In this month of March 2018, the International Open University (IOU) was pleased to announce that the government of Indonesia issued a Certificate of Equivalency to the IOU with regard to its MAIS program. It was issued by the Director-General of Learning and University Student Affairs Ministry of Research, Technology, and High Education of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Certificate of Equivalency for IOU’s MAIS program is as follows: Original (Bahasa) Document and Translated Document

The International Open University is an associate member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), which is a world-wide association of over 200 organizations active in the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education.

INQAAHE is a quality assurance community with shared interests, a common language and an understanding of how things are done with regard to a very specific field of work. It provides a forum for the discussion of global issues, such as cross border education that go beyond national or regional boundaries. Members have the opportunity to learn from what others are doing, from both their successes and their failures, and thus have now set the ground for the development of a quality assurance profession.
The membership can be verified here.

The International Open University is an associate member of the African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN), which has been set up to provide assistance to institutions concerned with Quality Assurance in higher education in Africa. The Network has been set up by the Association of African Universities (AAU) with financial support from Global Initiative on Quality Assurance Capacity (GIQAC)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Network is committed to the enhancement of the quality of higher education on the African continent and the collaboration with similar organizations on other continents.

The objectives of AfriQAN are to:

1. Promote a culture of quality assurance in higher education in Africa;
2. Foster collaboration and linkages among quality assurance bodies within Africa;
3. Advance good practices in the enhancement and maintenance of quality higher education in Africa;
4. Collaborate with quality assurance bodies in Africa in capacity building;
5. Facilitate research into the practice of quality assurance in higher education for purposes of improving the quality of higher education in Africa;
6. Provide advice and expertise for the development of new national and sub-regional quality assurance bodies in Africa;
7. Assist members of the Network to articulate standards of institutions operating in member countries;
8. Foster harmonization of standards for quality assurance across countries in Africa
9. Facilitate international recognition of qualifications to enhance mobility of staff and students in Africa; and
10. Promote the interests of Africa in other networks and international organizations with related focus.

The International Open University is an associate member of the Association of Quality Assurance Agencies of the Islamic World (IQA) established in an effort to promote and enhance quality higher education in the countries of the Islamic world.

The goals of IQA are:

• To enhance the capacity of quality assurance agencies in countries of the Islamic World
• To facilitate collaboration and exchanges of best practices, experiences and expertise among quality assurance agencies of countries of the Islamic World; and
• To encourage cooperation with regional and international quality assurance organizations.

The International Open University (IOU) is an approved member institution of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW) of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).

ICESCO is an international non-profit organization emanating from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), specializing in the fields of education, science and culture.

The mission of ICESCO is the construction of tomorrow's decision-makers, the sharing of expertise and institutional support, the optimization of development policies and systems of innovation and knowledge.

IOU's membership can be verified here.

The International Open University (IOU) is an approved member institution of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).

The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) was founded in 1938 in Canada as the International Council for Correspondence Education and today, the ICDE is the leading global membership organization for open, distance, flexible and online education, including e-learning, with members from 60 countries representing every continent.

ICDE is a non-governmental organization supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and in formal consultative relations with UNESCO. ICDE works together with UNESCO in the service of international cooperation and development since 1967. This status grants ICDE’s members a voice at UNESCO.
The IOU membership can be verified here.

he International Open University is an associate member of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). The Association, AAOU, is a non-profit organization of higher learning institutions that were established to widen the educational opportunities available for all people in Asia and to improve the quality of the institutions in terms of their educational management, teaching and research.

The AAOU promotes education by distance teaching systems, as well as professional and ethical standards; develops potentialities of open and distance education; cooperates with official bodies and others directly or indirectly interested in education at a distance; and facilitates cooperation with other similar regional and international bodies.

The objectives of the AAOU are:

1. To widen the educational opportunities available to all the people of the region and to improve the cost of member institutions by exchanging management information, teaching materials and research;
2. To help promote education by distance teaching systems, and develop its potentialities;
3. To help promote professional and ethical standards amongst distance educators;
4. To cooperate with official bodies and others directly or indirectly interested in distance education;
5. To facilitate cooperation with other similar regional and international bodies in all the above objectives;
6. To do all other things incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objectives.

The membership of IOU at the AAOU may be verified here.

In its quest to change nations through education by raising a generation of individuals aware of their social duties towards their communities, the International Open University has joined the Talloires Network, which is an international association of institutions committed to strengthening the civic roles and social responsibilities of higher education. The Talloires Network is a global coalition of 315 universities in 72 countries with a combined enrollment of over 6 million students.

General Benefits of the Talloires Network Member Institutions

1. Eligibility to apply for the annual MacJannet Prize, which provides monetary awards and public recognition for innovative and effective university civic engagement programs
2. Connections to peers (administrators, staff, faculty, and students) at institutions around the world who have similar interests in civic engagement
3. Opportunities for joint initiatives, including institutional partnerships and regional conferences
4. Access to a shared global platform, through the Talloires Network’s website, monthly newsletter, and other communication tools to increase the visibility of the Islamic Online University’s civic engagement work
5. Access to expertise on civic engagement through online toolkits and resources
6. Announcements of opportunities that may be of interest to the Islamic Online University, such as grant opportunities and regional conferences

Benefits for the Students

The IOU membership can be verified ?  here??.

• Access to information on civic engagement and experiential learning, which builds critical thinking skills, leadership skills, and a sense of social responsibility
• Platform for student voices and a framework for more communication with other stakeholders than might be possible inside a single institution

The International Open University is committed towards its civic engagement and realizes that universities should play a major role in creating a generation of individuals who are aware of their social responsibilities and would benefit their communities as responsible citizens. The IOU’s civic engagement activities’ summary and membership status can be verified here.
The International Open University Civic Engagement Report (August 2015) may be viewed here.

The International Open University is a member of the International Council of Islamic Finance Educators (ICIFE) which is the Global Body for Professional Certification and Accreditation for the Islamic Finance Education. The ICIFE aims to increase and maintain the professionalism of educators in the Islamic Finance field at the national (Malaysia) and international level.
Some of the Objectives of ICIFE are:

• To design and develop a world class curriculum for the Islamic finance education.
• To review and update the Islamic finance curriculum continuously to be relevant to market needs.
• To develop training modules for knowledge and skills development of talents for teaching, and training students and professionals in Islamic finance.
• To publish text and reference books, journals, magazines and newsletters.

Benefits of Joining ICIFE:

• Membership in ICIFE will give IOU professional recognition in the field of Islamic banking and finance educators as ICIFE is the leading authority here.
• Access to a pool of experts who can be relied upon for information and advice on the recognition, accreditation and authenticity of curriculum in Islamic banking and finance and the related areas.
• Opportunity to participate in specialized programs and courses organized for the benefit of ICIFE members and associates in the field of Islamic banking and finance and its related areas.

Benefits for the Students:

• The students will receive a world class curriculum in Islamic economics and finance education that will be updated continuously to cater to the needs of the market.
• There will be networking opportunities for students to develop their careers further in the respective fields of study in the area of Islamic banking, economics and finance.

The membership of IOU at the ICIFE can be verified here.

The IInternational Open University (IOU) ?has ?established ?ICIFE (International Council of Islamic Finance Educators) ??country chapters in four countries: India, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Somaliland?.

The country chapter certificates may be viewed here:

• Indian Chapter Certificate.
• The Gambian Chapter Certificate.
• Sierra Leone Chapter Certificate.
• Somaliland Chapter Certificate.

The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) of the Government of The Gambia, and the International Open University (IOU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 15, 2015.
Please click here to view the MOU.