Further Education Opportunities in Scotland for Young People with Special Needs

Abstract

In order to achieve rapid growth in student numbers, a number of Higher Education Institutions have borrowed some of the concepts of franchising from the private service sector. A franchise involves one party — the franchisor — developing a service and monitoring standards, whilst a second party — the franchisee, delivers the service in return for a share of the reward.

This article draws comparisons between private sector and higher education franchising and analyses the franchise strategies open to the HE sector. It concludes that if managed correctly, franchising will bring benefits to the higher education sector, colleges of further education and students alike. The uncertain start to higher education franchising mirrors the early days of private sector franchising, but like the latter, it has potential subsequently to achieve rapid mutually beneficial growth.