The Open University (UK)
The Open University (OU) is a public research university based in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland offering off-campus undergraduate and postgraduate courses for credit. The OU is notable for flexible, innovative teaching and for allowing enrolment from anywhere in the world. The OU uses a unique method of distance learning called ‘supported open learning’. The goal of the university is to address the needs of part-time working students and engage those who would otherwise be excluded from the formal education population. The university also offers non-degree qualifications through certificate courses and continuing education units.
The Open University is one of three UK higher education institutions accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (US) under the United States Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (The Open University, 2020).