A 'private university' is a university that is run without the control of any government entity.
[1] Private universities are common in
Bangladesh,
Brazil,
China,
Chile,
India,
Japan,
Lebanon,
Malaysia,
Mexico,
Portugal, and the
United States but do not exist in some countries. Tuition at private universities tends to be much higher than at
public universities,
[2] which might not have tuition fees.
Private universities sometimes run condensed courses with shorter vacations allowing students to complete a three year degree in two years for example. This reduces living costs and allows students to start full time work sooner, but some would argue that it does so at the expense of the overall student experience.
Australia
Bond University is
Australia's first private university, founded in
1987.
[3] 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.
[4]
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.
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,
[1]) evaluates applicants and issues recommendations to the responsible accreditation authority, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Cultural Affairs.
Accreditations must be renewed regularly and can be withdrawn, e.g. in case of repeated academic misconduct. In 2003, the accreditation of ''International University Vienna'' was withdrawn.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 11 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
★
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''
[5]. 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. 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. 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 number of private universities were established in
Dhaka,
Chittagong,
Rajshahi and
Sylhet.
North South University(1992) was the first private university in Bangladesh and
Independent University, Bangladesh(1993),
American International University - Bangladesh(1994),
Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology(1995),
East West University(1996) etc. are some earliest private universities of the country. ''University Grant Commission Bangladesh'' is the monitoring body for all the private and public universities in Bangladesh.
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 and not authorized to issue university degrees.
Chile
In the 80s the government of
Pinochet split up of Chile's few but large universities into minor private owned universities.
Chiles traditional universities lost almost all their campuses outside
Santiago these new universities. Despite of a growing number of private universities, as of 2006, Chile's most prestigious universities continued to be two state owned universities.
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 and
theology. The most outstanding is
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.
Hungary
★
Central European University in Budapest, a founding member of the
European University Association (EUA)
Hong Kong
★
Shue Yan University: acquire the university status on
19 December,
2006.
India
Lovely Professional University is one of the Punjab's first private university, it is established by State Legislature and recognised under the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act.
www.lpu.co.in
Amity University in the National Capital of
New Delhi is one of India's first private Universities. It is established by State Legislature and recognised under the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act.
Vedanta University, near
Bhubaneswar,
Orissa will be India's first large multidisciplinary university.
[6]. It will start functioning in 2008.
The Global Open University, Nagaland has been legislated by the Government of Nagaland (India) under The Global Open University Act 2006.
www.nagaland.net.in
Lebanon
There are 19 private universities in Lebanon.
[7] Among theses universities, two are internationally aknowledged, namely, the
American University of Beirut and the
Lebanese American University.
[8] 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 is a private one,
Université Saint-Joseph, founded by the
Jesuits in
1875.
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 university which is wholly privately financed is the
University of Buckingham, which has a low profile within the UK and caters largely for overseas students.
United States
In the U.S., most of the prestigious universities - including those belonging to the
Ivy League - are private. While many
liberal arts colleges are likewise private, there are also
public liberal arts colleges. Some private universities are closely affiliated with religious organizations, e.g., the
University of Notre Dame, and some are directly controlled by religious organizations, e.g.,
Brigham Young University.
Although both private and public universities can be
accredited, some private universities are not accredited (see
list of unaccredited institutions of higher learning), and their degrees are not formally recognized. Some are simply
diploma mills.
Private universities are not limited by the restrictions on government action in the same way that public universities are. For example, religious institutions can expressly forward their religious beliefs and teach that other religions are incorrect. 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.
[9] 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
1. Fishbine, Glenn. (2002) ''The Investor's Guide to Nanotechnology & Micromachines''. GOM Publishing. p. 42. ISBN 0-471-44355-7.
2. Tottie, Gunnel. (2001) ''Introduction to American English'' Blackwell Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 0-631-19792-3.
3. Burrows, Toby & Philip G. Kent. (1993) ''Serials Management in Australia and New Zealand''. Haworth Press. p. 19. ISBN 1-56024-453-4.
4. Princeton Review. (2004) ''Guide to Studying Abroad''. The Princeton Review. p. 105. ISBN 0-375-76371-6.
5. Private University Act, 1992 in Bangladesh
6. Wells, Georgia. (2005) "New Indian university modeled after Stanford." The Stanford Daily, July 27, 2006 [2]
7. Lebanese Ministry of Higher Education Website (in Arabic) [3]
8. Education in Lebanon, CSRD report, Lebanese American University, 2004 [4]
9. Gladwell, Malcolm. (2005) "Getting In: the social logic of Ivy League admissions." The New Yorker, October 10, 2005 [5]
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