Location Factors of Non-public Higher Educational Institutions: The Evidence from Poland

The aim of the article is to find out the location factors of non-public higher education institutions in Poland after 1989. The logistic regression was used to meet this goal. Five sets of variables were selected for the initial stage of analysis. These were: population of the town and its hinterland, distance to the nearest academic centre, education level of inhabitants, local authority revenue and the existence nearby of other, potentially competing colleges. The analysis proved that the most important location factor of non-public higher education institutions was the existence of other, potentially competing colleges in the vicinity. This means that in the development of the network of non-public higher education institutions in Poland a key role was played by the "filling" of spatial niches on the education market.