Recently, the book series called Advanced Study and Training Series of Open and Distance Education was published. The series was the product of the cooperation between the Publishing House of OUC and the Commonwealth of Learning, and was issued under the general editorship of Dr. Ge Daokai, President of OUC (the Open University of China). The first series includes five books: Creating Learning Materials for Open and Distance Learning: A Handbook for Authors & Instructional Designers, Tutoring in Open and Distance Learning: A Handbook for Tutors, Quality Assurance in Open and Distance Education, Practitioner Research and Evaluation Skills Training in Open and Distance Learning, Planning and Implementing Open and Distance Learning Systems: A Handbook for Decision Makers. The contents of the series cover five key areas, including quality assurance, scientific research approach, course development, and teachers guide to management and decision-making. Professor Chen Li from Beijing Normal University spoke highly of the series and regarded the series to be the "first set of masterpieces of China's theoretical research on distance education".

Combining theory with practice, the books in this series are concise and short. Without profound theories and discussions on different academic perspective, the books promote critical thinking and broaden readers' scope of learning with practical and operable suggestions and instructive cases. In this way, the books can help deepen readers' understanding and knowledge of distance education and improve business performance and overall professional quality. Overall, the series is a guide of theoretical and practical significance for the distance education's execution at the macro-level and intermediate level of organization and management.

The five topics of the first series were selected with the suggestions of experts and professors from the OUs system in China, the conventional universities, the e-College, and the Institutes of Distance Education Research on the basis of the recommendation of experts from the Open University of UK, and from resources provided by the Commonwealth of Learning. Furthermore, the books were adapted and reviewed by British experts according to the publishing requirements. Meanwhile, the Publishing House of OUC hired experts from both educational circle and the language field to coordinate in the translation of the books so as to make them easy to understand and to ensure the quality of the translation. Every book had dedicated translators and editors to ensure the quality of the translations.

Professionals on distance education have been paying great attention to the book series and hold high hopes for them. Professor Chen Li regarded the books to be the "first set of masterpieces of China's theoretical research on distance education" and hoped them to become the "milestones of China's distance education world, witnessing the painstaking exploration of our professionals on the theories of distance education and the glorious course of the development of our distance education theories".

 By Li Lingqun, the OUC   (http://www.crtvu.edu.cn/ddsx/)