The focus of this paper was to establish the current situation at the only dedicated ODL university in Southern Africa, theUniversity of South Africa (UNISA), regarding the use of and contribution to Open Educational Resources (OER). It was the intention of the authors to determine whether the university has any institutional position or intention in this regard and whether the policies of the institution are conducive towards Open Educational Practice. Information was gathered through a review of institutional strategic documents, research papers and reports, communication by the Vice-Chancellor both within the institution and to external stakeholders, as well as specific academic practices in this regard. The results of the review indicate clearly that the university has been positioning itself to take advantage of this movement and institutional policies and resources are being brought in line with this position. This means that academic colleges at the University of South Africa will be required to establish their own positions in this regard, in order to contribute to and benefit from the OER initiative.

Keywords

distance education · HEI policy · ODL · OER · open courseware · UNISA