The UNED celebrates its 25th anniversary in January 1998 . It has an enrolment of 186,000 students and over 58 centres both in Spain and internationally. Its present budget is 17,000 million ptas. Creation of the UNED One of the most salient features of the 1978 Spanish constitution, which heralded a new era in Spain's history, is the dichotomy of rule between central government and the seventeen autonomous regions. Education is one of the sectoral policies affected in a direct way by this structure.
Administration is split, or shared, between the government and the autonomous regions.
For that reason the case studies on the Spanish distance learning institutions includes both central and autonomous institutions. It awards the same qualifications, which are equally valid and it is run under the same general legislation. However, the special features of UNED make it different from most other Spanish universities. This is due to the fact that it is nation-wide in scope, uses different methodology, and has a wide social influence. The University Reform Law in Spain ensures the UNED the same degree of autonomy as the rest of Spanish universities.