Plate Glass Universities

The term plate glass university (or plateglass university) has come into use by some to refer to one of the several universities founded in the United Kingdom in the 1960s in the era of the Robbins Report^** on higher education. The term “plateglass” reflects their modern architectural design, which often contains wide expanses of plate glass in steel or concrete frames. This contrasts with the (largely Victorian) Red Brick universities and the older Ancient universities.

The phrase New University formerly appeared as a synonym for the Plateglass institutions, however since 1992 this term has tended to be applied to the post-1992 universities (consisting mostly of former polytechnics) instead.

The name “Plateglass Universities” was apparently first used by Michael Beloff in his 1968 book The Plateglass Universities. Beloff invents the term “Plateglass Universities” to describe the 1960s universities – specifically Sussex, York, East Anglia, Essex, Lancaster, Kent at Canterbury and Warwick – and describes his reasons for using the term:

I had at the start to decide upon a generic term for the new universities — they will not be new for ever. None of the various caps so far tried have fitted. “Greenfields” describes only a transient phase. “Whitebrick”, “Whitestone”, and “Pinktile” hardly conjure up the grey or biscuit concrete massiveness of most of their buildings, and certainly not the black towers of Essex. “Newbridge” is fine as far as the novelty goes, but where on earth are the bridges? Sir Edward Boyle more felicitously suggested “Shakespeare”. But I have chosen to call them the Plateglass Universities. It is architecturally evocative; but more important, it is metaphorically accurate.

Beloff has many things to say about the new universities, some critical, but much positive:

The role of Plateglass in reviving a belief in the need for and virtues of higher education is especially important. Plateglass universities give the lie to the view that universities are conservative, unchanging institutions. In syllabuses, examinations, teaching methods, administration, discipline, they have taken new initiatives.

The Open University

The Open University is the UK’s distance learning government-supported university notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students’ previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses. It was established in 1969 and the first students enrolled in January 1971. The majority of students are based in the UK, but its courses can be studied anywhere in the world. The administration is based at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, but has regional centres in each of its thirteen regions around the UK. It also has offices in other European countries. The University awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as non-degree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates, or continuing education units.

With more than 180,000 students enrolled, including more than 25,000 students studying overseas, it is the largest academic institution in the UK by student number, and qualifies as one of the world’s largest universities. Since it was founded, more than 3 million students have studied its courses.