The government will commission research to give ¡°a comprehensive picture of HE provision by private and alternative suppliers¡± as it invites them to play a bigger role in the new higher education market.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published a call for expressions of interest in conducting the research, giving a closing date of 4 January.

In a document on its website, BIS refers to a previous report by the Higher Education Policy Institute, saying this report noted of US private providers that ¡°three quarters of students were women¡± and ¡°80 per cent were over 25 years old¡±.

The Hepi report also stated US private providers had a ¡°disproportionate number of students from low income backgrounds; higher default rates; and [a] relatively narrow range of subjects¡±, BIS says.

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On the UK research, BIS says: ¡°The overall aim of the project is to provide a comprehensive picture of HE provision by private and alternative suppliers, including information about the students who study with them.¡±

Private providers ¨C including for-profit operators ¨C could be set for a major injection of public funding via the student loan system following moves announced in the government¡¯s higher education White Paper.

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BIS says the research will need to provide ¡°a comprehensive picture of private providers¡±, including courses offered, fee levels and research; plus detail on student numbers by domicile, level of study and course.

The study must also provide ¡°a robust picture of students¡± including ¡°demographics (age, sex, disability, social class); employment status; salary; fees and finance¡±.

And it should also ¡°provide a good understanding of the student experience in private HE, including: motivation for study in HE/private HE; experience/satisfaction; outcomes; destinations or intentions¡±.

BIS says the two top criteria for judging expressions of interest will be ¡°experience of carrying out research with HE institutions, in particular with private providers¡±, and ¡°experience of carrying out research with HE students, in particular those studying in private provision¡±.

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Invitations to tender will be issued in the week of 9 January, with notification of outcome in the week of 30 January, BIS says.

The call for expressions of interest can be viewed .

john.morgan@tsleducation.com