Commonwealth of Learning

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an intergovernmental organisation of the Commonwealth of Nations headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded at the 1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and inaugurated in 1988, COL's mandate is to promote and develop the use of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies throughout the Commonwealth's 54 member states. COL has evolved into one of the world's leading distance education providers and leads the international development in distance education along with UNESCO. COL is the only intergovernmental organisation solely concerned with the development of distance education.

COL's activities are grouped under two sectors: Education and Livelihoods & Health. COL helps nations increase access to quality education at all levels by focusing on quality assurance, teacher development, new approaches to higher education and the creation of expertise in Electronic learning. It helps countries to identify where livelihoods can be improved, and to create matching learning opportunities. Successful approaches to improving rural and peri-urban economies draw on COL's close relationship with international agricultural bodies.

Financial support for COL's core operations is provided by Commonwealth governments on a voluntary basis, with primary funding renewed every three years. COL also receives extra-budgetary income from other development sources and provides fee-for-service distance education and open learning course delivery and training for international agencies, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Health Organization (WHO).