Enquiry Form
Thank you for enquiring about institutional approval and validation by The Open University (OU). We
will use this form to assess whether or not to progress your enquiry, so please make sure you give
us all the relevant information and return the form:



By email to cicp-recep@open.ac.uk
By fax to +44 (0)1908 332841
By post to Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships, The Open University,
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, United Kingdom
For more information about the institutional approval and programme validation processes, please
visit http://www.open.ac.uk/validate.
This document is intended to be filled out electronically. Please type in the boxes provided – they will
expand to accommodate your text. Please do not exceed a total of 8 pages, or your application
may not be considered.
Section 1 – Your Contact Details
Name of enquirer :
(Principal / Delegated
Nominee)
Title:
Tel:
Email:
Section 2 – Details of Institution to be Approved
Name of institution:
Address of institution:
Town/City:
County:
Postcode:
Country:
Website Address:
When founded:
For overseas institutions only:
Proposed language of
teaching:
Proposed language of
assessment:
Is the institution recognised by your Government?
Section 3 – Type of Institution to be Approved
Type of institution (please tick):
Subject Specialism(s) if any:
Further Education College
Private College
Professional body
Corporate organisation
Other
Any additional details about the type of institution:
Section 4 – Sources of Funding
What is the main source of funding for the institution?
If publicly funded, would the public funding be available for pursuit of an OU-validated
award?
If privately funded, what are the main sources (students fees donations, endowments
etc.)?
Is the institution profit-making?
The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a
charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302)
2
Section 5 – Student and Staff Profile
What is the total number of students in the institution?
What is the total number of students on HE programmes?
What is the total number of academic staff in the institution?
What is the general level of qualifications of the academic staff?
Are the academic staff predominantly full-time or part-time?
If most academic staff are part-time, is this their main employment?
Section 6 – Current Higher Education Programmes
Approximately how many current HE programmes does the institution provide?
What are the main subject areas of these HE programmes?
Which awards do these HE programmes lead to?
Section 7 – Current Validation Arrangements
Is the institution currently approved/validated by a UK university? If so, which?
Does the institution have any other validation arrangements? If so, please give details
If there are current validation arrangements, is it intended to maintain validation through
the existing university(s) or to bring all HE programmes into OU approval?
The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a
charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302)
3
Section 8 – Reasons for Seeking OU Institutional Approval/Validation
What are your reasons for seeking institutional approval/validation with the OU?
Do you have any current links with The Open University? If so, which faculty/unit/region and
in what capacity?
Do you have any other links with other universities? If so, please give details
How did you hear about The Open University?
Section 9 – Proposed Programmes
Please give details of all proposed programmes to be validated:
Working Programme Title
Leading to
Award(s)
Proposed
Mode(s)
of Study
Proposed
Duration
Proposed
Start Date
projected
number of
student
registrations
per annum
The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a
charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302)
4
Section 10 – OU Principles of Institutional Approval
Please provide a brief explanation of your Institution’s approach to the 5 Principles.
(No
more 1:
than
100 words
per
section; a learning
detailed response
is required at a later stage)
Principle
Provision
of an
appropriate
environment
Refer to Appendix 1 of the Information Pack when constructing your response
Principle 2: Independence of institutional ownership from the exercise of academic authority
Principle 3: Academic organisation
Principle 4: Quality assurance and enhancement
Principle 5: Relations with the wider academic community
Section 11 – Submission
Please confirm the submission date for your enquiry:
Thank you for providing these details. Please return this form to us:
 By email to cicp-recep@open.ac.uk
 By fax to
+44 (0)1908 632841
 By post to Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships, The Open University,
Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, United Kingdom
The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a
charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302)
5