| Abstract: | Can we achieve universal or near–universal higher education within the next two decades, without a massive increase in government investment in higher education? It is argued that the answer is yes, with greater involvement of the private, for–profit sector, or by encouraging existing not–for–profit universities to open for–profit campuses, at which the emphasis is on high–quality and convenient undergraduate teaching, with little or no research, and a concentration on high–demand, low–cost disciplines. This position requires us to recognise that research engagement is not conceptually essential for an institution to count as a university, understood both historically and through international comparison. Rather, this assumption operates as a significant entry barrier to new, low–cost entrants. This paper provides a case study of the ways in which Central Queensland University has extended its operations by developing surplus–generating campuses through joint–venture operations with the private sector, and argues such an operation could just as easily be developed as a free–standing, for–profit mode of university degree delivery – provided that present, artificial, protectionist limitations on the use of the name ‘university’ are removed. Degree programmes of such institutions should, of course, be subject to the same quality assurance standards as apply to existing universities. |
