On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the OUC’s work conference on 2021 enrolment reform and development research and deployment was held from 9-11 June in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, the holy land of the Red Revolution. The meeting summarised enrolment in spring 2021, arranged for and deployed enrolment work in fall 2021, and discussed thoughts and measures for enrolment reform and development, and the setup and management of the learning centre.
Nearly 170 people attended the conference, including Lin Yu, vice president of the Open University of China (OUC); Wu Zuoran, dean of the Examinations and Admissions Authority of Guizhou Province; Zhang Li, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Zunyi CPPCC; Yang Jinsong, deputy director of the Party Committee of the Zunyi Education Bureau; Wang Aihua, party secretary of Guizhou RTVU, Tang Jian, deputy secretary Party Committee of Guizhou RTVU; relevant persons in charge of the Vocational Education Bureau of the Training Management Department of the Military Commission and the Military Vocational Education Center of the General Staff Department of the Armed Police Forces; school leaders in charge of enrolment work; and the heads of enrolment departments in 42 branches, the Experimental School, three military schools, and 13 industry and corporate colleges.
Lin Yu made a report entitled “Improve the Effectiveness of Enrolment Work in an All-round Way,” in which he focused on the current situation facing the high-quality development of open education. He analysed the current situation by illustrating four aspects (better environment, heavier tasks, more demands, and greater responsibility) and three new items (new development phase, new governance methods, and new system platform encountered in the OUC internal reform and development path) facing open education. He specifically pointed out that at this new development stage, the Ministry of Education has created a better development environment for regulating online education. With the changes in the forms of school-running, open education must keep up with the times and improve quality in terms of school-running conditions, education and teaching methods, and service supply. China’s dual-cycle development pattern, high-quality themed development strategy, and the mid-to-high-end development trend of the industry have all put forward higher requirements for the quality of labour, which will inevitably place further demands on open universities in providing higher-quality education. Whether open universities can fulfil the tasks entrusted to them by the Chinese people and whether they can meet the people’s desire for a better life require further clarification of their positioning, orientation, and responsibility. Lin Yu interpreted key reform points such as promoting construction through evaluation and “one route, one network and one platform.” In addition, he gave a briefing on the enrolment situation of the OUC system, clarified the problems facing enrolment, and put forward five specific requirements for standardising enrolment work. The first is to return to its own duties. Each branch and college should take due responsibility for its enrolment work. The second is to adapt to the times. Admissions work should attract young people and enrolment publicity should be constantly strengthened. The third is to have some control. Each branch and college should carry out enrolment work according to the enrolment plan and implement the enrolment plan in an orderly manner. The fourth is to make quantity and quality consistent. Each branch and college should determine the enrolment scale according to its own school-running ability. The fifth is to develop steadily and gradually solve the many problems encountered in the process of running a school.
Ye Zhihong, director of the Academic Affairs Department and director of the Admissions Office of the OUC, and Chen Kun, deputy director of the Academic Affairs Department, analysed enrolment work in spring 2021 and arranged enrolment work for fall 2021.
Niu Bailin, vice president of the Shanxi Branch, Yu Liqun, vice president of the Guizhou Branch, and Ye Zugeng, secretary of the party committee and president of the Ningde Branch of Fujian RTVU, shared many aspects of their enrolment experience, such as making the project the starting point and quality the guarantee, strictly implementing the teaching process, building a school brand, and making the full participation of all employees part of the continuous enhancement of connotation construction. The representatives of the construction enrolment units for four newly-added major introduced the situation related to majors. Participating representatives also held group discussions on the Management Measures for Admissions of the OUC (Discussion Draft) and Measures for the Setup and Management of the OUC Learning Centre (Discussion Draft). The representative in each group voiced their own views.
After the research and deployment work, the participants visited the site where the Zunyi Conference was held to carry out a joint study of CPC history.
Ye Zhihong gave the concluding speech. He said that the branches and colleges have achieved great results in enrolment work. It is necessary to further analyse the current situation, summarise the problems encountered in the enrolment process, and understand the impact of enrolment work on teaching, examinations, and other businesses. The development and deployment of enrolment work should be linked to the promotion of teaching, teaching affairs, examinations, and other work. He also noted the risks that may occur in business links such as cooperative education and enrolment in different places. He suggested that each branch and college should continue to strengthen the management of its learning centres and pay close attention to the quality of teaching and enrolment, as well as the construction of learning centres, in order to promote teaching reform and continuously improve the quality of school running.
The OUC organised for the participants to carry out a joint study of CPC history at the Memorial Hall of the Zunyi Conference Site. The representatives said that the enrolment reform and development research work was arranged to be held in Zunyi, Guizhou on the occasion of promoting the in-depth study of CPC history and education, making it of special and far-reaching significance. All the participants are determined to deeply understand the original intention and mission of the Communists based on the spirit of the Long March and the spirit of the Zunyi Conference, to be scientifically adaptable, to take the initiative, and to move forward courageously. They will proceed from the new era and take the new Long March road of high-quality development for open universities.
By OUC Admissions Office; Photos by Liu Bojia