Melbourne University Private (MUP) was a private university spinoff founded by the University of Melbourne in Australia, which operated from July 1998 to 2005. It was designed as a profit making venture, independent of as much government control as possible, in an attempt to maneuver around some of the limitations of legislation governing public universities. It also allowed the public university to more securely work in areas that might devalue its reputation if it did so directly, and to operate a management model and mission more akin to private market-driven universities in the USA (like the University of Phoenix)than could be found in Australia. A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ... The University of Melbourne, located in Melbourne, in Victoria, is the second oldest university in Australia (the University of Sydney is the oldest). ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The University of Phoenix is a for-profit university, founded in 1976 by John Sperling, that specializes in adult education. ...

Melbourne University Private hoped to work very closely with large companies. There was a trend for them to pay for tailored courses or project work in their fields. The university hoped MUP would have enough of its prestige to interest these companies, while keeping itself independent of suspicions of tainted research and teaching.

Its founding brought together some of university's independent educational ventures, although some later fell by the wayside (Cain & Hewitt, 2004). MUP's main potential markets were businesspeople and students of languages and international development, both in Australia and overseas. A major part of its work was to be producing curriculum for distance education courses to be delivered through the Universitas 21 platform, and latterly in its own right. Distance education is a method of teaching in which the students are not required to be physically present at a specific location during the term. ... Universitas 21 is an international network of leading research-intensive universities, designed to enrich the educational, research and scholarly functions of the member institutions, to strengthen their capacity to operate internationally and to enhance their international recognition and standing. ...

A new area of buildings was built immediately south of the main University of Melbourne campus, and one was earmarked for MUP. Controversially, this development involved the removal of old terrace houses and a lawn bowls club. However the upset was placated somewhat by the restoration of other buildings and the creation of a new public square. Despite the strong efforts of its parent, MUP's early life was less than successful, and it had to operate from the Hawthorn Language Centre, not University Square. The multi-million dollar building that was originally intended to house MUP was soon taken over by the public university, and named the "Alan Gilbert Building", ironically.

The distance education platform (U21) initially struggled to attract interest, and demand for its courses fell well below expectations in the early years. The situation was made worse when the federal Government changed its rules, allowing public universities to offer full fee paying courses to a broader range of people. This was also a time when more Australian universities started opening overseas campuses and otherwise delivering their courses offshore, as well as more actively bringing foreign students to Australia.

MUP had already attracted the attention of DEST university watchdogs in Canberra on several occasions, but was given a license to operate until 2008 when its situation would be reviewed again. But its future dimmed when Alan Gilbert, a prominent advocate of privatising universities and the Vice-Chancellor of the public university, accepted a position at the University of Manchester in England in 2003. His successor, Glyn Davis, proved to be much more centrist, and was not fond of the private entity. Professor Alan Gilbert, born in Brisbane on 11 September 1944, once a historian is now President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester. ... University of Manchester Motto: Cognitio Sapientia Hvmanitas Knowledge, wisdom, humanity. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion...

John Cain II, former Premier of Victoria, was one of MUP's most vocal critics, and his book Off Course charted the shortcomings of Alan Gilbert's market-oriented ventures. On June 7, 2005, only months into his term, Davis announced that Melbourne University Private would close. Most of it would be merged with the University of Melbourne, but the Hawthorn English Language Centres would remain a separate entity. The international projects arm, conducting development consultancy, is to be put up for sale. The Chief Executive officer, David Lloyd, resigned at the time of the press announcement. Alan Gilbert declined to comment on the decision of his successor. John Cain John Cain (born 26 April 1931), Australian politician, was Labor Premier of the state of Victoria from 1982 to 1990. ... List of Premiers of Victoria Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in Victoria. ... Professor Alan Gilbert, born in Brisbane on 11 September 1944, once a historian is now President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... The University of Melbourne, located in Melbourne, in Victoria, is the second oldest university in Australia (the University of Sydney is the oldest). ... Professor Alan Gilbert, born in Brisbane on 11 September 1944, once a historian is now President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester. ...

While it had some success in areas that the university had previously operated independent companies in - business studies and English as a second language, the concept of a fee-charging Australian university had fallen well below expectations in most areas. It did develop some successful postgraduate teaching via distance learning, notably in the School of International Development. As of June 2005, it appears these activities will merge with the formal teaching of development studies that is already strong on the main campus, albeit with different fee structures and courses.

Over it's eight year life, the university lost AU$20 million dollars, although this is believed to be a conservative estimate given the pre-startup investment costs, which Cain and others put at $150 million Australian dollars. At the announcement of it's closure, the university had 600 fee-paying students, a growing number but less than targeted (2500 were hoped to be enrolled in 2008).

See also:

• Monash College

External Links

• Melbourne University Private (http://www.muprivate.edu.au)
• Closure media release (http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/articleid_2417.html)
• Cain J II and J Hewitt. 2004. Off Course: From Public Place to Marketplace at Melbourne University (http://www.scribepub.com.au/Catalogue/OffCourse.html). Melbourne: Scribe.