ABSTRACT

This is not an everyday story of farming folk. Nor is it really a story of rural deprivation in one of the most beautiful parts of England. Rather it is about a modern university attempting to respond to social and economic need, and in the process calling into question our inherited model of what a university should be like. Like many of the modern universities in the United Kingdom, the University of Derby had its roots deep in the local community. It was formed over a period of 150 years by the progressive amalgamation of specialist colleges. By the early 1990s it was a comprehensive institution offering a broad spectrum of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in most of the major fields of knowledge. It was, however, still proud of its origins, and determined to retain its commitment to serving the locality. About a quarter of its students came from Derbyshire, and another 25 per cent from elsewhere in the East Midlands. It had a large number of part-time students, and all courses were available to be studied on a part-time as well as a full-time basis. The majority of its students were over 21 on entry, and it was proactive in encouraging adult learners to return to study.