Foreign students, largely from Indonesia, China and Thailand, and others from India, Korea, Mongolia, Nigeria, Taiwan, Japan and the Middles East, numbered 452 and 650 in 2007 and 2008 respectively. It was conceived as a strong contribution to the growth of the Penang and northern Peninsular Malaysia region. The university currently offers a wide range of programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels, which include certificate, diploma and degree programmes, non-graduating and off-campus study programmes. The last, started in 1971, was the first distance learning tertiary-level programme in the country, providing adult learners second chance opportunities for higher education.