French researchers have questioned the ¡°effectiveness¡± of new rules for private providers, as concerns grow about educational quality and ¡°misleading¡± marketing in the sector.

¡°While vocational training and private higher education have experienced unprecedented momentum since 2018, we are now seeing persistent abuses on the part of some training organisations, some of whose practices can no longer be accepted,¡± the Ministry of Higher Education and Research said in a press release .

If it passes, private universities that are not partnered with a public institution will be required to receive accreditation from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, following an assessment from the High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education, to be listed on the online application platform Parcoursup and admit students with scholarships.

Students who have signed enrolment contracts will have the right to withdraw up to?30 days before their course begins, while private institutions will be required to provide more information to potential applicants. The law will also increase the quality requirements to obtain the ¡°Qualiopi¡± certification, which enables access to public funding for apprenticeships.

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Julien Gossa, a higher education policy analyst and associate professor in computer science at the University of Strasbourg, described private higher education in France as a ¡°loosely regulated and fast-growing sector¡±.

¡°In the absence of pedagogical oversight, some schools are opened without any real educational competence, or maximise profit by cutting corners on teaching,¡± Gossa said. ¡°Many also engage in misleading marketing practices, such as using terms like ¡®bachelor¡¯ and ¡®master¡¯ which have no legal standing in French education, or publishing manipulated employment outcome statistics to attract students.¡±

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Julien Jacqmin, associate professor of economics at NEOMA Business School, said the law?mostly ¡°goes in a good direction¡±, telling ̽»¨ÊÓƵ that the proposed increase in student protections ¡°should reduce some of the malpractice¡± carried out by private institutions.

However, he continued, ¡°Goodwill is insufficient. Students still bear a lot of responsibility in being well informed and in complaining if badly treated.¡± Noting that those from lower socio-economic backgrounds could be particularly impacted, Jacqmin said the law presents ¡°individual solutions to a collective problem¡±.

The ministry has also faced criticism for the ¡°weird midsummer timing¡± of the draft law¡¯s publication, Jacqmin said, as well as a perceived ¡°top-down¡± approach to?drafting the law. ¡°Several deputies from different political parties have worked on alternative proposals,¡± he said. ¡°The vote of the representatives of these parties will be more than needed for it to pass.¡±

Other critics of the law have highlighted the use of the Parcoursup application platform as a ¡°quality guarantee¡±. Gossa told THE:?¡°Many private sector [institutions] actually use the fact that they are outside Parcoursup as a key selling point to attract students. This calls into question the effectiveness of such a strategy.¡±

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The law¡¯s ¡°positive measures¡±, including increased monitoring powers, ¡°are effectively neutralised by the lack of resources¡±, Gossa added.

In general, Jacqmin said, ¡°more transparency¡± is needed in?France¡¯s private higher education sector. ¡°Many of the existing data regarding private institutions is self-declared and not audited with care,¡± he told THE. ¡°We do not know how many students go to these institutions,¡± he added. ¡°We also know very little about their budget.¡±

¡°If this information had been common knowledge to the public and the legislators, we would have had a very different proposal, I think.¡±

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com