A meeting of Manchester City Council on the 1st December 1981 formalised the creation of the Manchester Open College Federation (MOCF), which registered its first learners in October 1982 and issued its first study passport in February 1983. The National Open College Network (NOCN) was set up 5 years later in 1987. Open Colleges in London date back to 1982 and in 1989 were merged into one organisation, the London Open College Federation.
Open College Networks, as we are now called, are one of the greatest education successes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This grassroots 'movement' that seemingly came from nowhere, developed into a nationally recognised network of 30 organisations that together have engaged with over 5 million people.
These 30 individual organisations have now merged into 9 regional OCNs in England, 1 in Wales and 1 in Northern Ireland. All of these OCNs are licensed to the NOCN, a QCA approved national qualifications Awarding Body.
As part of our 25th anniversary celebrations in 2007 we commissioned, with NIACE, a short narrative history of our origins and the work which has been undertaken by OCNs and NOCN during this time. You can download a copy of this document from here.
Learning can be a powerful force for change, an enabling and empowering experience that can shape lives and transform the communities in which our learners live. We continue to work with national and local organisations which include governments, employers and education providers to develop and widen access to high quality and flexible education, training and learning.