Autonomous university typically refers to a university which exercises independent control over its day-to-day operations and curriculum. It is generally associated with universities, institutions and implies that the sponsoring state does not have control over academic matters of the school. Conversely, universities that are not autonomous generally have their academic programs, curriculum, controlled, even dictated by the state's the Ministry of Education or government agency regulating higher education.

In order to be successful, universities need to be able to take their own decisions.

To be eligible for such autonomy, the colleges must have been given ‘A’ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, which means a Cumulative Grade Points Average of at least 3 on a scale of 4.

Yes IGNOU has both short-term as well as long-term strategies to achieve its mission and realise its vision. The elements of the action plan to achieve the objectives are:

1. Total Quality Assurance

In the context of quality of education offered by the ODL institutions, IGNOU has approached the task at two levels: i) as an institution, and ii) as a system-leader.

i) IGNOU as an institution

The University is committed to quality and excellence in all its activities — teaching, research, training and extension. The norms for programme evaluation, performance indicators for operation of systems, mechanisms to inject vibrancy in assessment and evaluation, and rewarding merit, have been established. The University shall:

Initiate the process of academic audit and engage in a serious exercise to revise its course materials, both print and audio-visual, by incorporating information on the latest developments in all areas of study;

Designate the better-performing disciplines, schools, centres and institutes as centres of excellence;

Develop an ever-evolving mechanism for continuing professional development for the teaching and support staff;

Take education to the unreached and enable them