Open University of Sri Lanka

Open University, Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා විවෘත විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය இலங்கை திறந்த பல்கலைக்கழகம்
Established	1978

The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL)  ශ්‍රී ලංකා විවෘත විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය,  இலங்கை திறந்த பல்கலைக்கழகம் is a national university in Sri Lanka. It is unique within the Sri Lankan national university system for being the only university to offer programmes of study leading to certificate, diploma, degree, postgraduate diploma and postgraduate degree through the Distance Mode/ Learning. OUSL's academic programs enable students to combine theoretical study with meaningful real-world learning experiences.

The OUSL Main Campus is located in Colombo in Nawala, Nugegoda.

The concept of establishing the Open University of Sri Lanka was by Dr. Nissanka Wijeyeratne the Cabinet Minister of Education & Higher Education at the time. The University was set up by the Government of Sri Lanka under the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978, for the purpose of providing higher educational opportunities to working adults - providing them the road to success, surpassing age, vocation, gender, race, ethnicity and religion. The university policy on admission would enable a person to register at the lowest 'Level' with mere basic literacy and then climb up to postgraduate level. The concept of Distance Education at the OUSL functions through a dynamic network of regional and study centres, with knowledge imparted through multiple media. Therefore students with work commitments are able to pursue studies since they interact with especially designed self-instructional materials where the materials function as a “Tutor in Print”. This method provides the distance learner with the best possible learning opportunity to enable a balancing of personal, work related and academic obligations.

Vision

The OUSL's Vision is "“To be the premier Open and Distance Learning institution in Asia through excellence, efficiency and equity in lifelong learning” ."

Mission

The OUSL's Mission is To enhance access to high quality, affordable and relevant education through Open Distance Education and ensure lifelong learning opportunities to face challenges in a knowledge society

Faculties

The University consists of four Faculties and several divisions. The four faculties are:

1. Faculty of Education
2. Faculty of Engineering Technology
3. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
4. Faculty of Natural Sciences

Faculty of Education

The Faculty of Education was established in 2003 and currently consists of three departments. These three departments are:
1.Department of Secondary & Tertiary Education
2.Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education
3.Department of Special Needs Education

Faculty of Engineering Technology

The Faculty of Engineering Technology of OUSL offers Bachelor of Technology (Engineering)[B.Tech(Eng)] and Bachelor of Industrial studies (BIS). Bachelor of Technology in Engineering degree offered by the Faculty of Engineering Technology is highly recognised by professional Engineering Institution (IESL); both local and overseas to work as qualified Graduate Engineers. It is also the pioneers of introducing Mechatronics Engineering to Sri Lankan engineering education curricula and would be proud of producing first graduate engineers in Mechatronics engineering on 2010 in Sri Lanka. The Faculty consists of six departments. These six departments are:

1. Department of Agricultural and Plantation Engineering
2. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
3. Department of Mechanical Engineering
4. Department of Textile and Apparel Technology
5. Department of Civil Engineering
6. Department of Mathematics and Philosophy of Engineering

Faculty also offers two Master of Technology programmes in Industrial Engineering and Construction management; each conduct by Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering departments respectively.

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) is the largest faculty of the OUSL. The Faculty consists of the four following departments:
1. Department of Language Studies
2. Department of Law
3. Department of Social Studies
4. Department of Management

Faculty of Natural Sciences

The Faculty of Natural Sciences was established in 1987 and consists of the six following departments:
1.Department of Botany
2.Department of Chemistry
3.Department of Health Science
4.Department of Mathematics
5.Department of Physics
6.Department of Zoology