A small revolution in higher education took place this week when David Willetts, the universities minister, permitted BPP, a business and law college based in Shepherd’s Bush, to use the title ‘university college’. By doing so he created the first private university since Buckingham University opened its doors in 1976. The move was not to everyone’s taste: the University and College Union (UCU) claimed that the new institution represented a ‘huge threat to academic freedom and standards’, adding that in a survey of 504 professors, 96 per cent apparently endorse this view.
Any psephologists among them might question the validity of this exercise on the grounds that respondents to opinion polls have a tendency not to answer the question put to them but to use it as a proxy for the question they really want to answer.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in