Anadolu University

Anadolu University (Anadolu Üniversitesi) is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey. The university is known for its success in verbal fields such as history and communication. Its Faculty of Communication Sciences is sometimes considered the best in Turkey. The campus is named after Yunus Emre.

History
Anadolu University is based on Eskişehir Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences, which was established in 1958. Anadolu University was established in 1982 from the union of four existing higher education institutes in Eskişehir: the Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences of Eskişehir, the State Academy of Architecture and Engineering, the Institute of Education, and a medical school. As the Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences was founded earliest (in 1958), Anadolu University has adopted that year as their date of establishment.

Campus
Most of Anadolu University's faculties and schools, including the Open Education Faculty, are located at the Yunusemre Campus in the centre of Eskişehir. The Yunusemre Campus also contains student housing, Anadolu's university hospital, and most of the university's administration buildings.

To serve its distance education students, Anadolu University operates 88 administrative centres, or bureaus, in urban areas throughout Turkey, many of which offer academic counselling and optional evening classes.

Distance education
The Higher Education Act of 1981 nominated Anadolu University as the national provider of distance education, upon which it has placed strong emphasis since its creation in 1982. The university's goal is to educate Turks who live in rural areas and others "who do not have the time or resources to enroll in conventional schools." This effort has been largely successful, as enrollment in open education programs has increased from under 30,000 in 1982-83 to over 870,000 in 2005-06 and is now also available to Turkish communities in Northern Cyprus and the European Union.

Programs offered via distance education include 4-year Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees in Economics and in Business Administration and nineteen 2-year associate degrees in a variety of fields. Anadolu University has received a mandate from the Turkish Ministry of National Education to educate Turkey's preschool and English language teachers and does so by distance education, though students in the latter program are also required to take two years of in-person classes.

Anadolu University and SUNY Empire State College offered distance education eMBA degree from 2005 to 2010.

Courses are delivered by a variety of methods, including pre-recorded television and radio broadcasts, videoconferences, and via internet. Students can also access academic counseling or attend optional evening classes at some of the Anadolu University bureaus located throughout Turkey.

Faculties

 * Distance Education Faculty
 * Faculty of Pharmacy
 * Faculty of Humanities
 * Faculty of Education
 * Faculty of Science
 * Faculty of Fine Arts
 * Faculty of Law
 * Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
 * Faculty of Economics
 * Faculty of Communication Sciences
 * Faculty of Business Administration
 * Faculty of Engineering
 * Faculty of Design and Architecture
 * Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Schools

 * School of Physical Education and Sports
 * School of Music and Drama
 * School of Industrial Arts
 * School for the Handicapped
 * School of Tourism and Hotel Management (faculty since earlier 2012)
 * School of Foreign Languages
 * State Conservatory

Vocational schools

 * Eskisehir Vocational School
 * Bozüyük Vocational School
 * Bilecik Vocational School
 * Porsuk Vocational School

Affiliations
The university is a member of European Universities Association.

Notable alumni

 * Yılmaz Büyükerşen - Metropolitan Mayor of Eskişehir, former rector of Anadolu University
 * Fethi Heper - Football player
 * Pelin Karahan - Actress
 * Ayşe Hatun Önal - Model, Actress, Singer-Songwriter
 * Beyazıt Öztürk - Television Personality, Standup Comedian and Actor
 * Levent Üzümcü - Actor
 * Nurgül Yeşilçay - Actress
 * Sara Kaya, Politician, former mayor of Nusaybin

Honorary doctorates

 * Sakıp Sabancı, 1984
 * Turgut Özakman, 1998
 * Ali Erdemir, 1998