About Us

About IGNOU

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), established by an Act of Parliament in 1985, has continuously striven to build an inclusive knowledge society through inclusive education. It has aimed to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by offering high-quality teaching through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode.

The University began by offering two academic programmes in 1987, i.e., Diploma in Management and Diploma in Distance Education, with a strength of 4,528 students. Today, IGNOU serves the educational aspirations of over 3 million students in India and abroad through 21 Schools of Studies and a network of 67 regional centres, around 2,657 learner support centres and 29 overseas partner institutions.

The University offers about 228 certificate, diploma, degree and doctoral programmes, with nearly 810 faculty members, 574 academic staff, and around 33,212 academic counsellors from institutions, organizations, and industries.

The mandate of the University is to:
  • Provide access to higher education to all segments of society.
  • Offer high-quality, innovative and need-based programmes at different levels.
  • Reach out to disadvantaged groups by offering education at affordable costs.
  • Promote, coordinate, and regulate standards of education in open and distance learning.
  • Provide continual professional development and training to all sectors of the economy.

IGNOU has made a significant mark in higher education, community education, and professional development. It collaborates with reputed public institutions and private enterprises to enhance educational opportunities. As a world leader in distance education, it has been conferred with awards of excellence by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Canada, among others.

Centre for Online Education (COE)

Centre for Online Education (COE) was established on June 7, 2019 vide notification IG/Admn(c)/Not./2019/237 by renaming Inter University Consortium (IUC) with the approval of the Board of Management in the meeting held on May 05, 2019.

Vision:

Centre for Online Education (COE) shall endeavor to make IGNOU a global leader in digital learning with world-class technology-enabled learning experiences and support services. The vision is to align with the nation’s digital initiatives to provide affordable access to quality education through a virtual learning environment for anyone, anytime, and anywhere.

Mission:

The Centre will support in the process improvement and service enhancement through automation and digitization in line with digital initiatives of the nation to provide high-quality education to all at their doorstep.

Objectives:

  • ✔ To provide personalized, digitally connected, experiential learning to diverse groups of learners using the latest online technologies and pedagogies.
  • ✔ To provide need-based online learning opportunities for continuous professional development and skill upgradation to in-service professionals.
  • ✔ Strive towards continuous updation of learning technologies through research and collaboration with other institutions in the area of online/virtual learning.
  • ✔ To provide capacity-building opportunities to all online education providers in the country.
  • ✔ To ensure quality assurance in design, development, and implementation of online education matching national and international standards.