Become a Member
AAOU is now enjoying a total membership of 72, with 48 being Full Members and 22 being Associate Members and 2 being individual supporting members.
Basically, AAOU has two main categories of membership, namely Institutional Membership and Supporting Membership. Under these two categories, it is further divided into 5 types of which Institutional Membership including two kinds of members.
Full members are dedicated to open and distance learning institutions located within the Asian continent and whose primary mode of instructional delivery is through the distance mode. Associate members are active in promoting or delivering education by the distance mode through departments, faculties, centers or schools of external or off campus studies and programs.
Supporting Membership including three kinds of members. Donor supporting members are individuals and organizations wishing to make significant financial contributions in support of the open and distance learning and Association Corporate supporting members are business corporations wishing to be linked to the Association in a mutually beneficial way.
Individual supporting members are individuals wishing to contribute to the Association's activities.
All Associate and Supporting members have the right to participate in all the meetings and activities of the Association except the right to vote in the Annual Meeting of the General Board and the right to be elected into the Executive Board. For more details, please refer to AAOU Constitution.
Message from the President

Greetings and welcome to the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). As of 1st January 2011, the Presidency and Secretariat of AAOU has moved from Universitas Terbuka Indonesia (UTI) in Jakarta to Wawasan Open University (WOU) in Penang, Malaysia.
26th AAOU Annual Conference
16-18 October 2012, Chiba, Japan
Main Theme
“Expanding the Frontiers of Knowledge through Open and Distance Learning in Changing Societies”
The world has been undergoing drastic changes owing to technological innovations and globalization at an unprecedented speed. In addition, demographic changes in many countries and states, such as explosive population growth in many developing countries and the aging population in advanced industrial societies, have been fundamental sources of change, shaping a new reality of the world.
These factors of change have had an enormous impact on the educational contents offered, and the methods utilized, by open universities. The new reality, however, simultaneously offers opportunities for open universities to influence the societies in which they operate. Now, thanks to new technologies, open and distance learning (ODL) can reach a larger number of people more effectively. ODL has increased in diversity, and will continue to do so, to correspond to learners’ needs. By expanding the frontiers of new knowledge, open universities can influence the nature and the direction of change in their societies. The main theme of this conference will challenge all of us concerned with the role of ODL in the changing societies, in terms of how best ODL can cope with the changes and how best open universities can shape the future of changing societies by expanding the frontiers of knowledge in education.
What's New
| AAOU Journal |
The latest edition of the AAOU Journal is now available through the AAOU website. |
| WOU Anchors regional study on the use of OER |
A study of the current state of play in the use of Open Educational Resources in the Asian Region
The main objective of this study is to establish, qualitatively and quantitatively the extent of and practice in using OER by Institutions and or individuals in the developing parts of Asia with a view to enhancing and promoting collaboration in the region for purposes of sharing of curriculum, learning materials, learning tools and delivery strategies.
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| Change of AAOU Secretariat |
The AAOU Secretariat has moved to Wawasan Open University, Penang, Malaysia |



