Open University

It was designed to provide degree-level education to adults who had not entered traditional universities, using radio and television broadcasts supplemented by printed materials, correspondence tutoring, and later online tools. It remains one of the largest distance-education institutions in the world.

The concept was promoted by Harold Wilson and developed under Minister Jennie Lee. Planning drew on earlier ideas for a “university of the air.” The university received a royal charter on 23 April 1969. Its first students enrolled in January 1971; initial cohorts numbered in the tens of thousands. It partnered with the BBC for broadcast lectures and adopted the principle of openness to people (no formal entry qualifications for many programs), places, methods, and ideas.

The Open University demonstrated that a national-scale, publicly funded distance university could award respected degrees to working adults. Its model influenced open universities in other countries and informed later online efforts. It transitioned from primarily broadcast and print delivery to extensive online and digital resources while retaining its distance mission.

Example: a factory worker in 1975 could watch televised lectures, study printed course units mailed by the university, complete written assignments returned by post, and earn a degree without leaving employment or relocating.

U.S. online universities such as University of Phoenix or Western Governors University emerged later and used internet delivery from earlier stages. Correspondence programs were usually smaller or tied to existing campus universities. The Open University was purpose-built as a large-scale public distance institution before the web existed.