The establishment of the CEU Beat Luis Belda affiliated center in Palma has reopened the debate on the growth of private universities in the Balearic Islands and the conditions under which new strategic degrees such as Medicine and Nursing are being authorized. Before this discussion is addressed in depth, the rector of CEU San Pablo, Rosa Visiedo, defends the project, rejects the notion that it consolidates an elitist model, and asserts its role within the university system. The project, promoted by CEU San Pablo University and planned for the 2026-2027 academic year, will be located in the former Riskal building and will involve a 40 million euro investment in the renovation of the space. Rector Visiedo argues that the decision to establish a presence in the Balearic Islands responds to an objective need within the healthcare system. "We conducted a study, and the Balearic Islands were identified as one of the regions with the greatest need for nursing and medical training places, as well as a significant shortage of professionals," he states. According to Visiedo, the archipelago is "the second region with the fewest nursing places per capita and the region with the fewest places to study medicine." This account aligns with the government's discourse, which has justified opening up to private universities to compensate for the limitations of the public system.

In 1980, just two years after the creation of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Spain had 23 public universities and only 4 private ones. Eighteen years later, with the opening of the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (1998), the balance of power had changed radically: 50 public universities and 18 private ones. Today, almost half a century later, the landscape has reversed even further. There are 50 public universities and 42 private ones in Spain, and private initiatives threaten to equal—or even surpass—the public offerings.

The ADEMA university center is considering becoming a private university under the name University of Mallorca (UMAC) or affiliating with Isabel I University. According to Diego González, president of the institution, they favor the former option. "The process is progressing. Our aim is to begin in September 2026. It's a broad project that will be implemented gradually," he says. ADEMA plans to offer eleven new degree programs not currently offered in the Balearic Islands, in areas such as Biomedicine, Sociology, and Architecture, in addition to those it currently offers as an affiliated center of the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB)—the public university has also announced that it will implement Architecture studies. González explains that the institution has the capacity to implement all the degree programs, but that "the bureaucratic process to launch them is not easy." When fully operational, the center aspires to have 3,000 students. The project has the approval of the PP, the party that supports the Balearic Government, which has presented a bill in favor of the University of Mallorca – it has already undergone public consultation. However, not everyone in the cultural sector is satisfied with the text of the law, and the OCB (Catalan Cultural Association) has submitted objections. The organization requests guarantees of respect for the Statute of Autonomy and the official status of Catalan, both in teaching and in the linguistic rights of students and faculty. It also warns that the name 'Universitat de Mallorca' could cause confusion with a public institution and proposes changing its name to clearly indicate its private nature. González asserts that ADEMA (Association of Cultural Entities of Mallorca) has held the trademark for years. "We thought that calling it the University of Mallorca would be appealing, that people would agree, more so than calling it the University of Wisconsin," he says.

The Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) has spoken out against the imminent implementation of Nursing and Physiotherapy programs at private universities in the Balearic Islands without joint planning with the public university or the healthcare system. In a statement, the Faculty Board warns that the training of healthcare professionals "must respond to a national and regional plan, and not simply to a business opportunity." The document cautions that the creation of new private universities without coordination with the UIB and the healthcare system weakens "the collective capacity to guide training according to the real health needs of the Balearic population, and not according to the logic of profitability and the market." Therefore, the Faculty believes that "there are red lines that should not be crossed if we want to preserve a fair, sustainable, and high-quality education and healthcare system."

The Council of Mallorca has approved a motion defending a "pluralistic" university system that maintains the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) as the "central reference point," but allows for the incorporation of other institutions. private universities of "quality" to "expand the range of degrees offered and make it easier for students to study in Mallorca without having to leave." The plenary session of the island council approved this initiative from the PP, which also received votes in favor from Vox and El PI, while PSIB and MÁS per Mallorca voted against it.

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) has pledged to ensure that the public university hospitals within the IB-Salut network maintain their exclusive affiliation with the public university and are not negatively impacted by the arrival of private universities seeking to offer medical degrees in the Balearic Islands. This comes at a time when CEU San Pablo, Adema (either as an independent university or affiliated with Isabel I University), and the Felipe Moreno Higher Education Center (affiliated with Nebrija University) are all looking to establish themselves in Mallorca with health-related degrees, offering nursing programs.

The urban planning modification decreed by the Catalan government to facilitate the express opening of the private medical school in Palma has been repealed days after its approval. Vox's lack of support for the regulation that allowed this tailored operation—the strategic projects decree law—means that there is currently no legal basis to modify the urban planning regulations that would have opened the doors to the new faculty.