This paper presents an outline of Great Britain's Open University from its ideological inception through its ultimate development and present functioning. The objectives of the University appear in the charter as follows: "The objects of the University shall be the advancement and dissemination of learning and knowledge by teaching and research by a diversity of means, such as broadcasting and technological devices appropriate to higher education, by correspondence tuition, residential courses and seminars, and in other relevant ways, and shall be to provide education of university and professional standards for its students and to promote the educational well-being of the community generally." Thus, a multimedia approach to learning has been instituted at the University. A summary of the structure of courses, the means of assessing students' work, and the procedures for admitting students to the university are included in the report. (Author/HS)