On October 2nd, 2011, during the ICDE 24th World Conference, President Yang Zhijian of the Open University of China （OUC） and President Susan Aldridge of the University of Maryland University College （UMUC） signed an agreement of cooperation in Bali, Indonesia. The two parties intend to cooperate in the areas of joint research, academic exchange, credit transfer, joint degree programmes, and so on. The two schools also established a strategic partnership.
UMUC was established in 1947.
It is located in Adelphi, Maryland, U.S., with an enrollment of over 90,000 students worldwide. UMUC is one of the twelve universities in the University System of Maryland that can confer degrees. It provides comprehensive and customized courses to adult students and is the second largest four-year public university in the U.S. At present, more than 100 degree programmes are offered.