The Open university

The Open University (OU) is a pioneer university in distance learning. It is notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students' previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students live in Great Britain and principally study off-campus, but many of its courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate) can be studied off-campus anywhere in the world. There are a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the university campus where they use the OU facilities for research, as well as more than 1000 members of academic and research staff and over 2500 administrative, operational and support staff.

The OU was established in 1969 and the first students enrolled in January 1971. The University administration is based Milton Keynes, England, but has regional centres in each of its thirteen regions around the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It also has offices and regional examination centres in most other European countries. The University awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as non-degree qualifications such as diplomas and certificates, or continuing education units.

With more than 180,000 students enrolled, including more than 25,000 students studying overseas, it is the largest academic institution in the United Kingdom and Europe by student number, and qualifies as one of the world's largest universities. Since it was founded, more than 3 million students have studied its courses. It was rated top university in England and Wales for student satisfaction in the 2005 and 2006.

The OU provides university education to those wishing to continue higher education on a part-time and/or distance learning basis, including people with health disabilities, who are officially a priority group for the university, about 10,000 OU students have health disabilities.