Just a quick message to offer some perspective on how the idea of an open university is conceived at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
I had an informal discussion with a University of Helsinki official yesterday on the topic. He was very surprised to learn that the Open University in the UK awards degrees - shocked to know that you can even do a master's or a doctorate.
He told me that the Open University of Finland only allows students to attend individual courses but does not award degrees (and never will). He told me that the University of Helsinki admininstration, including himself, strongly oppose the idea of their Open University awarding degrees of any kind. It's all about Finland being a small country and not wanting to create graduates who would then have to face unemployment.
But, Finns could work abroad, and they could attract international students, I thought. And said nothing. They must know what they're doing. One must respect their success in fields like education.