The 2018 plenary session of the OUC School Affairs Committee was held in Beijing from 9-10th May 2018. Forty-one School Affairs Committee members and nine entrusted representatives from the OUC and 45 of its branches attended the meeting.
Personnel from the Secretariat of the School Affairs Committee and heads of relevant OUC departments were also present as observers. The meeting was presided over by the deputy directors of the OUC School Affairs Committee, Li Linshu and Liu Chen.
At the meeting, director of the OUC School Affairs Committee Yang Zhijian delivered a report entitled Grasp Meaning and Improve Quality to Go to a Higher Level. The report gave a comprehensive summary of the OUC’s main tasks and achievements over the past year, and presented an in-depth analysis of the current challenges facing the OUC, as well as the key tasks for 2018.
According to Yang Zhijian, in 2017, the OUC made a number of breakthroughs while maintaining steady development and enhancing its presence. Over the past year, guided by the 1314 Project and the 13th Five-Year plan, the OUC pushed forward according to its 2017 work plan, completed the work tasks identified at the beginning of the year in the aspects of education teaching reform, "school operation community" construction, education informatisation construction, credit bank construction, non-degree continuing education, and targeted poverty alleviation through education. The OUC’s enrolment increased in 2017, reaching 1.05 million. This is its historical second peak in enrolment, with an increase of 16% over the last year. In 2018, enrolment reached 591,000, with an increase of 21.4%. This demonstrates that the OUC has been fully affirmed by society, the government, and the education industry. The OUC has also been universally recognised by the international distance education industry.
Yang Zhijian stressed that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, which has created new, clearer requirements for education. He said that the OUC’s fundamental tasks are virtue setting and talent cultivation. The OUC should address the following relationships: the relationship between scale increase and quality enhancement, the relationship between reform innovation and steady progress, the relationship between teaching and learning, and the relationship between degree education and non-degree education.
Yang Zhijian pointed out that in 2018, the working concept and goal of the OUC continue to be guided by Xin Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era. The OUC should learn from and adhere to the spirit of the CPC's 19th National Congress. It should comprehensively push forward structural reform at the supply side, strengthen connotation construction, constantly improve the quality of school operation and talent cultivation, and push reform construction to a new stage according to the overall requirements of the MOE's "Pen of Endeavour" and the fundamental tasks of virtue setting and talent cultivation. In particular, the OUC should accelerate the construction of "four thoughts” and political theory courses, optimize the structure of disciplines and subjects, boost the construction of its teaching staff, comprehensively promote reform of the “Six-Network Integration" talent cultivation model, strive to promote the construction and application of the credit bank, successfully implement targeted poverty alleviation through education, strengthen support for branches in Xinjiang, Tibet, and northeastern provinces, and carry out a series of activities commemorating the 40th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's approval of the founding of the RTVU and the 40th anniversary of the founding of the CCRTVU (now the OUC).
Li Linshu presiding over the meeting
At the meeting, deputy director of Hunan branch Peng Yuan, Cui Xinyou from Jiangsu branch, deputy director Ye Hongfrom Zhejiang branch, Yin Ximing from Sichuan branch, and Zhao Liling from Xi'an branch all delivered speeches and exchanged views.
Deputy director Peng Yuan from Hunan branch
Cui Xinyou from Jiangsu branch
Deputy director Ye Hong from Zhejiang branch
Yin Ximing from Sichuan branch
Zhao Liling from Xi'an branch
Hunan branch shared its experience of building the OUC’s new rural talent cultivation model with “Six-Network Integration" as the core and its cultivation of a batch of rural leadership professionals. Jiangsu branch shared its experience of pushing forward OUC online teaching team construction, taking into consideration that high quality learner support services should focus on establishing a long-term, effective mechanism and strengthening communication and coordination. Zhejiang branch shared its thoughts on pushing forward OUC key discipline construction, promoting the integrated design of undergraduate and junior college degree courses, “Six-Network Integration", and the interconnection between degree and non-degree education. Sichuan branch shared the measures it has taken to effectively make use of information technology and the OUC learning website to strengthen the training of its teaching staff and constantly improve course teaching quality. Xi'an branch shared its experience of building a smart learning environment with the students at the centre and pushing forward reform of the learner development model.
During the group discussion, the members were divided into three groups and had a heated discussion on the report delivered by director of the OUC School Affairs Committee Yang Zhijian and three other publications, including Work Plan for OUC Outstanding Branch Selection and Commendation, First Session of OUC Outstanding Tutor Selection Activity Design Plan, and First Session of OUC Outstanding Youth Tutor Cultivation Design Plan.
Deputy director of the School Affairs Committee Huang Xiankai gave a summary of the discussions. He said that the OUC system has made positive progress in terms of connotation construction and that its branches have a lot to learn from each other. The meeting helped to form a consensus within the OUC, enhanced the confidence of the attendees, and laid a solid foundation for the further development of the system.
Deputy director of the School Affairs Committee Liu Chen gave a summary of the meeting. He said that the report delivered by Yang Zhijian had a clear theme and outlined a strategic overview. His summary of the achievements was down-to-earth, comprehensive, and objective. The report focused on connotation construction and quality improvement. It is pertinent, inspiring, and encouraging. The exchanges between the five branches were distinctive, innovative, demonstrative, and pioneering. After a full discussion, the meeting has had the expected effect. Liu Chen stressed that as long as we emancipate our thoughts, make reforms and innovations, adhere to systematic school operation, work together to make progress, insist on connotation development, and improve quality, we can push the OUC into a new stage of development.
Written by: Liu Zenghui, photographer: Yu Zhangli,OUC