From the archive: The formation of the Open University, 1970

How we greeted the arrival of ‘do-it-yourself degrees’

It’s been 50 years since the formation of the Open University, now one of the largest universities in Europe. The Observer Magazine of 15 November 1970 looked ahead to the start of operations in January 1971 when ‘25,000 ordinary men and women’ were about to realise ‘the promise of belated academic qualifications’. Alan Road’s piece was headlined ‘Do-it-yourself degrees’ (though aren’t all degrees that?)

One of the first things the OU had to overcome was ignorance about how it would work. As Road put it: ‘It will not be possible to obtain a degree by sitting down for a few nights and watching the telly.’ In fact ‘only 5% of a student’s time will be spent viewing’. Ironically enough, I spent at least 20% of my time at a regular university watching TV.

There were worries about ‘the loneliness of the long-distance learner’. ‘The nearest thing in sight to a dreaming spire is probably the transmitting mast at Alexandra Palace,’ said Road, ‘where television and radio programmes are being recorded in co-operation with the BBC.’

It’s apposite that for such an egalitarian institution, where no entry qualifications were required, the OU campus at Walton Hall near Milton Keynes was built ‘around a 26-room Georgian house that used to be the home of the local lord of the manor’.

When Harold Wilson first mooted the idea in 1963 (the arresting but misleading title of University of the Air was ditched) it was dismissed by some as ‘quixotic’ and ‘gimmicky’. Astonishing, then, that there were 42,000 applicants for courses.

Equally eye-opening was that 7,000 chemistry sets were sent through the post to students. ‘A collection of 50 chemicals will be included in the kit,’ wrote Road, ‘and though no Class One poisons will be included… students will be warned of the possible hazard to children.’ What could possibly have gone wrong?

Contributor

Chris Hall

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
From the archive: how to make your kids learn faster, 1970
The latest educational trends for the under-sixes, 50 years ago. By Chris Hall

Chris Hall

28, Feb, 2021 @6:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: getting ready for university in 1985
Ian McEwan, Rose Tremain and Peter Whalley reveal what they really thought about going to uni and how it prepared them for life

Alex Moshakis

02, Sep, 2018 @5:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: surviving in an overcrowded world, 1970
Drastic measures are called for in the countdown to doomsday. By Chris Hall

Chris Hall

05, Dec, 2021 @6:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: who were the working class in 1970?
Sociological case studies reveal that all was far from well at the start of the 70s

Chris Hall

03, Nov, 2019 @6:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: Katharine Whitehorn on the housewife’s lot, 1970
Kids, cooking, washing her husband’s shirts… was this all that a woman could expect in the home? By Chris Hall

Chris Hall

22, Aug, 2021 @5:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: teenagers in close-up
The report in the cover story of 12 September 1976 failed to notice the impending punk generation

Chris Hall

16, Sep, 2018 @5:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: could a computer predict the result of the 1970 World Cup?
The miraculous machines had taken us to the moon the year before, surely now they could guess the outcome of a few football matches. By Chris Hall

Chris Hall

18, Apr, 2021 @5:00 AM

Article image
Taking stock of ‘the student explosion’, 1966
The learning experience was changing fast in a year when eight new universities were created. By Emma Beddington

Emma Beddington

27, Aug, 2023 @5:02 AM

Article image
From the archive: the class of 1971 at Oxford University
Cap doffing, window smashing and niche dons’ specialisms in the Observer Magazine

Juliana Piskorz

15, Apr, 2018 @5:00 AM

Article image
From the archive: the birth of punk
It’s December 1976, the Sex Pistols have stunned the nation with their TV appearance and two weeks later an Observer journalist catches up with them in a car park in Wales

Juliana Piskorz

27, May, 2018 @5:00 AM