Hellenic Open University

About

The Hellenic Open University (HOU) is Greece's only public university exclusively dedicated to distance education, offering flexible learning opportunities primarily in Greek. It is well-regarded for its programs in Business Administration, Computer Science, and Humanities, catering to adult learners and professionals seeking to advance their education without traditional campus attendance. While most programs are in Greek, HOU offers a growing number of English-taught postgraduate programs, making them accessible to international students. The international student experience is characterized by self-paced online study and virtual interaction, rather than a traditional campus life, with support primarily through program-specific academic advisors and online resources. Its distinctive characteristic is its pioneering role in providing accessible, high-quality higher education through distance learning across Greece and to Greek communities abroad.

Background

The Hellenic Open University (HOU; Greek: Ελληνικό Ανοικτό Πανεπιστήμιο, ΕΑΠ) was founded in 1992 in Patras and is the only online/distance-learning public university in Greece. Modelled on the British Open University, the Hellenic Open University was established to fill a gap for telematic and distance education in the higher education system of the Hellenic Republic in response to the growing demand for continuing education and lifelong learning. It is the first and only higher education institution (HEI) in Greece that provides open and distance education at undergraduate and postgraduate as well as doctoral level. Placing great emphasis on research, HOU promotes research programmes aiming towards the development of methodologies and corresponding high technologies for open and distance learning.

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