The British Open University is described in the first section of this paper as a multi-media system for teaching at a distance. Details are provided on the texts and other materials mailed to the students, the radio and television broadcasts provided by the British Broadcasting Company, and on the auxiliary sources of assistance offered to the students. The following section of the report presents data on the Open University's cost-effectiveness. The concluding portion discusses the possibility of transplanting both the concept and the actuality of the Open University as an institution to the Third World. Five conditions necessary for the seccessful functioning of an Open University are specified and five kinds of assistance which the British Open University provides to Third World educators are reviewed. (PB)