The Open University (OU) is one of the most important post-war innovations in higher education since its foundation in 1969. People of all ages and backgrounds study with the OU, for all sorts of reasons – to update their skills, get a qualification, boost their career, change direction, prove themselves, keep mentally active. The OU is open to them all.
Mission
The OU’s mission is to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. The OU promotes educational opportunity and social justice by providing high-quality university education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential. Through academic research, pedagogic innovation and collaborative partnership, the OU seeks to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open learning.
An outstanding student experience
The OU has become by far the largest university in the UK, offering over 200 qualifications to more than 200,000 students in 2012/13, and making over 36,000 academic awards annually. It is now expanding its activities internationally, and its materials are used by other institutions in many parts of the world. The OU’s courses are intended mainly for employed adults seeking undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications, studying part-time in their own homes or places of work, supported by personal tutors. Because the OU is a distance learning university, with the vast majority of students studying part-time for a degree, it does not appear in most league tables. However, since 2005 its students have consistently voted it into the top ten universities for student satisfaction, topping the chart several times. This year the OU achieved a satisfaction rating of 91%; the Student Charter gives further insight into how the OU places its students at the heart of everything it does.
A unique institution
The OU is special because it is unique. Its distance learning approach sets it apart from other universities. At the heart of the OU’s teaching are its faculties, schools and institutes producing high-quality courses underpinned by an internationally excellent research base. The innovative research to emerge from the OU influences policy and enriches lives, and the University secures some £20 million of external funding annually. Often called a ‘national institution’, the OU is the only university to receive funding from all four nations of the UK, and it remains resolutely committed to continuing to serve all nations. It also has a unique relationship with the BBC, with 274 million views of OU programmes annually and almost half the UK’s adult population watching at least one episode of the co-produced Frozen Planet documentary series.
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