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(Wkipedia Sources) The Open University is the only university in the UK dedicated to distance learning. It was established in 1969, and the first students started in January 1971. The majority of students are based in the UK, but its courses can be studied from anywhere in the world.

The administration is based at Walton Hall, Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, but has regional centres in each of its thirteen regions around the UK. The university awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, diplomas and certificates.

It is the largest academic institution in the UK by student number, and qualifies as one of the world's mega 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 UK government national student satisfaction survey.

The OU works on a modular basis, with modules worth various different 'points'. 120 points is equivalent to one year of full-time study and is the maximum rate at which an OU student may study (however short summer schools are allowed in addition to this). Courses come at different levels which can loosly be equated to the 3 years many students spend at a brick uni.

The OU provides a very flexible system and it is possible to choose a named degree. Many, many choices are available and students may choose a broad degree title e.g.: A BA in Humanities or a BA in Social Sciences, alternatively it can be made much more specific e.g. a BA in Social Sciences with Social Policy. Students may also choose one of the ready made more specific degrees such as Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Finally the OU offer 'Open' degrees which allow a much broader range of courses to be chosen and the degree awarded is an OU Open degree.

Students who leave a partially completed degree may be able to use their module points from already completed modules towards a diploma or undergraduate degree. By combining a number of courses at the appropriate level, students may effectively tailor their degree to suit their needs, interests and abilities.

A significant number of courses are now conducted online, with the aid of e-tutorials and message rooms where students may interact and discuss the work they have been doing; these are supported with appropriate teaching materials such as DVDs, CDs, printed texts and text book, as well as the "Open 2" collaboration on educational TV programming between the OU and BBC2 (eg, the Rough Science series). Assessment may also be online, through "eTMAs", or electronically-submitted tutor marked assessments, as well as a number of other forms of assessment.

In recent years, the OU has allowed a limited number of under-18s (who may not usually participate in OU courses) to undertake 10 or 20 point modules on a variety of subjects, ranging from genetics to writing poetry. This courses may be paid for by local schools or sixth form centres, and only those tutors who are happy to have under-18s in their groups are involved.