Open Universities Australia

Open Universities Australia
Open Universities Australia
Established 1993
Type Public university consortium
Admin. staff 70
Students 40,000
Location headquarters in Melbourne, Australia
Campus Distance Learning
Website www.open.edu.au/

Open Universities Australia (OUA) (previously The Open Learning Agency of Australia (OLA)) is an Australian open distance education organisation. The majority of students are based in Australia, however the courses are available to the rest of the world. Undergraduate courses offered have no first year entry requirements, and there are no quotas for most courses, hence the 'open' aspect.

Open Universities Australia is owned by seven Australian universities. It is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of nominees of the owner universities plus up to 5 independent Directors. The current chairman is Sam Weiss, and the Chief Executive Officer since 2003 is Stuart Hamilton.

OUA has partnerships with several Australian public and private companies such as National Australia Bank and recently established relationships with sporting organisations such as the AFL Players Association[1] and Football Federation Australia.


Contents

Universities

The organisation is a consortium of several Australian universities and colleges, seven of whom own it, with courses being taught through each individual university or college.

Shareholder Institutions

Other Institutions

Elite athlete friendly

OUA is a member of the Elite Athlete Friendly University program (EAFU). A key factor in being part of EAFU is for the parter to support athletes to achieve academic excellence and recognise the challenges athletes face when combining education, career and a personal life with a high performance-sporting career.

OUA's course offerings aim to suit the specific needs of elite student athletes, as courses are designed for distance education and they are accessible online or delivered by mail. Professional athletes studying with OUA come from a range of sports including all football codes, tennis, athletics, diving and more. OUA's partnership with the AFL Players Association is aimed at making AFL players aware of the educational opportunities they can take up during and after their football careers.


References

External links