The development of non-degree continuing education is an important part of the Open University of China’s (OUC) mission to serve learning for all and to promote the construction of a learning society.
It is an important strategy to adapt to the demands of economic and social development. It is also a major focus of educational organisation system construction and new business growth. Recently, the reporter from E-Learning interviewed the OUC’s non-degree leadership. OUC vice president Liu Chen said in the interview that the future development of the university will not be divided into degree and non-degree education. Instead, it will focus on course construction and offer learner support to all learners.
Positively exploring new models and mechanisms of non-degree continuing education
Reporter: What is the current state of the development of non-degree continuing education in open universities and radio and TV universities (RTVUs) in China? What about the OUC?
Liu Chen: Open universities have recently been providing on-the-job vocational skills training, continuing education to special posts (e.g. teachers, party cadres), and community-oriented leisure education. The statistics show that since 1979 over one hundred million people have received training but the universities are still prioritising their own development.
Early in 1986, the OUC Continuing Education Office was established to coordinate the development of non-degree continuing education. Since the inauguration of the office, the OUC has attempted to positively explore new models and mechanisms for non-degree continuing education. The first is to improve top-level design to define the development blue print. In 2015, the document “Guidance of the Open University of China on Vigorously Promoting Non-Degree Continuing Education” was formulated and promulgated, which further defined the principles and targets of non-degree development. In 2018, the Manual for the Open University of China on the Integrated Implementation of Non-Degree Continuing Education was developed and issued, and the development history, basic positioning, organisation structure, business model, cooperation procedure, interest mechanism, and case product of the university’s non-degree continuing education have been settled in an all-round systematic way. The second is to innovate the system and mechanism to form the work synergy. A management system based on “classification management, separation of management and operation, and division of government institutions and enterprises” has been explored and established. In 2014, the Department of External Education and Professional Training was established for management and coordination.
The third is to strengthen standards management to promote stable development. In 2018, the university published the Interim Management Measures of the Open University of China on Non-Degree Continuing Education and Rules of the Open University of China for the Approval and Management of Non-Degree Continuing Education Projects, and formulated the Approval Standards of the Open University of China Non Non-Degree Projects (Trial Operation), Encoding Rules of the Open University of China on Non-Degree Certificates, and the related certificate samples. Procedure-based standards management from non-degree project approval, procedure management to certificate issuance is made in line with the management regulations. The fourth is to strengthen the coordination of the system to give play its advantages. The OUC has 45 branches, 13 industrial schools, 1,125 local RTVUs, 2,300 study centres, and over 30,000 tutorial centres. An OUC Community based on the philosophy of “running the school by intensive groups of diverse, multiple bodies who contribute to and gain from the construction of a rational, open and inclusive university” has gradually come into being. Trial units for non-degree continuing education have been set up in local branches and universities in Beijing, Shenyang, Ningbo, Hubei, and Wuhan. A coordination work mechanism for non-degree continuing education has been founded primarily based on the OUC educational organisation system. The standardised deployment and operation of the new type of business models have been realised. The fifth is to innovate the business model to incubate and implement projects. Since 2015, the university has incubated and implemented 13 national projects and gradually established “the horse racing mechanism” for projects (a fair competition mechanism). For example, the “public service network for the professional development of the OUC teachers” project has offered continuing education training to middle and primary school teachers in 13 areas, for a total of more than 300,000 people. In 2016, the university was approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security as a National Continuing Education Base for Professionals. Furthermore, 11 design projects with non-degree and degree integration have been set up and nearly 300 micro courses have been developed and collected.
Energetically promote the sustainable development of non-degree education through the coordinated action of the system
Reporter: How has the OUC explored different business models?
Liu Chen: It is not enough to rely on our own strength to provide non-degree education to the public. Therefore, the OUC has included “three orientations” in its non-degree business model: orientation towards ministries, commissions and industries, orientation towards the OUC educational organisation system, and orientation towards society. Orientation towards ministries, commissions and industries refers to the focus on providing open, integrated, and customised continuing education solutions to national ministries and commissions, industries and associations, large and medium enterprises and government institutions, and specific groups. Orientation towards the OUC educational organisation system refers to integrating the quality resources of the system to give play its advantages, to oversee project deployment and implementation throughout the country, and work together to advance non-degree continuing education development. Orientation towards society means opening to the market, introducing outside forces, and doing a better job of putting policies and projects in place. So far, a new type of business modell for non-degree continuing education that combines the public welfare nature of education with a market-oriented mechanism has been constructed. It integrates design, online and offline methods, the connection between vocational education and continuing education, the integration between industry and education, the cooperation between enterprises and colleges, and the integration between work and study.
In terms of brand creation, the university has taken steps in three aspects. The first is to explore and establish a new type of business model. The new platform unites the OUC educational organisation system and social forces to push forward the development of non-degree continuing education through a new type of business model. The second is to gradually set up a “horse-racing mechanism” (the fair competition mechanism) for non-degree education projects. To date, the OUC has incubated over 10 national projects and more good quality projects will come into being to play a leading role in the system. The third is to strengthen the management of the standards of the projects to promote sustainable development. Standard operation is the major guarantee of brand building. Based on the interim management measures and specific implementation rules of the OUC’s existing non-degree continuing education, we will further strengthen the supervision of project approval, process supervision, and certificate issuance, and innovate the incentive mechanism to promote standardised operation and sustainable development.
Reporter: Is the non-degree continuing education given by the OUC the same as that given by regular universities? What are its advantages?
Liu Chen: They have a lot of similarities but there are also a great many differences. The central difference is “individual operation” vs “group operation.” Non-degree continuing education in regular universities highlights “individual operation,” whereas the OUC runs the university in the society. The OUC pays more attention to bringing the advantage of the OUC’s educational organisation system into play and integrates social forces to run the school together. The OUC’s advantages in carrying on non-degree continuing education can be summarised as follows.
The first is massive accumulations of degree education. Over the past 40 years of educational practice, the OUC has accumulated platform conditions for information technology, course resources, teaching faculty, and teaching experience. The thousands of students in degree education are also a major source of non-degree education students.
The second is the systematic coordination and operation of non-degree continuing education. At present, the OUC headquarters offers on-the-job training solutions to national ministries and commissions, industries and enterprises, and other vertical administration systems. It also tries hard to incubate non-degree training projects. The entire OUC system cooperates to carry out non-degree continuing education by adhering to the mechanism of shared responsibility, risk, and benefit.
The third is the connection between non-degree continuing education and the credit bank. One of the most important parts of the OUC’s new business model for non-degree continuing education is to pay attention to the integrated design of non-degree training courses and specialised degree courses. In the meantime, the non-degree student school record management system and the OUC credit bank system will be connected to offer follow-up record services along with credit certification, conversion, deposit, and withdrawal. Now, there are already 510,003 account numbers for non-degree students.
Define development priorities
Reporter: What plans has the university made for non-degree continuing education?
Liu Chen: In future, the university’s priority is to further streamline its internal system and mechanism to standardise project management, share top quality non-degree continuing education projects, create synergy in the system, and successfully trial non-degree continuing education. Based on this, we will gradually expand the scope of the pilot, make arrangements for national projects such as teacher training and continuing education bases for professionals in the OUC system, and explore effective, standard, and systematic operation mode of non-degree continuing education projects.
Coordination and integration will be further enhanced at the headquarters level. Explorations will be made to improve the non-degree management system of “classification management, separation of management and operation, and division of government institutions and enterprises.” The responsibilities of management departments, business departments, and supporting enterprises will be further clarified in order to explore incentives for non-degree continuing education; the leading trial will be enhanced at the system level. A new type of business model for non-degree continuing education will advance the coordinated action of the system to bring into play the school running advantages of the system. External cooperation will be expanded in order to enhance the driving force at the social level. “Openness” is the primary philosophy and feature of the Open University of China. Compared with degree continuing education, it is necessary to be more open when developing non-degree continuing education. On one hand, system cooperation with ministries, commissions, and industries has to be expanded in a continuous way so as to actively serve the implementation of each national strategy, and to drive a change in understanding about non-degree continuing education and the strategic transformation of the work. On the other hand, we should take the initiative to go global in order to expand market cooperation and cooperation with renowned enterprises and social institutions of non-degree continuing education, and also introduce new projects, resources, and models. They should lead the system to establish a market concept of non-degree continuing education and reform the market operation model.
Representative project: Continuously advance innovation of the new business model
“Non-degree continuing education is a new development field for the OUC. Due to its management system and operation mechanism, it has come across many difficulties and obstacles during the course of its development. In order to succeed in non-degree continuing education, we must have an accurate understanding of the internal needs of our users so we can accurately solve their problems. This presents many more difficulties than degree continuing education.” This statement, by Yuan Songhe, deputy head of the Department of Social Education and Vocational Training of the Open University of China, and Wang Qifu, president of the Training School and director of the Training Centre of the Open University of China, describes a common problem for many universities in developing non-degree continuing education.
When talking of the business type of the school, Wang Qifu said that giving vocational education and training to enterprise staff is a mainstream model they established for the development of non-degree continuing education. It is based on the model of the job qualifications of the staff and an analysis of their jobs. The first step is to provide customised training that alleviates enterprises’ pain points during the hiring process and meets the requirements of the enterprises for job qualifications. At the same time, the credits from the training courses are transferred into credits towards OUC degree continuing education in line with the credit certification standards and transfer regulations of the OUC credit bank. In addition to improving their staff’s job qualifications, the enterprises can also have their degree level improved through credit accumulation by entering the degree education path according to certain rules and requirements.
According to director Li Yongzhong from the Central Human Resources Office of Foxconn Chengdu Industrial Park, five features have been formed in their joint implementation of tailored training according to Foxconn’s relevant job requirements on the basis of “the Assistance Plan for the Cultivation and Development of a New Type of Industrial Worker” launched by the OUC. The first is to define that the credits of the customised training courses that can be certified and transferred in accordance with the job requirements and can account for at most 50 percent of the total graduation credits specified in the teaching plan. All this aims to put what is learning into practice, to promote learning through practice, and to integrate learning and practice. The second is to train the staff to improve their job qualifications according to the requirements and arrangement of the enterprise. At the same time, job skill certificates and degree certificates can be obtained through credit accumulation according to the standards and regulations of the credit bank. The third is the replacement of credits for the same or similar courses to avoid repetition in learning the relevant courses during the degree education period. The fourth is to ask the students to combine work with learning, to learn in practice and to practice in learning by integrating the model of “serious learning, experiment, practice, and practical use” advocated by Foxconn. The fifth is to achieve the natural integration of non-degree education training with degree education and to satisfy the value and target pursuit of the enterprise and its staff. Since the implementation of the project, 157 staff members have signed up at the Chengdu Industrial Park alone. The first 97 students have graduated and have obtained relevant graduation certificates and job skill certificates.
In addition to enterprise training, the OUC Training School also extends “the double improvement” model to industrial training, which has been offered to kindergarten, middle school, and primary school teachers, as well as to the practitioners in the industries of housekeeping, geriatrics, and health care. Approximately 100,000 people receive training annually.
Furthermore, the OUC School of Vocational Education and Training has launched the “Lifelong Learning Plan for Women” in cooperation with the All-China Women's Federation. The plan follows the philosophy of “internet + education” in order to build a mobile learning platform for women, serve women’s development and career goals, and to explore a development model meets diverse, individualised learning needs. About 200,000 people have registered for the platform, and the number is expected to break 300,000 at the end of the year.
In mentioning the value pursuit of non-degree continuing education, Wang Qifu underlined that we must help learners achieve the real sense of accomplishment. After any training service, they should have a sense of satisfaction and feel that their input in terms of energy, money, and time has been returned. To this end, non-degree continuing education has to be of the highest quality.
By E-Learning