Zimbabwe Open University

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The Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) is a distance-education university in Harari, Zimbabwe. Established in 1999, it is considered the primary distance education university in the country. Student enrollment at ZOU has been growing steadily since its formation, and in terms of enrollment it is the largest university in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Open University has three faculties under which the academic programmes are conducted. It operates in all the 10 provinces of the country.

In 2007 the university had a total enrolment of 19,676 students of whom the majority were Zimbabwean nationals. The 88% of them were studying under-graduate degree/diploma, the rest postgraduate and masters degree.

They have several problems to achieve their goals for many reasons:

• Infrastructure constraints.
• Lack of its own premises.
• Inadequate libraries.
• No broadband Internet connectivity.
• Institution’s financial sustainability is being damaged by the current hyperinflation coupled to fees that are regulated by the state.

The course delivery methods include print media, compact cassettes, videocassettes, telephone, fax, e-mail, CDs and radio broadcasts.

The Zimbabwe Open University web site is at http://www.zou.ac.zw/