More than one in three students enrolled in higher education worldwide attends a private institution, and private universities are rapidly expanding their reach, according to a report released today.

The report, “Private Universities and Public Funding: Models and Business Plans,” is being published by Universities UK, the umbrella organization for vice chancellors in Britain.

“The most significant area of growth in the recent global expansion in higher education has been in privately provided higher education,” the report says. The expansion has not been limited to countries with a history of private higher education, and some of the most rapid growth has come in countries with no tradition of private-sector universities.

Only in Western Europe does the public sector remain “relatively unchallenged,” but even there it faces growing competition. For-profit companies, which the report notes owe much of their success to public as well as private funds, constitute “the fastest-growing element of the private sector.” American companies like Apollo, Kaplan, and Laureate now “have a worldwide presence, establishing campuses in other countries, purchasing existing foreign institutions, or marketing distance-education curricula for international delivery.”

Public education providers in Britain and elsewhere in Europe that attempt to expand the private dimension of their offerings run a risk of compromising their standards while trying to compete on costs, the report says, and government regulation will be “critical in determining the rate of growth of private higher-education provision.” —Aisha Labi