Editor's Note: In order to further study Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC); carry out the spirit of the speeches of the general secretary at the National Conference on Ideological and Political Education and China's National Education Conference;

implement the fundamental task of ethical education, further strengthen the construction of university teaching, enhance the abilities of head teachers, and give play to their role in the implementation of teaching processes, the Open University of China (OUC) has selected 618 head teachers who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of education at the OUC for this purpose.

A head teacher disseminates the OUC's teaching principles and learner-development model, facilitates the implementation of teaching processes, organises student activities, and provides comprehensive learning services, making up part of the teacher team that keeps the closest contacts with OUC students. The OUC website and its official WeChat account, Voices of the OUC, will present the accomplishments of some of the top head teachers in order to publicise their roles as pacesetters, promote respect for teachers and their work within the OUC, enhance their feelings of responsibility and mission, and improve the quality of the management and services provided by teacher teams at the OUC.

Wang Liping has been engaged since 1998 in teaching, educational administration and examination work at Shuozhou Radio and TV University (Shuozhou RTVU) at the Shanxi branch of the Open University of China (OUC). Since 2004, he has served as the head teacher for classes in the Finance, Law, Chinese Language and Literature, Business Management and Education Management undergraduate majors. Many times he has been recognised for his accomplishments in enrolment by Shuozhou RTVU, and he was named an “Excellent Teacher” by the Shuozhou People's Government in 2017 and by Shanxi provincial RTVU in 2015; an “Excellent Individual in Open-education Enrolment”by Shanxi RTVU in 2014; an “Excellent Educator” by Shanxi RTVU in 2013; an “Advanced Educator” by Shuozhou RTVU in 2002, 2011 and 2013; and an “Outstanding Individual in Educational Statistics” by Shanxi RTVU in 2008 and 2011.

Wang Liping is passionate about working as a head teacher. He is virtuous and has a strong sense of responsibility, cares for his students, and is happy to support them. His management and other aspects of his work are outstanding, and he has a strong orientation toward truth-seeking, practical action, and self-improvement in terms of his own teaching. He has achieved outstanding results with his students, and always ranks among the top recruiters. His excellence has won him unanimous praise from his leaders and colleagues.

Willing to make sacrifices and dedicated to service

Wang Liping constantly strives to provide better service to his students by keeping up-to-date with the most recent advances in open and continuing education.

Given that his students come from all walks of life and a variety of personal circumstances, Wang Liping knows that for a head teacher enthusiasm is not enough. That variety, and the fact that most of the open-education students at Shuozhou RTVU are adults with work and family commitments, means that communication is essential, and he conducts it through a variety of channels: face-to-face tutorials, online interaction, group activities, telephone contact, and others, offering help with study methods and psychological adjustment to enable students to adapt to their studies quickly, and retain their confidence and enthusiasm.

In undertaking learner guidance, Wang Liping adheres strictly to scheduling and the teaching workflow, and in creating student files, he is able to give them effective and specific guidance on the basis of their individual situations. He divides students into categories based on their hobbies, interests, work, study backgrounds and other aspects of their lives, and provides them guidance on this basis. In setting up study groups he follows the same principle, basing them on the ages, occupations, knowledge bases and motivations of the members, with the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic serving as leaders and arranging group meetings. This has led to effective group activities. In guiding their study plans, he helps students make daily progress while also gaining an overview of what they have learned. The plans also enable the university to follow and assess each student's performance. Wang Liping is active in helping students find time to study in their busy work schedules. For example, three students in Administrative Management were working for the Shuozhou Natural Gas Company, and they were transferred separately to Luoyang, Xinjiang and Tianjin last year. Wang Liping did his best to accommodate them, sending them textbooks and assignments by courier, contacting them by phone, email or online, and helping them deal with the time constraints caused by their work responsibilities, and other problems, as much as he could. As a result, all three of them were able to keep up. Wang Liping believes that students place their faith in the university by choosing to study there, and that rewarding their faith is his duty as head teacher. One of the three students, greatly moved by his efforts, said, "It was an honor for us to be admitted to the RTVU." Wang Liping carries the phone numbers and other contact information of each student with him at all times, so that he can inform them promptly of new teaching materials, face-to-face tutoring, group activities, and examination notes. Enrolment in and graduation from his classes are therefore relatively high, and the dropout rate is relatively low.

Over the years, Wang Liping has treated students as friends or family members, listening to them, patiently answering their questions, and promptly transmitting messages to them. His sense of responsibility and sincere and enthusiastic personality affect every student. He inspires trust and enthusiasm, and students praise his leadership.

Using multiple and innovative enrollment strategies

Enrolment is the lifeblood of an RTVU. In recent years, for many reasons, enrollment at the Shanxi Branch has been declining. However, enrollment at Shuozhou RTVU is top in the province and relatively stable, allowing the school to expand. A high-level recruitment team, including Wang Liping, has been established, and he has made outstanding achievements as part of it, ranking first in number of students enrolled for several years in a row. He has clear ideas about and a unique perspective on recruitment, expanding the channels and inventing new forms of publicity, and implementing targeted recruitment and policies based on local conditions. He has studied relevant documents, analyzed the enrollment situation over the years, taken real-world conditions as his starting point, absorbed past experiences and training, constantly enriched  his work-related knowledge and competence, clarified how much study each major requires along with the courses and proportion of credits offered, the content of subjects linked with the national unified examination, the characteristics of online teaching, and so on, in order to guide students to select their majors on the basis of their employment during enrollment, and striving to help every student feel proud to have been admitted as an RTVU student.

Current students are familiar with open education and vary in age and career background, which makes it helpful to mobilise their enthusiasm and engage them in promoting enrollment, as Wang Liping has done. His students are also willing to promote the school to their friends and relatives. Over the years, Wang Liping has learned to take the following approaches. First, enrolment should be targeted, and geared to matching RTVU subjects with societal needs. Second, current students should be taken as models for attracting new students and gaining their trust, with the enthusiastic services provided to existing students providing the basis for strong word-of-mouth publicity. Third, the advantages of the OUC networks and teaching materials, and the value of its diplomas, should be publicised to the advantage of the RTVU.

Wang Liping has made outstanding achievements in his position, and positive contributions to the development of Shuozhou RTVU.

By OUC News Network