Alternative providers and alternative medicine
Jo Johnson thinks that the market in Higher Education is unfair. There are currently stringent procedures in place for any institution that wants to award degrees and call itself a University. One facet of this is the requirement that any new provider must initially have its degrees validated by an established University; The University of Suffolk , which gained University title this month, provides an example of how this can work, but many of those seeking to enter the market are unhappy with current arrangements. Roxanne Stockwell, Principal of Pearson College , complained : “ Until an institution has its own degree-awarding powers, it cannot offer degrees without being validated by an existing university. Under the current system, a new partner has to find a willing validating partner, and it is locked out if it cannot .” Jo Johnson, in his role as Minister for Universities and Science last year, criticised this arrangement . He memorably said: “I know some validation relation...