The IOU has been granted a university license and accreditation from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education in Guinea-Bissau; as well as a license to operate an online university in The Gambia from The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology in The Gambia.
Moreover, in the same year, the IOU introduced new departments: Department of Education; Department of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance; and Department of Psychology. All departments offer BA degree, Diploma or Certificate programs to choose from. In addition, a new department of Arabic Language and Linguistics has been launched offering a 2-year Intensive Arabic program. The IOU also introduced a BA in Islamic Studies in Russian language; Ijaza program; and a prison initiative. Thus, the IOU has a single virtual campus for all its accredited programs hosted on its own dedicated server.