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The open universities in China were initiated with Deng Xiaoping's personal support and approval in 1978. On February 6th, 1979, the Open University of China (abbreviated as OUC) was opened together with China's 28 provincial open universities. It transmitted its first national educational programme through CCTV on February 8th. With the development of 30 years, there are one central open university and 44 provincial open universities, almost 1,000 municipal open universities, nearly 2,000 county-level open universities and over 60,000 tutorial centres, which form an academic and administrative system of modern open and distance education characterized by overall planning, multi-level operating and collaborating with respective responsibilities. The open universities in China strive to meet the needs of China's reform and opening-up and socialist modernization and to adjust to the needs of a large number of learners. It persists in running the schools for the grass-roots units, for business and industries, for rural areas, remote areas, and regions inhabited by ethnic minority groups. It makes full use of the modern teaching methods and operates in a way of multi-level, multi-specification, multi-function and multi-form, and has brought advantages into full swing with low cost, quick effect and broad coverage. The open universities in China provide both degree and non-degree higher education and try to cultivate professionals required by economic and social development at the grass-roots level. Overall, the open universities in China mean to improve the comprehensive quality of the work force and the public in general through providing a variety of educational services. During the past 30 years, the open universities in China have provided degree and diploma education at tertiary and secondary specialized education level, and others. Since 1982, the number of graduates from the open universities in China has added up to over 7,000,000. They have conducted on-the-job training, certificate education and continuing education, including large-scale training programmes and training for reemployment, in service continuing education and training for teachers of primary and middle schools. From 1990 to the end of 2008, the number of graduates amounted to 20,820,000. On the basis of former practical technology training targeted on agriculture for villages and farmers, the open universities in China have implemented the "One-College-Student-for-One-Village Initiative" made by the Ministry of Education to extend higher education to rural areas. In cooperation with the military forces, the open universities in China have conducted higher education and secondary technical education for in service non-commissioned officers and provided human resources competent for both military and civilian services to build strong military forces. In cooperation with China Disabled Persons' Federation, the open universities in China have provided services through distance education for the disabled. They also provide support of distance education for on-line colleges and other educational institutions. In the course of providing modern open and distance education, the open universities in China have gradually developed their special features and strengths. They have been making comprehensive usage and optimum allocation of China's education resources and have developed and constructed a considerable number of multimedia teaching resources to meet the needs of distance education. They have also set up the procedures and standards for distance education. The open universities in China have built up a team of full-time teachers who are familiar with distance education and are experts in teaching, administration, technology research and development and theoretical research. They also engage tens of thousands of part-time professors and experts to ensure the quality of education. OUC alone has engaged over 1,000 prominent Chinese scholars as chief editors of teaching materials and course presenters over the years. The open universities in China have been making full use of earth satellites, digital radio and TV, computer network systems and other broadband multimedia platforms in conducting distance education. They have built up a wide-ranging support and quality assurance system for distance learning, offering strict assessment, tests, and teaching evaluation. Besides, they emphasize control and inspection of the whole teaching and learning process in order to provide excellent services and guidance for students. In April 1999, the Ministry of Education initiated the Pilot Programme for Reform on Talent Cultivation Mode and Open Education, leading the reform and development of the open universities in China to a brand new stage. Under the leadership of the Ministry of Education and with the support of local administrative departments of education, open education is centrally organized by OUC, which involves open universities and is supported by cooperating colleges and universities and relevant ministries and commissions. In 2007, the pilot programme successfully passed the summative evaluation by the Ministry of Education, and the mode of education was considered as an independent educational form in the modern national educational system and the lifelong learning system. This introduction of open education has been greatly welcomed as an important form of lifelong learning for the general public. The long-term development of the open universities in China will be based on the overall plan of constructing a harmonious and learning society. The open universities in China will pursue their goal of establishing a world-class open university for modern distance education and persist in the philosophy that vitality comes from good reputation and high quality, excellent service is the base, strengthening development and system construction is the future and efficient operation is the assurance. They have been dedicated to integrating excellent learning resources, providing considerate support services, operating highly efficient educational networks and conducting robust and up-to-date scientific researches in order to create an environment of open and distance education for professionals and to establish a large platform for lifelong learning for the general people. The goal is to build OUC into a world-class open university and national center of distance education, to build provincial open universities into local distance education centers and to build municipal and county-level open universities into local distance education bases and community education centers. Transmission Diagram of the System's Teaching Resources
Diagram of the System's Academic Management |
