Binary Divide - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Binary Divide refers to the differentiation between polytechnic institutions

Polytechnic (United Kingdom)

A polytechnic was a type of tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were...

(including Central Institution

Central Institution

A central institution was a type of higher education institute in 20th and 21st century Scotland responsible for providing degree-level education but emphasising teaching rather than research. Some had a range of courses similar to polytechnics elsewhere in the United Kingdom while others were...

s) and universities within the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

between 1965 and 1992.

This ended with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992

Further and Higher Education Act 1992

The Further and Higher Education Acts 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within the United Kingdom. The most visible result was to allow thirty-five polytechnics to become universities. In addition the Act created bodies to fund higher...

.

The University of Ulster

University of Ulster

The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...

was formed in 1984 from a merger between the New University of Ulster and the Ulster Polytechnic - the only such "trans binary merger" that crossed the divide.

Further reading