 In 1988, the Portuguese government founded a public distance university, the "Universidade Aberta" (Aberta University), an "Open University" with headquarters in Lisbon, regional branches in Porto and Coimbra, and study centres all over the country.In the 1980s and 1990s, a boom of private institutions was experienced and many private universities started to open.Most private universities had a poor reputation and were known for making it easy for students to enter and also to get high grades.