IOU provides you with the authentic Islamic teachings that are based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. IOU also includes contemporary subjects like Economics, Psychology, Management etc. all taught from an Islamic perspective to provide students better understanding and enable them to practice their profession according to Islamic values and ethics.

Islamic Online University is an online university which means that it is accessible anywhere with a computer and an Internet connection. The IOU head office is based in The Gambia but the entire study is conducted only on the Internet.

We cannot claim that ALL universities will accept IOU's degrees, as it each country has its own practices and standards for recognition of university credits and studies, accreditation and/or recognition of prior learning (RPL). As such, IOU can only focuss on meeting requirements for registration, accreditation and endorsement in our host countries. Through international higher education conventions, a registered and accredited university of a particularly country is recognized globally, however, some countries and universities may reserve the right not to recognize another’s qualifications - which is completely beyond the control of the degree-issuing university. The Islamic Online University (now renamed to the ‘International Open University – The Gambia’) is fully registered and accredited with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in the Somali Federal Republic. Our newly-relocated head offices are in The Gambia. We are registered with the National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) of Gambia and awaiting finalization of our institutional accreditation. The ‘Islamic Online University’ also holds provisional registration with the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) in Malawi. We have multiple satellite campuses in various countries world-wide that operate under the registration and accreditation obtained in our host countries (Somali Federal Republic, The Gambia, and Malawi). Whilst every effort is made to fulfill, meet and maintain registration and accreditation requirements in our host countries; as per international practice, the recognition of IOU-issued qualifications in non-host countries is at the discretion of their relevant national councils, that have diverse criteria for accepting foreign qualifications. As such, we encourage all our students not residing in our host countries to validate the recognition of the qualification with their national authorities. IOU is governed by the regulations and quality assurance practices and policies of our host countries.

While it is quite difficult to keep track of this, we have been notified of some of our graduates pursuing postgraduate studies in Indonesia and Gambia.

IOU is registered and accredited in Somalia. This was the first country in which IOU received full registration and accreditation. IOU then subsequently applied for registration in Gambia and has established a headquarters there. The finalization of registration is underway in The Gambia. We hope to conclude the finalization soon, In sha Allah. IOU also has provisional registration by the National Council of Higher Education in Malawi. We are also busy with the finalization of registration in Malawi currently. Once full registration is granted in Gambia and Malawi, IOU will then shift completely over to their systems and legislation.

The onus lies with the applicant seeking credit transfer externally to apply using the standard IOU-issued documents. In the motivation of the application, the student may naturally refer to an MoU in place.
The other university will follow their procedures to determine the validity and scope of the MoU. If the MoU explicitly cites credit transfer/recognition, then the applicant should not face challenges.
However, there are instances where admissions departments of partner universities might not grant credit transfer of some/all courses because the MoU might not have been intended for the purpose of credit transfer, or there could have been changes to syllabi that prevents credit transfer, as courses between IOU and partner university are no longer aligned.
It would be best to check the conditions of the MoU in place with the specific partner university to explore its scope.