Latest Strategic Initiatives to Improve Teaching and Learning at Open University Malaysia

• Main Author: Mansor Fadzil
• Format: Article
• Published: Open University Malaysia (OUM) 2009
• Subjects: LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
• Online Access: http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/298/1/latest_strategic.pdf; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/298/
• Institution: Open University Malaysia

Open and distance learning (ODL) as we recognise it today came into prominence in the 1960s, historically marked by the world’s first open university in the United Kingdom in 1969. Aided by global high demand and priority in expanding education, as well as developments in communications technology, the impact and influence of ODL have certainly grown. Four decades on, the idea of studying virtually and at a distance is no longer foreign; many nations have embraced ODL as a viable way of making higher education accessible, affordable and attainable to all who seek it. Open University Malaysia (OUM), the nation’s premier ODL institution, was established on similar grounds. As a relatively young private university, OUM now caters to over 86,000 learners enrolled into 71 academic programmes nationwide. Remaining relevant in the current higher education scene requires OUM to constantly search for new ways to meet the demands of learners, as well as explore novel strategies to enrich the ODL experience. This paper will illustrate strategic initiatives that have been implemented at OUM as a means to improve teaching and learning processes as well as make quality higher education a true possibility through ODL. (Author's abstract)