Open University finally given added distinction (5)

I believe the answer is:

unbar

'open' is the definition.
(I know that unbar is a type of open)

'university finally given added distinction' is the wordplay.
'university' becomes 'u' (abbreviation for university).
'finally' says to take the final letters.
'added distinction' becomes 'bar' (bars added to medals show additional achievement).
The last letter of 'given' is 'n'.
'u'+'n'+'bar'='UNBAR'

(Another definition for unbar that I've seen is " Free".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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