Ohio University is a U.S. public research university located on a 1,850-acre (7.5 km2) campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio is the first institution of higher education chartered through an act of Congress in America, by the Northwest Ordinance in 1787; the first university in the former Northwest Territory, in 1804; and is the ninth oldest public university in the United States. The Athens campus enrolls more than 26,000 students, who come from nearly every state and approximately 100 countries. Five regional campuses and e-learning programs further extend educational access and opportunity to students across southern Ohio and bring the total student population to approximately 40,000. Ohio University offers more than 250 areas of undergraduate study. Ohio has been cited for outstanding academic quality and value.