ABSTRACT
The case of the Singapore Institute of Management University (UNISIM) is interesting as an example of a short-lived experiment in running a private university in Singapore outside of the dominant state-controlled university sector. The UNISIM, which was established in 2005 as a private limited company, received a degree-granting licence from the Ministry of Education. Over the course of the next decade, the university began receiving government financial subsidies and was subjected to Ministry of Education quality assurance measures as well. It was, therefore, unsurprising that the UNISIM finally joined the Ministry of Education’s fold of autonomous public universities in 2016. This brief experiment illustrates the need to be cautious about the use of the terms “public” and “private” when discussing the governance, management, financing, and provision of higher education.
