Enhancing Institutional Effectiveness And Efficiency: A Case For Open University Malaysia

• Main Authors: Mansor Fadzil,, Latifah Abdol Latif,
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education; LC5800 Distance education
• Online Access: http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/561/1/institutional_effectiveness.pdf; http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/561/

Open University Malaysia (OUM) is a unique Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution, as it operates as a private university that is indirectly owned by the Malaysian government through a consortium of the nation’s 11 public universities. OUM first opened its doors in 2001, with an inaugural intake of 753 learners into four academic programmes. Eight years on, the University now has a learner enrolment of 84,000 with almost 70 programmes and 61 learning centres nationwide. This phenomenal growth signifies the acceptance of ODL as a viable channel for higher education attainment in Malaysia. In our experience, this growth has also come with challenges that must be addressed appropriately. This paper describes a number of innovations undertaken recently at OUM in order to address those challenges and at the same time enhance its effectiveness and efficiency. (Abstract by authors)