P67☆16行〜30行
Universities accept students mainly on the basis of their’A’level results, although they may interview them as well. The Open University was started in 1971 to cater for adults who did not have these formal qualifications. The emphasis has changed in all forms of higher education to include greater numbers of students and encourage people from different backgrounds to apply. In 1970 there were 620,000 students in higher education of whom 33 per cent were women. By 1999 these figures had increased to 2.1 million students of whom 53 per cent were women. Life-long learning skills have also become more important.