ABSTRACT
Since World War II, Britain’s higher education landscape had not changed much. Although higher education had expanded, the number and type of colleges and universities had by and large remained the same. Apart from the Colleges of Advanced Technology (CATs), which were established in 1956 but were actually based on existing technical colleges, the only new foundation was Keele (founded as University College of North Staffordshire in 1949). In the 1960s, however, things changed tremendously. Seven new universities were founded, 30 polytechnics were created, and, last but not least, the Open University was given its charter in 1969 and soon offered degree courses via distance education.
