 Thanapal (2015) states that "the original degree by external study of the UOL was not a form of distance education".In 1858, British weekly literary magazine named All the Year Round, founded and owned by Charles Dickens, coined the term “The People’s University” or “The English People’s University”, to describe the University of London as it provided access to higher education to students from less affluent backgrounds.Several current degree-awarding universities started as colleges presenting candidates for University of London degrees, such as Owens College which later became part of the Victoria University and eventually the University of Manchester.