NIRF Open Universities Ranking 2025: Updated List

Open universities in India are perfect for getting flexible and affordable education. They offer distance and online courses, making education more accessible for you. These universities make education accessible for students from various socio-economic backgrounds. However, you must find the university that meets all the right parameters. NIRF helps you navigate the universities depending on the quality of the educational parameters being followed by the universities.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework has released the Open University rankings 2025. According to the NIRF 2025 rankings, IGNOU continues to be ranked 1. Apart from IGNOU, two more universities are included in the NIFT open universities ranking 2025 list. These open universities showed remarkable progress and career growth possibilities. In this blog, we comprehensively look at the top 3 open universities as per the NIRF ranking. Besides that, the blog also covers the meaning of open universities, NIRF ranking, parameters, and other insights.

What is NIRF?

The full form of NIRF is the National Institutional Ranking Framework. This framework evaluates and ranks the higher educational institutions in India. These rankings are developed in different categories, such as management, engineering, university, open university, pharmacy, and more. Every year, NIRF releases these rankings. NIRF ranking is a valuable tool for making an informed college decision.

Parameters Affecting NIRF Ranking

NIRF open university rankings also help online & distance learners to find the best opportunities. NIRF considers five parameters to rank open universities. Each parameter includes 100 marks, making it a total of 500 marks. Here are the five NIRF parameters with their sub-parameters:

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  Teaching, Learning & Resources: Student strength, faculty strength, financial resources, online education, multiple entry/exit, and units/modules.
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  Research & Professional Practice: Publications, quality of publications, footprints of projects and professional practice.
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  Graduation Outcomes: Students graduated from UG, PG, and PhD programmes.
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  Outreach and Inclusivity: Total number of students from rural and urban areas. Percentage of women/SC/ST/OBC/PCS.
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  Perception: Perception among academic peers and employers.

List of Top 3 Open Universities as per the NIRF 2025

Open universities have been providing education for ages. It is beneficial for those living in faraway places or who cannot pursue traditional education due to certain limitations. Here is the list of the best open universities in India as per the NIRF 2025 open university ranking:

Let’s check out the details of each open university one by one:

1. Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

Established in 1985, IGNOU is recognised by UGC and AICTE. It is India’s most reputed and highly ranked distance education university. The university is also ranked 1 by NIRF 2025. Until now, IGNOU has successfully fulfilled the dreams of over 3 million students in India. There are 57 regional centres and 2000 learner support centres that make learning accessible.

This university offers an extensive list of distance/online UG and PG programmes. Despite being an open university, it is known for its academic excellence and industry-relevant courses. The university offers 330+ degree, diploma, certificate, and doctoral programmes. They follow a learner-centric approach, ensuring quality education, skill upgrades, and training. Keeping up with the technological advancements, today IGNOU courses are a combination of distance and online programmes.

📝 Highlights of IGNOU:

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  Recognised by UGC-DEB
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  Approved by AICTE
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  Graded A++ by NAAC
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  NIRF Ranking 1 (under the open university ranking)

2. Karnataka State Open University, Mysore

Established on June 1, 1996, Karnataka State Open University has secured the second rank among state open universities across India, according to NIRF. It offers several undergraduate, postgraduate, and certificate programmes along with online courses. The courses provide flexibility and accessibility to learners, allowing them to study at their pace, anytime and anywhere.

The focus of the university is to transform learners through multidisciplinary, accessible, affordable, and relevant academic programmes by equipping them with advanced knowledge and skills to become successful professionals when they step into the industry. The goal of the university is to enhance the aptitude, confidence, and competency of learners and help them build outstanding academic portfolios so that they have endless professional opportunities and a wider scope for career growth.

📝 Highlights of KSOU:

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  Recognised by UGC
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  Graded A+ by NAAC
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  Approved by AICTE
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  NIRF Ranking 2 (under the open university ranking)

3. U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University, Uttar Pradesh

UPRTOU, or the U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University was established in 1999 by the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature. This is the seventh open university in the country. UPRTOU courses over 115 programmes at various academic levels from UG, PG, diploma to certificate courses. To make learning accessible and effective, UPRTOU offers learner-centric distance education and makes use of modern digital tools for creating a dynamic and interactive teaching and learning ecosystem.

UPRTOU admissions are conducted for a variety of programmes in an online and distance learning format. The university provides state-of-the-art infrastructure and highly qualified teaching faculty at an affordable cost. Moreover, the university has collaborated with various institutes and organisations for the advancement of knowledge and skills.

📝 Highlights of UPRTOU:

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  Recognised by UGC
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  Approved by AICTE
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  Graded B+ by NAAC
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  NIRF Ranking 3 (under the open university ranking)

How to Find the Best Open University?

NIRF open university rankings are one of the parameters for making the right decision. While it helps you look out and shortlist the top-quality colleges, it cannot help you make the definitive choice. For this, you must also assess your goals, future interests, budget, and work responsibilities.

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  Understand Your Goals: To find the right university, you must first assess your goals. You must understand the field you are interested in and the kind of career you want to pursue.
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  Do Your Research: Do deep research into the career and find out the average salary, job growth, required prerequisites (if any), and more.
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  Budget: You must analyse your education budget. However, open universities offer affordable education with scholarships and financial aid.
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  Evaluate College Options: To critically analyse the university options, you can look at the latest NIRF rankings.
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  Assess their Faculty and Student Support: Analyse the quality of teaching and student support services throughout the programme.
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  Do a Reality Check: Finally, make a choice that helps you build a successful career in the field of your choice.

Conclusion

The NIRF ranking of open universities plays a crucial role in the modern educational world. As more and more people are shifting towards flexible education modes such as online and distance education, the NIRF ranking helps find the top opportunities. This is why we have created a list of NIRF open university rankings. The list includes three colleges: IGNOU, Karnataka State Open University, and U.P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University. Furthermore, the blog covers NIRF ranking parameters, college fee ranges, top distance programmes, and more. Although this year’s list included only three universities, many other open universities have drawn inspiration from the upcoming NIRF rankings.