A publicly traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange has become the first for-profit organization in Britain to be given the power to award higher-education degrees, the BBC reported today.

The company, BPP Professional Education, began by offering training in accountancy and now operates at 40 locations worldwide, including a BPP College of Professional Studies that specializes in law and business education.

BPP College will offer graduate courses in business- and law-related subjects, according to a news release, and will also offer courses in accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, law, financial services, and actuarial science.

The college was granted the authority to confer degrees by the Privy Council, the ancient governmental body whose responsibilities include approving the use of the word “university” by higher-education institutions. The Privy Council’s decision caps a three-year review of BPP College by Britain’s Quality Assurance Agency, the organization responsible for maintaining and monitoring standards at higher-education institutions. —Aisha Labi