Some students at the Open University left school twenty years ago.
Others are younger but all must be at least 21 years old.
This is one example of how the Open University is different from all other universities.
Its students must either work full-time or be at home all day,for instance, mothers of families.
They do not have to pass any examinations before they are accepted as students.
This is why the university called open.
The university was started in order to help a known group of people
who missed having a university education when they were young.
The first name for the Open University was The University of the Air.
The idea was to teach on the air, in other words, on radio and television.