Private university

Unlike public universities, private universities generally do not receive direct operational funding from national or subnational governments and thus rely on private sources of funding, such as tuition fees and alumni donations. Depending on the region, private universities may be subject to government regulation.

Private universities are common in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Chile, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the United States but do not exist in some countries. Tuition fees at private universities tend to be much higher than at public universities. [Tottie, Gunnel. (2001) "Introduction to American English" Blackwell Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 0-631-19792-3.]

Australia

Bond University is Australia's first private university, founded in 1987. [Burrows, Toby & Philip G. Kent. (1993) "Serials Management in Australia and New Zealand". Haworth Press. p. 19. ISBN 1-56024-453-4.] It runs three semesters per year (correlating exactly with the Northern and Southern Hemispheres' schedules), which allows a student to complete a six semester degree in two years and an eight semester degree (e.g. Law) in under three years. [Princeton Review. (2004) "Guide to Studying Abroad". The Princeton Review. p. 105. ISBN 0-375-76371-6.]

Since Bond University's foundation, the University of Notre Dame Australia has also been founded as a private university, in 1989. They remain Australia's only private universities.Fact|date=May 2008

Melbourne University, a public university, owned a private university called Melbourne University Private from 1998 to 2005. The private university was not successful, losing $A 20 000 000 over its life.

Austria

In Austria, institutions must be authorised by the state to legally grant academic degrees. In 1999, a federal law ("Universitäts-Akkreditierungsgesetz") was passed to allow the accreditation of private universities. The "Akkreditierungsrat" (accreditation council, [http://www.akkreditierungsrat.at/] ) evaluates applicants and issues recommendations to the responsible accreditation authority, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research.

Accreditations must be renewed regularly and can be withdrawn, e.g. in case of repeated academic misconduct. In 2003, the accreditation of International University Vienna was withdrawn. In 2006, when the accreditation of IMADEC University expired, the accreditation council rejected the request for renewal.

Austrian law demands private universities use the term "Privatuniversität" (literally "private university") within their German name, although the formal name in other languages, e.g. in English, is not regulated. While the legal definition of "private university" prohibits funding by the Republic of Austria, it still allows funding by other public bodies. Consequently, some of Austria's private universities are funded by provincial governments.

Accreditation of private universities started in 2001. Today, there are 12 private universities in Austria. Most of them are small (fewer than 1000 students) and specialised in only one or two fields of study:
* Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance in Linz
* Catholic-Theological Private University Linz
* Konservatorium Wien in Vienna
* MODUL University Vienna
* Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität in Salzburg
* PEF Private University of Management Vienna in Vienna and Graz
* New Design University in St. Pölten
* University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology in Hall in Tirol
* Sigmund Freud University Vienna
* TCM Privatuniversität Li Shi Zhen in Vienna
* UM Private Wirtschaftsuniversität in Seekirchen (near Salzburg)
* Webster University Vienna (also accredited in the USA)Two former private universities are not accredited any more:
* International University Vienna: Accreditation was withdrawn due to academic misconduct
* IMADEC University: First accreditation period ended in January 2006 and was not renewed

Bangladesh

Private university system in Bangladesh started in 1992 and all the private universities in Bangladesh are established under the "Private University Act 1992" [ [http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/workgroups/bdlaw/1992-a34.htm Private University Act, 1992 in Bangladesh] ] . During the early 90's government as well as the civil society of Bangladesh felt that existing public universities are not sufficient to meet the constantly increasing high demand of higher education in Bangladesh.Or|date=December 2007 Moreover, to maintain the quality education most of the reputed public universities kept themselves extremely selective and each year a large number of students failed to get admitted into the higher educational institutions.weasel-inlineFact|date=December 2007 All those issues leaded them to permit private sectors to establish universities. On 9 August, 1992, the Private University Act (Act 34) 1992 was passed and with in the next few years a good numberClarifyme|date=March 2008 of private universities were established in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Sylhet. North South University (1992) was the first private university in Bangladesh. Independent University, Bangladesh (1993), American International University-Bangladesh (1994), Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology(1995), East West University(1996 are some earliest private universities of the country. In recent time some new private universities have started functioning in Bangladesh. Some of these are,University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh [ULAB] (2002) Sylhet International University ;SIU(2001),), [SOUTH EAST UNIVERSITY,BANANI,DHAKA] (2002), [Uttara University] (2003), United International University (2003). The University Grant Commission is the monitoring body for all the private and public universities in Bangladesh. [ [http://www.ugc.gov.bd University Grant Commission, Bangladesh] ] sufian Model university(2008).(MNS^2 Newmodel University in Bangladesh),(2008)

Canada

See list of private universities in Canada.

China

In the late 19th and early 20th century the first private universities in China were founded by missionaries, such as St. John's University and Aurora University in Shanghai, Yenching University in Beijing (Peking), and Ginling Women's University and University of Nanking in Nanjing (Nanking). During the Republican era, all public universities were all designated "National Universities". (This is still the case in Taiwan, where the Republic of China still exists e.g. National Taiwan University.)

All universities were made public following the 1949 revolution and the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The first private university in the PRC is Sanda University, founded in 1992 offering until 2001 only certificates and diplomas. As of 2002, it was officially allowed to offer undergraduate level courses, and now offers instruction in a variety of subjects as approved by the state.

Egypt

In the early 1919, the American University in Cairo opened its doors as one of the leading and first private universities in Egypt. It has a 5 year bachelor degrees in Engineering programs and 4 years bachelor degrees in most other programs. It began as a preparatory school and a University until later on it abolished all its school and concentrated into being one of the leading Universities not only in Egypt but in Middle East.

After that period of time, many other universities have opened their doors starting from Modern Sciences and Arts University,MISR INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITYGerman University in Cairo to many other private universities.

All of those universities have established acceptance in Egypt and the rest of the world.

Chile

In the 80s the government of Chile split up the few but large universities into minor private owned universities. Chiles traditional universities lost almost all their campuses outside Santiago to these new universities. Almost all Chilean's private universities are for-profit. Despite of a growing number of private universities, as of 2006, Chile's most prestigious universities continued to be two state owned universities.Fact|date=June 2008

Germany

In Germany, Witten/Herdecke University was the first private university, founded in 1982. In the 1990s many private universities were newly founded and today, there are 63 private universities and universities of applied sciences in Germany. However, all German private universities are relatively small and the 233 public universities in the country are therefore more important within the German higher education system. Witten/Herdecke University, with just over 1000 students, is also the largest private university in Germany. Most German private universities specialise in relatively few majors, most often in business and information technology related subjects.

There are also 43 so called church-run universities in Germany, founded and operated by churches. In most other countries they would be considered to be private universities since they are run without the control of a government entity. German law defined church-run universities as a third type of university besides public and private institutions. Church-run universities specialise in church music, nursing, religious education, social work, special needs education, curative/therapeutic education, philosophy and theology. One of the most outstanding is Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. Another example is the [http://www.hfph.mwn.de Hochschule für Philosophie] operated by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The Hochschule is a School of Philosophy that provides a special offering in ethics and philosophy of religion. The Jesuit Faculty of Philosophy in Munich works with questions pertinent to the modern world by offering an informed perspective to the discussion.

Greece

In Greece private universities are prohibited by the constitution (Article 16). However, laboratories of liberal studies (Εργαστήρια ελευθέρων σπουδών, ergastiria eleftheron spoudon) operate freely in the country and based on a law from the 1930s they are registered as private for-profit businesses and regulated by the Greek Ministry of Commerce. Their academic degrees, which are not recognised in Greece, are directly provided to successful students by foreign universities in the United Kingdom, United States of America, or other countries, usually through franchise or validation agreements (the franchise agreement usually being considered better). This has limited access to the laboratories, which usually teach in English, to high-income Greeks who for various reasons (usually family matters) did not want to go abroad.

In 2008 the Nea Demokratia-led government of Greece voted a law that will force all laboratories of liberal studies to register with the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs as "colleges" (κολλέγια, kollegia) by August 2009. It is expected that this will help to widen the participation of Greek students in private "colleges", thus allowing the expertise and efficiency of the private educational sector to benefit the Greek students and society.

Hungary

* Central European University in Budapest, a founding member of the European University Association (EUA) [Diane Stone, “Market Principles, Philanthropic Ideals and Public Service Values: The Public Policy Program at the Central European University”, "PS: Political Science and Politics", July 2007: 545—551. ]

Hong Kong

* Shue Yan University: acquired university status on 19 December, 2006.

India

In India, privately funded institutions are in existence since independence, but they were not recognised as private univeristies. Many private universities (or institutions classified as universities by the University Grants Commission (India) or those that define themselves as university) have come up only recently. Many of these universities offer multidisciplinary professional courses similar to state funded universities, however institutions offering single stream specialization programs are also in existence.

Manipal University in Manipal, Karnataka, is India's first private university. It has over 20 constituent colleges that offer over 180 programs in 14 disciplines. Manipal University is one of the few globally renowned private universities of India and is the preferred destination of students from over 55 countries.

Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), in Pilani, Rajasthan and Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, Jharkhand are some of the other well respected private universities in India that are considered as being competitive with the Indian Institutes of Technology. Thapar University in Patiala, Punjab is a well known private engineering college of north India. Some of these universities have been awarded with the 5 star ranking by NAAC.

Many institutes specializing in management education (like Xavier Labour Relations Institute, and The Indian Institute of Planning and Management) have been around since the 1940s and the 1970s respectively. Some of the noted private universities in western India are the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and D. Y Patil University, Navi Mumbai

Vedanta University, near Bhubaneswar, Orissa will be India's first large multidisciplinary university. [Wells, Georgia. (2005) "New Indian university modeled after Stanford." The Stanford Daily, July 27, 2006 [http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2006/7/27/newIndianUniversityModeledAfterStanford] ] . It will start functioning in 2008.

Symbiosis University is another such private university and is a top management and law university of India. It started its Engineering faculty in 2008.

Ireland

In Ireland, a private university (more commonly known as a "private college") is one that is not funded by the state, and therefore not covered by the " [http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/education/third-level-education/fees-and-supports-for-third-level-education/fees free-fees] " initiative. All universities, Institutes of Technology, Colleges of Education, as well as the National College of Ireland and some religious institutions are publicly funded and therefore covered by "free-fees". There are few private colleges, and they are highly specialised, such as Griffith College Dublin, Dorset College and Dublin Business School. The major representative body for private colleges in Ireland is the Higher Education Colleges Association http://www.HECA.ie. Private colleges in Ireland can seek to have their programmes validated/accredited by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council.

Iraq

See Private Universities in Iraq

Japan

As of 2007, there are 568 private universities, while there are 87 national universities and 89 public universities. [cite web |url=http://www.gakkou.net/05data/daigaku/h18_soku.htm |title=日本の大学　学校基本調査速報データ |date=2006 |accessdate=2007-12-19 |language=Japanese] . Private universities thus account for about 3/4 of all universities in Japan. Many, but not all, junior colleges in Japan are private. Like public and national universities, many private universities use National Center Test for University Admissions as an entrance exam.

Lebanon

There are 19 private universities in Lebanon. [Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education Website (in Arabic) [http://www.higher-edu.gov.lb/index_ar.asp] ] Among theses universities, two are internationally acknowledged, namely, the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University. [Education in Lebanon, CSRD report, Lebanese American University, 2004 [http://csrd.lau.edu.lb/Publications/StudentReports/Education%20in%20Lebanon.htm] ] The languages of teaching in private universities are mainly French and English, while Arabic is widely used in religious universities and Armenian in the Armenian university. The first university opened in Lebanon was the Syrian Protestant College in 1866 (Became the American University of Beirut in 1921). It was founded by Daniel Bliss a Protestant missionary. The second university opened in Lebanon was the, Université Saint-Joseph, founded by the Jesuits in 1875.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands there is one private university named Nyenrode. This University has been founded in 1946 and is still active as a Graduate School for Business. You can get your master degree in Management and do an MBA. Both programmes are tought in English. Recently, Nyenrode merged with the institute for CPA education and both institutions share their facilities. The Nyenrode Business University also contains a campus and highly active student life. The Dutch HBOs (universities of applied science) count more private institutes like the Nootenboom University for Business and the IVA for the Automotive industry.

Pakistan

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), formerly the University Grant Commission, is the primary regulator of higher education in Pakistan. It also facilitates the development of higher educational system in Pakistan [1] . Its main purpose is to upgrade the List of universities in Pakistan to be world-class centres of education, research and development.

The HEC is also playing a leading role towards building a knowledge based economy in Pakistan by giving out hundreds of doctoral scholarships for education abroad every year.In spite of the criticism of HEC, its creation has also had a positive impact on higher education in Pakistan. In their two year report for 2004 to 2006 it is mentioned that according to the Institute of Scientific Information, the total number of publications appearing in the 8,000 leading journals indexed in the web of Science arising out of Pakistan in 2005 was 1,259 articles, representing a 41% increase over the past two years and a 60% increase since the establishment of HEC in 2002. In addition the HEC digital library now provides access to over 20,000 leading research journals, covering about 75% of the world's peer reviewed scientific journals.

Until 1991, there were only two recognized private universities in Pakistan: Aga Khan University established in 1983; and Lahore University of Management Sciences established in 1985. By 1997, however, there were 10 private universities and in 2001-2002, this number had doubled to 20; among the first to gain degree awarding status was Hajvery University, Lahore(HU), established in 1990. In 2003-2004 Pakistan had a total of 83 private degree granting institutions.

The rapid expansion of private higher education is even more remarkable if we look at the number of institutions established on a year-by-year basis. In 1997, for instance, three private institutions were established; in 2001 eleven new private institutions were opened; and in 2002 a total of 29 private sector institutions sprung up.

The HEC website also points to a 40% increase in enrollment in universities in Pakistan over the last two years, which it attributes to efforts on its part to encourage higher education in the country.

Portugal

The oldest non-state-run university, the "Universidade Católica Portuguesa" - UCP (Catholic University of Portugal), a catholic private university (concordatory status) with branches in the cities of Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Viseu, and Figueira da Foz, was founded before the others, in 1967, and officially recognized in 1971. UCP offers some well-recognized degrees and is reputed for law and business management degrees it awards at its Lisbon and Porto branches. After the Carnation Revolution of 1974, in the 1980s and 1990s, a boom of educational private institutions was experienced in Portugal and many private universities started to open. Most private universities had a poor reputation and were known for making it easy for students to enter and also to get high grades. In 2007, several of those private universities or their heirs, were investigated and faced compulsory closing (for example, the infamous Independente University closing and the Moderna University scandals) or official criticism with recommendations that the state-managed investigation proposed for improving their quality and avoid termination. In the mid-2000s, within the Bologna process, a reorganization of higher education was started which included more stringent regulations for private education and expanded state policies with regard to private education quality assurance and educational accreditation. In general, the private higher education institutions were often considered the schools of last resort for underachieving applicants who didn't score enough points in the admission examinations to enter the main public institutions. Nearly open-admission policies have hurt private universities' reputation and the actual quality of their alumni. Without large endowments like those received, for example, by many US private universities and colleges which are attractive to the best scholars, researchers and students, the private higher education institutions of Portugal, with a few exceptions, do not have neither the financial support nor the academic profile to reach the highest teaching and research standards of the top Portuguese public universities. In addition, the private universities have faced a restrictive lack of collaboration with the major enterprises which, however, have developed fruitful relationships with many public higher education institutions. Most Portuguese private universities specialise in a limited number of fields, most often in the social sciences and humanities.

United Kingdom

The private university/public university split does not fit the United Kingdom university system very well. British universities have institutional autonomy, which is well respected as it has developed over centuries, but in the first half of the 20th century they came to rely on the government for most of their funding. The only two universities which are wholly privately financed are University of Buckingham and Richmond University, both of which have a low profile within the UK and cater largely to overseas students [Diane Stone, ‘Principles and Pragmatism in the 'Privatisation' of British Higher Education’, "Policy and Politics", 26 (3) July 1998: 255-71. ] (although Richmond University does not itself award UK degrees).

United States

In the U.S., most of the prestigious universities and colleges, including most of the universities belonging to the Ivy League, are private, operated as nonprofit organizations. While most liberal arts colleges are likewise private, there are also some public liberal arts colleges. Some private universities are closely affiliated with religious organizations (e.g., the University of Notre Dame) and some are directly operated by religious organizations (e.g., Brigham Young University).

The private higher education sector in the United States also includes proprietary or for-profit institutions, which are operated as businesses by individual owners or corporations.

Like government-operated institutions, private universities are eligible for educational accreditation, but some private universities (primarily religious institutions and proprietary colleges) are not accredited (see list of unaccredited institutions of higher learning), and their degrees are not formally recognized.

Private universities also generally have a freer hand in setting admissions policies than public institutions. E.g., universities in the Ivy League historically based their selections on many factors other than academic performance, including "lineage," "character", and "personal" characteristics. [Gladwell, Malcolm. (2005) "Getting In: the social logic of Ivy League admissions." The New Yorker, October 10, 2005 [http://www.newyorker.com/critics/atlarge/articles/051010crat_atlarge] ] In recent years, however, many private universities have been making an effort to appeal to and recruit academically talented students from underprivileged backgrounds.

The U.S. system of education has also been exported to other countries. Private universities such as the American University in Cairo and the American University of Afghanistan typically offer a liberal arts curriculum to their students.

References