Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford

Department for Continuing Education

Established	1878
Director	Dr Alison MacDonald (Interim)
Academic staff	90
Students	c. 15,000 enrollees per year
Location	Oxford , England
Affiliations	University of Oxford
Website	www.lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk

The Department for Continuing Education, branded as Oxford Lifelong Learning, is a constitute department of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, United Kingdom. It provides a range of courses and qualifications mainly for part-time and mature students.

Names

Prior to acquiring its current name in 2025, the institution was also known as: ^[1]

• 1878-1892: University of Oxford Standing Committee of the Delegacy of Local Examinations;
• 1892-1924: University of Oxford Delegacy for the Extension of Teaching Beyond the Limits of the University;
• 1924-1970: University of Oxford Delegacy of Extra-Mural Studies;
• 1971-1990: University of Oxford Department for External Studies;
• 1990-present: University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education.
• June 2025: added the brand name "Oxford Lifelong Learning" ^[2]

History

The 19th century saw an awakening social awareness to the needs of working-class people generally, and Oxford University signalled an educational responsibility to the general community by sending lecturers into towns and cities across Victorian England, bringing university education to a diverse adult audience. The University of Oxford was one of the founders, in the late 19th century, of the so-called 'extension' movement, wherein universities began to offer educational opportunities to adult learners outside their traditional student base. ^[3] The University of Oxford Standing Committee of the Delegacy of Local Examinations was established in 1878. ^[1] The first of the early "Oxford Extension Lectures" was delivered at the King Edward VI School in Birmingham, in September 1878 by the Reverend Arthur Johnson. ^[4] By 1893, Oxford University Extension Centres were bringing adult education to much of England and a few cities in Wales. ^[5]

In 1927 the university purchased Rewley House on Wellington Square in Oxford as the permanent base of what was then known as the "University of Oxford Delegacy for Extra-Mural Studies", and which later was renamed as the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. ^[5] During the 1990s Kellogg College was co-located here.^{[ citation needed ]}

In June 2025, the Department for Continuing Education added a brand name "Oxford Lifelong Learning". ^[2]

See also

• University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education

References

1. "What's in a Name?". Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
2. Oxford, University of. "Introducing Oxford Lifelong Learning". Oxford Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
3. "Our history". Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
4. "Taking the University Outside Oxford". University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
5. Goldman, Lawrence (1995). Dons and Workers: Oxford and Adult Education Since 1850. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN   978-0198205753.

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