefty fees for masters degrees and then use the money to help subsidise their loss-making undergraduate provision. BPP has no need for such cross-subsidies, so it can spend almost all of what postgraduate students pay on teaching them.