About Commonwealth Open University COU provides adult continuing education. It was developed to meet the needs of adults by offering non-resident degree and other programs on an international basis. The programs have been organized and developed using as a starting point the "off-campus" external degree concept tried and tested by the various "universities without walls". There are no entry requirements for undergraduate courses. You decide how long you will take to complete your course work. While you are studying, a teacher will be available to offer help, answer questions, and guide you through the learning process, but students are free to choose their own study pace. As an institution of distance learning, COU has been able to assemble a faculty of recognized experts from throughout the global marketplace. Our faculty consists of university professors, business executives, consultants, and other specialists. Though these instructors vary in subject matter expertise, they share important attributes. All of them are actively practicing what they teach, and they are skilled in imparting their knowledge through distance learning channels and technology. COU is committed to providing equal opportunities for study. We welcome applications from English and Spanish speaking people of all nationalities and from any background, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, occupation, marital status, sensory or physical disability, religious or other beliefs. Commonwealth Open University is an international institution registered and established in the British Virgin Islands (U.K.), which has many students all over the world. COU educational programs are acknowledged as the foremost, with an excellent academic reputation. COU staff and lecturers are very committed to quality in services. Our graduates have had remarkable success in having their degrees accepted. Although we can not guarantee that a COU degree will be accepted, we will gladly supply information to potential or current employers or institutions. COU is a member of the Council for Education in the Commonwealth, a parliament based NGO founded nearly 40 years ago. Its purpose is to create an informed public opinion on the salient issues concerning education and training in the Commonwealth and to identify appropriate ways in which Britain and the European Union can best contribute to their development. The CEC is run by its honorary officers with the help of an elected committee, on which the Commonwealth Secretariat has observer status. This web site is referenced by the International Center for Scientific Research. CIRS.NET is the first and the most important scientific portal. Accreditation and recognition is an extremely complex issue, given that there are hundreds of accreditation bodies around the world, and no course is ever going to be accredited or recognised everywhere. The important thing is that you choose education that is going to be meaningful for what you need. The best indicators of our credibility are the quality of our staff and the testimonials from our students. COU is accredited by the accrediting commission of Wiener School for Advanced Studies on Global Education and Distance Learning. Accreditation is an assurance and a guarantee that the learning offered is of uniform and sound quality. COU has been assessed, examined, and verified by WSAS. COU formally announced on December 15, 2009, the proposed development of a micro-satellite. The micro-satellite Igdal-1 will be a comparatively simple one weighing around 20 kg. It will have body-mounted solar panels generating about 40 Watt of electrical power and will be spin-stabilised. The micro-satellite development will be a good opportunity for the students and the faculty of Commonwealth Open University to get an insight into the various aspects of space technology. It will also help them to conduct meaningful application studies and gain experience in satellite mission operations. This is expected to provide impetus for other universities to take up similar projects in the coming years. Commonwealth Open University is ISO 9001 certified. ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for the quality management of businesses. It applies to the processes that create and control the products and services an organisation supplies. It prescribes systematic control of activities to ensure that the needs and expectations of customers are met. It is designed and intended to apply to virtually any product or service, made by any process anywhere in the world. The Department of Sociology of the University is working on an investigation project on sociology of cyberspace. It is a collaborative project with coordinating professors from a variety of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, business, art, and information technology. The sociology of cyberspace examines the contemporary revolution in human interaction via computer.

"What then is a Virtual University? A virtual university emulates a physical university, adding the global interactive advantage of computers in bridging time and space. It enables teaching and learning to occur anytime/anywhere. It has built in mechanisms for assessment and accountability. Virtual University programs may be housed within a conventional university, it can result from a consortium of universities such as the Western Governor's University, or it can originate in a teaching institution where no students are physically present, such as the Commonwealth Open University." From the Editors ED-Education at a Distance. The United States Distance Learning Association. January 1997 Volume 11#1 "If you are not sure exactly what you want to study, the Commonwealth Open University based in British Virgin Islands offers BS, BA, MA, MS, MBA, and even PhD programs in a wide range of subject areas. Simply supply them with your education and work experience history and they will place you in a curriculum that is tailored specifically for you." Education on the Internet PC Journal December 1997 "The page of Commonwealth Open University was selected as a Links2Go Key Resource in the Distance Learning topic. Each quarter, Links2Go samples millions of web pages to determine which pages are most heavily cited by web pages authors. The Key Resource award is based on an analysis of millions of web pages. Any group or organization who conducts a similar analysis will arrive at similar conclusions. When Links2Go says your page is a Key Resource, we mean that your page is one of the most relevant pages related to a particular topic on the web today, using an objective statistical measure applied to an extremely large data set." Links2Go Awards May 1999 "I found COU to be very professional and responsive to student needs to ensure that the student made progress. Your guidance and professional assistance is superior. The caring attention from COU made the difference in my growth and experiences. The way in which I had been furnished guidance is the way all learning institutions should operate. I had successfully completed my doctorate and I have you and COU to thank. I highly endorse Commonwealth Open University to any person desiring to complete the dream for their educational goals." Carl F. Hartig, Ph.D., CBM, CIA January 2003 "I would like to thank you for all your support, assistance, and efficiency over the last three years. It has been a pleasure communicating with you. I will not hesitate to recommend the University to friends and colleagues looking to do distance learning" Helen Featherby, M.Sc. September 2004 "I continue to be impressed with the focus of the course assignments and the efficient administration that COU provides. I expect to complete the MSc in Economics course work this June and I plan on continuing my educational pursuits." Jeffrey Riggs, Ph.D. May 2005 "I would like to compliment the Commonwealth Open University for the good planning of the course. The assignments helped the students to gain a solid understanding of the subject and challenged the students to form their own ideas and opinions. I would certainly recommend the COU to anyone who is thinking about taking a distance learning degree programme." Adele O'Shea, M.A. August 2006 "I personally found the course very useful and I am so proud to have pursued this course through COU. I know a number of UNICEF staff have undertaken their studies through COU and have always been successful in their careers." Hamida R. Laseko, M.A. April 2007 "I am writing to inform you my COU degree has been of great benefit. In fact, the university in which I teach has permitted me greater latitude in teaching. On a personal professional level, I do believe my COU degree has created more visibility in my consultancy practice and my position as a hospital Board President." Richard Hamling, D.Litt. April 2008 "I am pleased to note my benefit from the MBA at COU. My degree has served me well and I totally enjoy applying the knowledge." Albert R. Michael, MBA March 2010 Corporate officers R.A. Carbajales, Ph.D. CEO M.J. Rossi, Ph.D. Director of Education M.L. Rua, M.A. Admissions & Operations D. Williams, M.Sc. Student Services Adjunct faculty M.K. Rabbani Bhuiyan, B.Sc, M.Sc. Ph.D. University of Dhaka, Gifu University S.A. Chowdhury, B.Sc., M.Eng., Ph.D. Chittagong University, Kagoshima University A. Triguero Egea, M.A., Ph.D. University of Oviedo F. Greenwood,B.A., M.B.A., Ph.D. Bucknell University, University of Southern California J.W. Harris, B.A., M.Sc., Ph.D. Virginia Union University, Nova University C. Siew Hun, Bachelor of Accountancy, M.B.A. University of Putra, Harvard University K.A. Iannone, B.A., M.Sc., Ph.D. University of California, S. Illinois University, Delaware University M. Aslam Khan, B.Com, Master in Public Administration Clemson University R.H. Whalley, B.A., M.Sc. COU J.E. Mankowsky, B.A., M.S.W., L.C.S.W. Chapman University, University of California E.A. Mathews, B.Sc., J.D., M.Sc., Ph.D. University of Minnesota G. Nambiar, LL.B.(Hons) School of Law of Essex B. Nelson, B.Sc. M.Sc., Ph.D. Emporia State University, Memphis State University D. Newling, M.Sc., Ph.D. University of West Indies U. Paz, B.A.(Hons) University of London C.J. Ross, B.A.(Hons), M.A., Ph.D. Rodhes University, University of South Africa A. Sivera, M.Sc., Ph.D. COU K. Subramanian, B.Sc., B.Eng, M.Eng., D.Sc. Madras University, Indian Institute of Science A. Kumar, B.Sc., B.Ed., M.Ed., Ph.D. Calicut University, Karnataka University, CCS University K.S. Chandrasekar, B.Sc.(Hons), M.B.A., Ph.D. Birla Institute of Technology, Bharathiar University, Alagappa University A.H. Verster, Ph.D. UNISA S.K. Dash, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Hanyang University D. Iornem, M.Sc., Ph.D., D.Litt. Heriot-Watt University P.A. Agashua, B.Sc.(Hons), Master in Clinical Psychology, Ph.D. University of Edinburgh, University of Liverpool, University of Lagos J. Roberts, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. North Texas State University, University of Wisconsin, California State University N.C. Kumarasinghe, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. University of Sri Jayewardenapura, University of Southampton D.B. Weiner, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Hadassah Community College, Hebrew University of Jerusalem M.J. Snell, B.A., M.B.A., D.B.A. Washington State University, University Of Phoenix J.J. LeVesque, B.A, M.B.A., D.B.A. University of Sarasota, University of Dallas, Our Lady of the Lake L. Adamolekun, B.A. Master in Public Administration, Ph.D. University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Oxford Honorary members of the faculty Mohammed Abubakar, Raphael Adebayo, Iyorchia Ayu, Alejandro Berlin, Theodore A. Burger, Carlos Campoy, Henry D.R. Carrol, Lavelda Davis, Victor E. Effiom, Luis Fernandez, Michael Festa, Walter R. Frisby, Jose M. Gay, Jose M. Gallego, Joseph H. Gelberman, Franklin D. Hall, Scott F. Hall, Jusuf Hariman, Syed A. Hassan, Liezl Herholdt, Marius D. Herholdt, Kassim M. Khamis, Sum-Wah Lam, Wooi B. Lee, Daniel Lemmer, Juan E. Llaneza, Julia Loytved, Paul W. Miller, Hadi Moghadasi, Frederick M. Monderson, Andy Ng Yoke Beng, Janice A. Nielsen, Johan Potgieter, K.L. Michael Prendergast JR, Naomi S. Prendergast, Roger Ross, Stefanus S. Saaiman, Michael L. Siebers, Lorraine H. Teller, Javier Teres, Mario Teres, Felix Tomillo, Pierre J.M. van Niekerk, Govert Westerveld, John H. Wilkinson. Affiliated organizations Institucion de Nuevas Profesiones The National Institute of Business Administration and Information Science Advance Academy Resources Sdn Bhd All Faiths Seminary International New Idea Management Consultants Commonwealth Open University Headquarters: Sea Meadow House Blackburne Highway P.O.Box 116 Road Town, Tortola VG1110 British Virgin Islands (U.K.) Fax/Voice: 1-305-675-3739 bvi@commonwealth.org International Information Centre cou@commopu.org Admissions & Operations admissions@off-campus.org Student Services services@commonwealth.org Marquis d'Olhonce Institute olhonce@commonwealth.org Yacht Club commodore@commonwealth.org Courses for Spanish Speaking Students commopu@telecable.es While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, this information is subject to later alteration or amendment in the light of policy changes or other constraints. The University does not intend by publication of this information to create any contractual or other legal relation with applicants, registered students, their advisers or any other person. Commonwealth Open University has no relation with The Open University.

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