University of the air

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32803, 31 December 1971, Page 10

University of the air

The Open University—or University of the Air, as it was first known—is something unique in education, in Britain or anywhere else. Opened in January 1971, in partnership with the 8.8. C., it provides an opportunity for working adults to take a degree by part-time study, mainly in their own homes, using correspondence tuition, television and radio lessons, and tuition and counselling sessions at local centres. The degree is awarded by the Open University, and students will have to spend at least 10 hours a week on their work for several years, with annual examinations, if they want to achieve it.

The principal idea behind the scheme was to give a second chance to the socalled “educationally underprivileged,” or people who were not able to go to university either because the opportunity did not exist or perhaps through lack of money. It might have been thought, therefore, that the majority of applicants would be middle-aged and without any educational qualification beyond school. This has not been the case —so far, at any rate. The average age for “class of 72” is in the early twenties. About 30 per cent are teachers who have no degree and .want to be on the same level with their colleagues who have one. Another 20 per cent are professional people or in business management. So there is a fairly high proportion with previous academic training. But technicians provide more than 10 per cent of the applicants and skilled and unskilled workers provide 20 per cent more; and these categories show a large proportional increase over the first year. So it seems that educational underprivilege is coming more strongly to the fore in the second year.