BPP has announced the departure of its CEO Carl Lygo, effective immediately.

Lygo had been with BPP since 1996. He is taking on a role as the chairman of the Association of Cost Lawyers’ new independent training organisation

In a release, the law school said: “Effective today Carl Lygo has decided to leave his position as Chief Executive Officer of BPP Holdings and Vice Chancellor of BPP University. Carl will be assisting the management team and key leaders in the transition of his responsibilities.”

Tim Stewart, the current dean of BPP’s business school, will act as interim CEO and vice chancellor of BPP University until a replacement is found. 

Gregory Cappelli, CEO of Apollo Education Group, which owns BPP, said: “Carl’s tireless efforts over two decades have made BPP University an innovative leader in Higher Education in the United Kingdom.”

The news comes as it has emerged that the government will look at whether BPP, which gained university status in 2013, should still be eligible for that status and entitled to degree-awarding powers. Its owner, Apollo Education Group, was itself sold last month to a consortium of investors, taking the company private in the process. Some critics says that the rise of for-profit universities, which include BPP and the University of Law in the UK, risks shareholders being prioritised at the expense of students. However, the government remains interested in opening up the education sector to competition with more for-profit providers.

Times Higher Education reports that there will be an independent review of BPP to check whether it continues to meet student number and governance requirements, with the Higher Education Funding Council for England then advising the Department for Education, which will make the final call on whether it should continue to be a university.

While its big rival, the University of Law, has gone through a succession of management changes since the departure of the long-serving Nigel Savage in 2013, BPP Law School has been relatively stable at the top level. Current dean of the law school Peter Crisp joined in 1997.