2010's top ten news stories on China radio and TV universities (CRTVUs) have been compiled. The stories in major Chinese media outlets reflect society's interest in the distance education work done by the CRTVUs around the country during their implementation of the National Outline for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) and the construction of the Open University of China (OUC), as well as the development, progress, achievement and influence of the whole CRTVU system.
The Top 10 News Stories on the CRTVUs of 2010 were:
1. One-College-Student-for-One-Village Programme cultivated new leaders for the countryside
Inner Mongolia Radio and TV University (IMRTVU) participated in the One-College-Student-for-One-Village Programme as part of the first batch. Since the launch of the project five years ago, it has produced good social effects. By spring of 2010, IMRTVU had recruited 4,857 students in the project, 2,923 active students and 1,895 graduates. They have become the leading figures in the building of new rural areas, contributing greatly to the development of the local economy and society.
2. Tianjin explored new modes of building a learning Communist Party
Carrying out the building of a learning Communist Party, Tianjin Radio and TV University (TRTVU) and Nankai district combined resources from other conventional universities with the city community digital platform to explore new modes of building a learning Communist Party. During the activity, TRTVU helped the Nankai district construct a digitalized platform and supermarket for learning and other web-based study tools, providing high quality online resources to the users. TRTVU also taught new methods to the Party members and non-Party members of the community, facilitating their autonomous learning by the use of online teaching resources.
3. 120,000 serving military officers received distance education in the past decade
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the implementation of distance education for serving military officers, the Headquarters of the General Staff of the P.L.A. and the OUC jointly circulated a notice, commending 10 outstanding teaching centers, 20 outstanding tutorial stations and 30 outstanding students. The distance education for serving military officers project was a training initiative co-sponsored by the Headquarters of the General Staff of the P.L.A. and the Ministry of Education of China in 2000 for meeting the needs of soldier system reform. At present, there are 691 teaching centers around the country and altogether 120,000 military officers have received training.
4. 2010 CRTVUs Case Contest held — case methods of teaching becoming an important part of reform
The 2010 CRTVUs Case Design and Study Contest was held in Dongbei University of Finance and Economics. It was reported that the entries were all derived from the students' personal experience or what they had seen or heard. For part-time students who have working experience, case method of teaching is very effective pedagogy. Therefore, a number of courses will adopt this method as part of curriculum reform in the OUC and some local RTVUs around the country.
5. Lu Xin: striving to apply CRTVUs strengths and building a public service system for lifelong learning
In the Forum on National Community Education Work, the Ministry of Education (MoE) conferred the title Research and Training Center for Community Education of the MoE to the OUC School of Continuing Education. Lu Xin, vice minister of education, pointed out that community education should give full play to the CRTVUs' advantages and build a national community educational resource pool for constructing a flexible and open and lifelong learning system.
6. Tibet University and the OUC explored cooperative mechanism to build courses
The three subject series on Tibetan Culture co-developed by experts from Tibet University and the OUC has been completed recently. The three books Overview of Tibetan Culture, Tibetan Arts Appreciation, and Tibetan History published by the OUC Press made their first public appearance on September 1st 2010 in Tibet University. The CCRTVU (now the OUC) linked with Tibet University to experiment with distance education on this highest plateau in the world from 2002 and established the School of Tibet of the CCRTVU in August the same year. Up till now, the School of Tibet has 5,089 registered students and has graduated 1,031.
7. The OUC attended the 29th World Music Education Conference
The World Music Education Conference, known as the Music Olympics, came to China for the first time in August 2010. A symposium organized by the OUC entitled "Community Music Education Creating Harmonious Sound" was held in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou from July 28th to 30th and nearly a hundred educators and experts from 11 countries gathered together and shared views on practice and research in community music education. Meanwhile, a concert named "Chinese Quintessential and Folk Music" was given by the Tian-Di-Ren (Heaven-Earth-People) Art Troupe from the OUC.
8. The OUC set up scholarships for students from rural areas and the disabled
The trial units of the OUC scholarship project have been extended to about 20 provincial radio and TV universities and the Field of Hope scholarship and IET-Sunshine scholarship were added. The Field of Hope scholarship, which is part of the One-College-Student-for-One-Village Programme by the Ministry of Education, was founded in 2009. The IET-Sunshine scholarship is funded with 100,000 RMB by International Engineering Technology, Inc, which will be awarded to one hundred students from the OUC School for the Disabled.
9. China continued efforts to catch up with the developed world in distance education
The China International Distance Education Conference 2010 was held in Beijing. Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, director of the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee, and director of the Department of Postgraduate Education Zhang Raoxue pointed out in the conference that we should accelerate progress in developing online education and make it an important supporting tool in promoting mass education for building a lifelong learning society. President of the OUC Yang Zhijian emphasized that the university was trying its best to become an excellent open university of China and a resource center for providing high quality educational resources to conventional higher education institutions and related organizations in China.
10. 1.97 million was donated to the quake-stricken area by the CRTVUs
In the Yushu earthquake, Yushu Radio and TV University, located in the seat of the autonomous region's capital, Jiegu Town, was severely damaged. Staff of the CRTVUs were concerned with the situation in the quake-stricken area and voluntarily donated money and materials to the needy, pooling efforts in the earthquake relief work. The donation was as much as 1.97 million. The OUC also rapidly ran up 1000 sets of a serial lecture DVD named Go with Love—Psychological Aid for Mental Suffering after Crisis and Disaster for the area, which was the first DVD product introducing knowledge of psychological aid in the wake of disasters in China, having played a vital role in the aftermath of the Wenchuan earthquake.