Contrasting Images of Private Universities

Abstract The establishment of private universities in Greece sparked concerns in the academic community. For about a month, two images of private universities were juxtaposed. The media and government officials communicated an optimistic image emphasising the purported benefits to the county’s economy. Critics argued that establishing private universities would marginalise public universities, limit opportunities for students from lower-income backgrounds, undermine equality and social cohesion, and prioritise profits over social goals. At the macro level, students expressed their attitudes through protests, occupying faculty buildings, and abstaining from classes. However, the micro-level perspectives, i.e. the specifics of the understandings developed among students engaged with their studies, remained unknown. This study recorded the attitudes of a class of engineering students immediately after the announcement of the reforms, before they were exposed to the influence of the media and/or the reactions of student unions. A survey was conducted among students to explore their views on the establishment of private universities. Participants responded to 33 five-point Likert scale items and provided short written comments on six open-ended statements. Seventy-one per cent (71%) of the participants disagreed with establishing private universities, and 86% believed privatisation would deprive many individuals of university education. The participants did not anticipate private universities surpassing public universities in terms of quality (72%). Only 16% of the respondents agreed that private, non-state universities would contribute to the economy’s growth or reduce the brain drain (7%).