The Dutch Open Universiteit Nederland is a university or institution for distance learning for higher education at university level (both professional and scientific). This means that students do not attend classes but study at home. The Open Universiteit uses a variety of methods for distance learning, including written materials, the internet, and occasional evening seminars or day sessions. The Open Universiteit Nederland (or Open University of the Netherlands) was founded in 1984, welcoming its first students in September 1984. It is an independent government-funded institute. The administration is based in Heerlen, in the province of Limburg, in the very south of the Netherlands. Dispersed over the Netherlands, the Open Universiteit has 12 study centres and 3 support centres, as well as 6 study centres in Dutch-speaking Flanders (Belgium) and 1 study centre in the Netherlands Antilles. 29,104 students are enrolled (in 2007) at all study or support centres in the Netherlands, including students who live in other parts of the world; in 2003, 1,991 students were enrolled at a Flemish study centre.