ABSTRACT
Apart from private US-linked HEIs the only entirely private HEI in the UK is the University of Buckingham, which was opened in 1976. This university offers a 2-year degree with students studying for 40 weeks each year. A very high staff: student ratio of 1 : 10 is provided, very much in the Oxbridge teaching style with face-to-face tuition in small groups. Tuition fees total £23,160 (at 2004 levels) for two years but they are offset by savings in student maintenance costs in view of the two-, as opposed to three-year study period to obtain an undergraduate degree. These savings, together with scholarships which are offered, can make the total cost for a student more competitive than might at first appear and the graduate is potentially earning a year earlier. The University of Buckingham calculates that the average cost to a student, assuming average graduate earnings while traditional students are in their third year, are about the same as for students following the three-year degree route.
