Open Universiteit Nederland (Netherlands)

The Open Universiteit Nederland, which welcomed its first students in September 1984, is an independent government-funded institute for distance learning at the university level. The Dutch government’s purpose in founding the Dutch Open Universiteit was to make higher education accessible to anyone with the necessary aptitudes and interests, regardless of formal qualifications.  The Open Universiteit develops, provides and promotes innovative higher distance education of top quality, in collaboration with networks and alliances. As the prime Dutch university for lifelong learning, it addresses the wide-ranging learning needs of people during their course of life, plus the need to achieve a considerable increase of the knowledge level of the community at large. Open Universiteit Nederland’s home page>>

Expanding Educational Access through Distance Learning

The Open Universiteit Nederland has been providing quality distance education to Dutch students since 1984, giving educational opportunities to thousands who otherwise would not be able to continue their education. In addition to students in the Netherlands, the OU Nederland has worked with universities internationally to expand educational access.  Since 1984, OU Nederland has worked with Flemish universities in Belgium to provide distance education to students in Flanders.  The OU Nederland has also collaborated with the University of South Africa (UNISA) since 2002 in expanding distance education. Through the partnership, UNISA gets access to support methods for e-learning that have been developed by the OU Nederland. Learn more>>