University of London External System - Influence

Influence

The University of London external system has played an important role in the development of higher education institutions in Britain. Many leading research universities in England started out as "university colleges" that prepared students for external degrees of the University of London. Some technical colleges in England and Scotland also awarded University of London degrees and certificates prior to becoming polytechnics and then universities. Examples include the University of Nottingham, the University of Leicester and the University of Exeter in England, Cardiff University and Bangor University prior to joining the University of Wales and becoming independent and Robert Gordon University in Scotland.

This was a common way of establishing new universities in Britain and around the British Empire during the first half of the twentieth century. Many universities in the Commonwealth began as extension institutions or a provider of the programme. Notable examples include Ceylon University College (University of Colombo) in Sri Lanka, University College Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan) in Nigeria, the former University of East Africa's three constituent institutions and the University of the West Indies in the Caribbean.