Google, Apple, Samsung and Pearson among companies that could start offering low-cost degrees
A white paper to be released next month could give the green light to companies including Google, Apple and Pearson to award low-cost degrees to British students.
The guidance is also expected to propose that universities will be allowed to charge higher fees in line with the salaries students earn after graduating from a particular institution, reported the Sunday Times.
New degree programmes linked to companies are expected to be cheaper, at around £6,000, than traditional programmes.
Google, Samsung, Apples and the education publisher Pearson were "among the players that might be expected to enter the market", sources told the Sunday Times.
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Pearson said this weekend it was expecting to become the first FTSE 100 company to establish its own university and award its own degrees.
The publisher already offers validated degrees (through the universities of Kent, Royal Holloway and Ashbridge Business School in Hertfordshire) for £6,000 at its London-based college.
Google declined to comment, but said it already offered training materials in computer science and programming. Apple was not available to comment.