The Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) was established in July 1989 by Act XX- (1989) of the Maharashtra State Legislature, named after Yashwantrao Chavan, Maharashtra’s great political leader and builder of modern Maharashtra. It is the fifth Open University in India. The jurisdiction of the university, originally for the State of Maharashtra, has now been extended beyond this State and the university can now operate anywhere across the globe. The YCMOU has been recognized under section 12 (B) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
It is a member of associations and bodies like the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), and Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Canada.
The University offers offline programmes and has also embarked on online initiatives. The YCMOU has its headquarters at Nashik and provides support to its learners through study centres, which are all over the State of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has a long tradition of educational reforms. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Panjabrao Deshmukh, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Bhaurao Patil, Swami Ramanand Teerth and other great thinkers and reformers have contributed to educational philosophy and movement in the state. It was therefore appropriate that the state realized the need of an open university.
Due to statutory powers conferred by an act XX (1989) of Maharashtra state legislature and the recognition by the ‘University Grants Commission of India’, the university can award academic certifications like certificates, diplomas, and graduate, post-graduate, doctoral degrees.