Pearson joins Manchester’s private HE market

Publishing giant Pearson – owner of Penguin, Financial Times and exam board EdExcel – will next month begin teaching undergraduates degree courses at its offices in Salford Quays.

Pearson College will offer fast-track two-year degree courses at The Lighthouse in Saint Lawrence Quay as well as its head office in London. The move is the first by a FTSE 100 company into direct higher education teaching.

Pearson is among an emerging market of for-profit HE providers, joining rivals such as Kaplan and the College of Law, both of which also have Manchester offices.

The move comes as the traditional print textbook market, which accounts for a significant part of Pearson's revenue, is fading and the institutional HE world faces a revolution sparked by tuition fees and mounting student debt.