University of Portsmouth named the UK's most affordable city for students in the Natwest Student Living Index 2016. On Friday 4 May 2018, the University of Portsmouth was revealed as the main shirt sponsor of Portsmouth F.C. for the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. The history of the university dates to 1908, when the Park building opened as a Municipal college and public library. The focus was on chemistry and engineering. The roots of the University can be traced back even further to the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and the Arts. Shortly after in the year of 1911 a Student Union
University of the People Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), warned the public of a fraudulent university, University of the People. The university started its next semester with the President of the University of the People visiting Johannesburg , instead the government thought the university has setup to operate within South Africa, which they have not applied for the necessary accreditation. Few days later the South African government withdrew its comments due to the misunderstanding. In 2017 Olympian Simone Biles became a student and a spokeswoman for the school, and in 2018 she set up a scholarship fund to help financially struggling students.