UMUC is a visionary institution, on the forefront of education for the 21st-century workforce. It is an entrepreneurial and creative institution, committed to the exploration of knowledge, the construction of partnerships, and innovative academic delivery. It is a large and diverse institution, with nearly 150 sites worldwide. It is a substantive institution, committed to lifelong learning and education of adults in the workforce.

UMUC has fulfilled its principal mission of providing higher education opportunities to nontraditional students for over 60 years. Founded in 1947 as the College of Special and Continuation Studies, UMUC has grown to become one of the largest institutions in the University System of Maryland—both in terms of enrollments and its global scope—while earning accolades for the quality of its programs and its innovative use of technology.

UMUC is one of the eleven degree-granting institutions that make up the University System of Maryland. It is the component of the University System dedicated to providing lifelong learning opportunities for adult students–throughout the state of Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, in military communities around the world, and increasingly via Distance Education. In recent years, UMUC has provided courses to students in more than twenty countries on all seven continents. When the University of Maryland began its programs in Asia in 1956, General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, Pacific Commander, remarked that “the sun never sets on the University of Maryland.” His comment is still true today.

UMUC worldwide offers degree programs from the Associate of Arts through the Doctor of Management, undergraduate and graduate certificates, a graduate program that provides an accelerated route to teacher certification in the state of Maryland, and noncredit leadership development programs that respond to the needs of the lifelong learner.

Throughout all the University’s many programs, certain features stand out: UMUC’s commitment to serving nontraditional students, its academic quality, its active presence throughout the state of Maryland, its international scope as a global university, and its long partnership with the U.S. military.

UMUC recognizes that nontraditional students have many demands on their time and often must balance studies with work and family responsibilities. To help them accomplish their education goals, UMUC provides a number of convenient and flexible options for both coursework and student services. Classroom-based courses are offered at times convenient for working adults at locations near where they live and work, while online courses may be accessed from anywhere at any time.

UMUC’s commitment to academic quality is evident in the university’s assessment of student learning, faculty, and scholarly activities, as well as in its programs. The University works closely with its faculty and with business and other organizations to develop and maintain the relevance of its curricula. It also ensures that its academic programs have the same structure, requirements, and outcomes whether they are offered in Maryland classrooms, at overseas locations, or through online courses.

UMUC places a high priority on student learning and embraces the concept of learning assessment within instructional delivery and teaching practices. To provide evidence of student learning, the University adheres to a comprehensive learning assessment process that assesses student learning in specific core learning areas. Embedded within the curriculum of each degree program, these core learning areas represent the knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of all UMUC graduates. Undergraduate core learning areas are effective communication, technology fluency, information literacy/research competence, quantitative literacy, critical thinking, scientific literacy, and specialized knowledge. Graduate core learning areas are effective communication, technology fluency, information literacy/research competence, quantitative literacy, critical thinking, globalization/diversity, and specialized knowledge. Assessment data for these core learning areas are used to continuously improve the quality of UMUC’s academic programs.

Already a pioneer in offering quality on-site and online courses, UMUC continues to lead by combining these two formats in new ways that can better meet the changing needs of today’s military students. One such innovation, the "Flex" option, enhances a traditional course by permitting individual students, who may miss class because of duty, the option of keeping up with required coursework online. Another format is the "Hybrid" course, which, by blending on-site and online coursework, offers the time flexibility of an online course along with the advantage of a number of scheduled physical classroom meetings during the session. For those students who lack regular or predictable access to either a traditional or online classroom, UMUC Asia also offers self-paced computer-aided telecourses (CAT courses).

The University of Maryland began its overseas program in 1949 with classes at six education centers in Europe. The program proved very successful, rapidly expanding to include locations in 12 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This dramatic success led the Armed Forces to invite Maryland to bring its program to Asia and the Pacific. In 1956, courses began in Japan, Okinawa, Korea, Guam, and Taiwan, with just over 1,700 students. By the second year, enrollments had doubled; it was clear that this experiment in off-duty education would be successful in Asia as well. In fact, to date close to half a million students have taken UMUC courses in Asia, and thousands have earned certificates or degrees.

Establishing university programs in Asia and the Pacific has not been easy for students, faculty, or administrators. During the years of America’s military involvement in Southeast Asia, students studied during blackouts, faculty members (who were sometimes driven to class in armored vehicles) shouted over mortar fire, and textbooks were occasionally air dropped.

UMUC Asia enters its sixth decade ready and able to provide lifelong learning opportunities for American citizens serving their country abroad.