The Hindu Business Line : Australia's Open Universities to offer courses in India

OPEN Universities (OU), which has been conducting correspondence courses of seven Australian universities, has decided to set foot in India. The seven partner universities of OU are Curtin University of Technology, Griffith University, Macquarie University, Monash University, RMIT University, Swinberne University of Technology and University of South Australia.

While the course will be conducted by OU, the degree will be awarded by one of the seven universities. OU offers under-graduate and post-graduate courses in arts, business administration, health and IT.

A student can choose the subjects offered by one or many universities. However, the degree will be awarded by the universities whose `core' (main subjects) has been chosen by the student.

Admission is granted by OU four times a year. The courses have flexibility in terms of duration, that is, a student can take a break after the completion of any subject, subject to a maximum for each course.

In India, OU currently provides computer facilities and examination centres in Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. In another year's time, it is targeting a student base of 200. The tuition fee ranges from Australian $720 (Rs 24,210) to A$790 (Rs 26,564) per subject and a student has to complete 12-36 subjects per course.

On the decision to come to India, Mr Stuart Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, OU, said: "We find the right market in India, as people here have hunger for education and knowledge of English."

OU was established in 1993 and has educated 80,000 people in Australia. India is the first country outside Australia where OU is offering its courses and it plans to foray into other countries.

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