Handbook of Open Universities Around the World

Sanjaya Mishra is one of the leading scholars in open, distance, and online learning, with extensive experience in teaching, staff development, research, policy development, innovation, and organizational development. With a multi-disciplinary background in education, information science, communication media, and learning and development, Dr. Mishra promotes the use of educational multimedia, e-learning, open educational resources, and open access to scientific information to increase access to quality education and lifelong learning for all. He has designed and developed award-winning online courses and platforms. Dr. Mishra has served the Indira Gandhi National Open University in New Delhi, India; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, France; the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia in New Delhi, India; and the Commonwealth of Learning in Vancouver, Canada.Santosh Panda is a National Fellow at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, Government of India. He recently retired as Director of the Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) and the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre at Indira Gandhi National Open University, India. Professor Panda has above 40 years of experience in university teaching, research, and administration, including 37 years in open and distance learning at IGNOU. He has been a Fulbright Scholar; Chairperson of the National Council for Teacher Education (national regulator) for the Government of India; Director of Policy and Research at the Association of Indian Universities; and Director of Distance & Flexible Learning at The University of the South Pacific, Fiji. As an internationally recognized leader of ODL from the Global South, he has presented keynotes and workshops in over 30 countries and has consulted for ADB, COL, DfID, IDRC, SADC, UNESCO, and the World Bank.

"This is a most comprehensive coverage of the state of open universities world-wide at the present time. As well as many excellent overall and regional overviews, the book contains detailed analysis of 47 open universities from around the world [and] is essential reading for anyone with an interest in open learning and in increasing access to higher education."—Tony Bates, President and CEO of Tony Bates Associates Ltd and Research Associate with Contact North, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network"If you want a single-volume compendium that maps the field, identifies the big debates, and points to areas for future study and leadership attention, this handbook provides just that. Mishra and Panda have given the ODL community an influential resource:one that answers major empirical questions and —by raising harder ones —helps set the agenda for the next decade of research and practice in open higher education."-Roberts, J. (2026). Book Review: Handbook of Open Universities Around the World. Journal of Learning for Development, 13(1), 205–208. https://doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v13i1.2836"The Handbook of Open Universities Around the World, edited by Sanjaya Mishra and Santosh Panda, offers both a panoramic survey and a reflective critique of what openness truly means in higher education today. Drawing together insights from more than 100 scholars and practitioners, the editors have curated an extraordinary compilation that maps the histories, organizational structures, and innovations of 47 open universities across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. The result is not only a celebration of institutional achievement but also an invitation to confront difficult questions about equity, sustainability, and the future of open learning."-Belawati, T. (2026). Book Review: Handbook of Open Universities Around the World, edited by Sanjaya Mishra and Santosh Panda (Routledge, 2025). The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 27(1), 199–203. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v27i1.9358

• Introduction Sanjaya Mishra and Santosh PandaSECTION I: General Overviews 1 Futures of Open Universities Sir John Daniel2 Open Universities: An Uncertain Future?Alan Tait3 Innovation for Survival: Are the “Four-Open” Principles Still Relevant to Open Universities in the Twenty-First Century? Junhong Xiao4 Tracing the Legacy of Open Universities: The Evolution of Openness and the Continuous Transformation of Open Universities Aras Bozkurt, Frank Senyo Loglo, Berrin Cefa, Engin Kursun, John Y. H. Bai, and Olaf Zawacki-RichterSECTION II: Open Universities in the Africa and Arab Countries 5 Africa Regional Overview Paul Prinsloo6 Botswana Open University Mmabaledi Seeletso and Bantu L. Morolong7 National Open University of Nigeria Christine Ofulue8 Open University of Kenya Ezra Maritim and Elijah Omwenga9 Open University of Mauritius Kaviraj Sharma Sukon10 The Open University of Tanzania Elifas Tozo Bisanda11 University of South Africa 105Moeketsi Letseka, Ramashego Mphahlele, andMorakinyo Akintolu12 Zimbabwe Open University Gift Masengwe, Paul Henry Gundani, and Benson Gabi13 The Open University of IsraelSarah Guri-Rosenblit and Amir WinerSECTION III: Open Universities in the Americas 14 Open Universities in the Americas Stephen Murgatroyd15 Athabasca University Kathryn R. Johnson and Matthew L. Prineas16 Universidade Aberta do Brasil Weslei Oki de Aguiar and Simone Guimarães Guerra Gama17 Universidad Estatal a Distancia Diana Hernández Montoya and Ana María Sandoval Poveda18 Université TÉLUQ Gustavo Adolfo Angulo Mendoza Patrick Plante, and Caroline BrassardSECTION IV: Open Universities in the Asian Countries 19 Open Universities in Asia: An Overview Insung Jung20 Open Is Open as It Gets Som Naidu21 Asia e University Dato’ Ansary Ahmed22 Bangladesh Open University Mizanoor Rahman23 Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University Ghanta Chakrapani24 Guangdong Open UniversityChen Jingchun, Luo Hongwei, Chen Liangjun, Niu Liuwei,and Zhu Minghai25 Hanoi Open University Dang Hai Dang26 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Ha Minh Nguyen, Lan Thi Xuan Nguyen, and Quan Thai Thuong Le27 Indira Gandhi National Open University Santosh Panda and Ved Prakash Rupam28 Jiangsu Open University Wen Tang and Xiangyang Zhang29 Korea National Open University Eun Kyung Lee30 Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University Ritimoni Bordoloi and Prasenjit Das31 Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University Sanjay Tiwari and Gopal Krishna Burra32 Nepal Open University Jeevan Khanal33 Netaji Subhas Open University Anirban Ghosh and Papiya Upadhyay34 Open University Malaysia Nantha Kumar Subramaniam, Santhi Raghavan, and Ahmad Izanee Awang35 The Open University of China Wang Xiangxu36 The Open University of Japan Tsuneo Yamada and Masaya Iwanaga37 The Open University of Sri Lanka Shironica P. Karunanayaka38 Shanghai Open UniversityJun Xiao, Tingting Zhang, Juan Li, Xinkui Cheng, and Wei Chen39 Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University Sumalee Sungsri, Sarisak Soontornchai, Niranart Sansa, and Darunee Jumpatong40 Tamil Nadu Open University S. Balasubramanian and S. Savithri41 Universitas Terbuka Ojat Darojat and Fauzy Rahman Kosasih42 University of the Philippines Open University Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria43 Uttarakhand Open University Jeetendra Pande and Sumit Prasad44 Uttar Pradesh Rajarshi Tandon Open University Devesh Ranjan Tripathi and Ashutosh Gupta45 Wawasan Open University Josephine Ie Lyn Chan, Dewi Amat Sapuan, and Lily Chan46 Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University Sanjeev A. SonawaneSECTION V: Open Universities in the Europe 47 Open Universities: New Roles and New Opportunities for Innovation and Market Differentiation in Europe Don Olcott, Jr.48 Anadolu University Aras Bozkurt49 Fernuniversität in Hagen Uwe Elsholz, Rahel Hutgens, and Desirée Kampmeier50 Open University of Cyprus Antonios Kafa51 Open University of the NetherlandsTheo J. Bastiaens and Rob Martens52 The Open University Daniel Weinbren53 Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR) José María Vázquez García-Peñuela, Rafael Puyol Antolín, Rubén González-Crespo, Daniel Burgos, Teresa Santa María, Adela López, María Gómez-Espinosa, Ignacio Hierro, and Pablo Moreno-Ger54 Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) Inés Gil-Jaurena, Ángeles Sánchez-Elvira Paniagua, and Miguel Santamaría Lancho55 Universidade AbertaDiogo Casanova and Isabel Huet56 Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Àngels Fitó-Bertrán and Albert SangràSECTION VI: Concluding Overview 57 Open Universities: Quo Vadis? Sanjaya Mishra and Santosh Panda