Becoming a Partner

Welcome to The Open University (OU). You are part of an international network of partner institutions who develop and deliver OU validated awards. We hope that you will find these pages useful, but if you have any questions or feedback, please do get in touch.

First Step

Please complete this contact form. We will then be in touch to discuss your enquiry and how we can help support and collaborate with you, and discuss the models of partnership that we offer. 

Applying

If you feel validation is the right model for you, we will ask you to complete the (OU) Validation Partnerships Application Form and send to OUVP Enquiries. We will then be in touch within 15 working days to advise on next steps. 

The approval process

The approval process is a staged approach, you can find all the details in the OU Handbook for Validated Awards.

Principles of institutional approval

New partners seeking approval will be expected to demonstrate their alignment with the University’s principles for institutional approval which you can find here.