BPP Law School awarded LLB powers

BPP College of Professional Studies is celebrating after becoming the first private sector company to win degree awarding powers.

In the first year the radical move will enable BPP Law School, a division of BPP College, to offer the LPC and BVC as masters degrees and award the GDL as an honours degree in law instead of a diploma. Meanwhile, from September 2008 the law school will offer an LLM in commercial law and other areas of commercial practice.

BPP Law School chief executive Peter Crisp said: Securing degree awarding powers is a natural step for us to take. It will allow us to develop our law and business schools more freely. Our longer-term plan is of course to become BPP university.

BPP Law School and its rival College of Law applied for degree-providing status at the same time. However, the College of Law secured its new powers in May 2006 making it the first non-university-affiliated law school to secure this new status.

BPP Colleges new powers were awarded by the Privy Council after an 18-month review by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

BPP College is owned by BPP Holdings, a company that is listed on the London Stock Exchange.