Al-Quds Open University is an administratively, academically and financially independent public university. According to the university's website, it was established in Amman, Jordan, by a decree issued by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and started operating in the Palestinian territories in 1991. QOU is the only open distance education institute in the Palestinian territories. It has over 60,000 students studying in 24 educational regions and centers distributed all over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.: QOU's (2005–2010) mission is summarized on its website as follows: According to its website , its general goals are: in general alongside with preserving the society's values and traditions in the frame of modernity. The university offers five programs leading to BA Degree in Technology and Applied Sciences, Agriculture, Social and Family Development, Administrative and Economic Sciences, and Education. The university has announced plans to create Post Graduate School in the near future. According to the University's website, the university has four centers.