Open University Wales
| Address | 18 Custom House Street Cardiff CF10 1AP |
| Telephone | 029 2047 1019 |
| Fax | 029 2038 8132 |
| Website | www.open.ac.uk/wales |
| Director | Mr Rob Humphreys |
The Open University offers provision of flexible distance learning at higher education level, via innovative web-based platforms and technologies. It promotes educational opportunity and social justice by providing a university education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential. Through its 'virtual learning environment' the University delivers higher education to homes and workplaces in every part of Wales. The Open University was established by charter on 23 April 1969, with its first students enrolling in 1971. The University was founded on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend campus universities.
The Open University in Wales is one of the ‘nations and regions’ of the wider UK Open University, and has a student population of 7,000. All of these students are Welsh-domiciled and all study on a part-time basis. The Open University is the largest higher education institution in the UK measured by student numbers, with 200,000 students (including a significant number from outside the UK). The Open University in Wales offers a choice of over 550 courses, from taster sessions to post-graduate opportunities. Many of the Open University’s qualifications – from certificates to MBAs – are recognised and accredited by professional bodies the world over. A particular feature of the University’s part-time offer is the wide range of courses in the subject areas of science, technology and mathematics.
The Open University in Wales has its administrative centre in Cardiff and has twelve tutorial centres across Wales. It has 300 part-time teaching staff across the country that deliver courses and support students. The Open University in Wales is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) for teaching and learning activities. While at all times drawing on being a UK- wide university with a global reach, the OU in Wales responds to the particular needs of and opportunities within Wales, and to the policies and objectives laid out by the Welsh Assembly Government and HEFCW.
The administrative centre of the Open University in Wales is located in Custom House Street in central Cardiff, a few minutes walk from the main rail station.
The Open University is open to people, places, methods and ideas. It 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 it seeks to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open and distance learning.
| Academic profile 2008/09 | |
|---|---|
| Total students | 5,150 |
| Comprising | |
| Full-time students | 0 |
| Sandwich year out students | 0 |
| Part-time students | 5,150 |
