Open University Malaysia


Open University Malaysia, abbreviated as OUM, is the seventh private university in Malaysia. It is owned by Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations Sdn. Bhd, a consortium of 11 Malaysian public universities.
The main campus is located at Menara OUM, Kelana Centre Point, Kelana Jaya, Selangor. Additionally, there are more than 30 learning centres throughout Malaysia, out of which 10 are regional learning centres.
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History

During the 1990s a rising delivery method gaining popularity and frequently discussed was the Open and Distance Education concept. There was a need to democratise education, paving the way for a wider population to have access to education at an affordable price. Consequently, in August 1999, the Minister of Education called upon Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations Sdn. Bhd. to establish an open university in Malaysia. METEOR was headed by Tan Sri Dr Abdullah Sanusi Ahmad, who later on became the first Vice-Chancellor of Open University Malaysia. The action taken by the Minister of Education, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, resulted in the founding of Open University Malaysia in August 2000.
OUM initially opened its doors to 753 learners in 2001 as the first open and distance learning university in the country. OUM was officially launched by the then Prime Minister YAB Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on August 26, 2002. More than two decades later in 2023, OUM had about 30,000 active students and produced more than 103,000 graduates. In the same year, QS Stars had assessed OUM's online learning for three years and granted OUM a 5-Star rating .

Chancellors

Currently, the vice-chancellor of OUM is Prof Dr Ahmad Izanee Awang. The first chancellor was the late Endon Mahmood who was appointed on 16 December 2004. On 8 December 2007, Jeanne Abdullah was appointed as the new chancellor of OUM. The current pro-chancellor is Tan Sri Azman Hashim who is also the executive chairman of Arab-Malaysian Corporation Berhad.

Notable alumni