ESC OER Taskforce/open universities

"The OER university concept is derived from the original etymology of "universitas magistrorum et scholarium" referring to a community of scholars. The OER university is an innovation partnership of like-minded institutions committed to creating pathways for OER learners to gain academic credit through the formal education system. As such we use the lowercase "u" to refer to the OER university collaboration. The OER university is not a formal teaching institution and does not confer degrees or qualifications -- but works in partnership with accredited educational institutions to provide credit for OER learning on the pathway to awarding credible credentials." from OER University

SUNY Empire State College is one of the founding institutions of the OERu.

Other institutions sometimes identify themselves as an open university, but are not a member of the OERu. Generally speaking open universities value the concept of open education and work towards the sharing of educational resources and knowledge by increasing access for all learners. Institutions acknowledge lifelong learning by researching how to best assess the learning taking place in these alternate environments.