The “Research and Practice of the Accreditation, Accumulation and Transforming System of National Continuing Education Learning Outcomes” project was formally opened at the OUC on December 1, 2012. 10 experts from the Ministry of Education (MOE), universities and the industry have provided guidance and evaluation for the project. Ruan Zhiyong, party secretary and vice-president of the OUC, and Zhang Shaogang, vice party secretary of the OUC, attended the evaluation seminar.
Established by the MOE, the “Research and Practice of the Accreditation, Accumulation and Transforming System of National Continuing Education Learning Outcomes” is aimed at the research and practice of a national “credit bank” system. The project has been undertaken by the OUC. The OUC’s main assignment is to research the framework, methods, system and mechanisms of the national “credit bank” system. The project is split into two parts: a research project and a practical project. The research project focuses on four aspects: the construction of the system, the construction of a framework of accreditation benchmarks, accreditation unit standards, and the system and mechanisms of learning outcomes accreditation.
During the seminar, the people in charge of the 10 subprojects across the four research areas gave opening reports. The experts agreed that the project has been designed systematically from both a micro and a macro perspective. Data has been collected and analyzed in order to make international comparisons. This will provide a good foundation for future research and practice. Members of the project team include people from industry ministries, education training institutions, the RTVU systems and the open universities. This varied team will expand the scope of the research. Experts gave pertinent opinions on the project.
Ruan Zhiyong pointed out that the “credit bank” is an important factor in the construction of a learning-based society and is of great importance to the establishment and improvement of a lifelong learning system in China. The project has already carried out a series of practical research and exploration at home and abroad. Due to the wide variety of national situations, social environments, and cultural backgrounds, there are numerous different modes of construction for “credit banks”. As a result, the “Research and Practice of the Accreditation, Accumulation and Transforming System of National Continuing Education Learning Outcomes” project will focus on exploring a “credit bank with Chinese characteristics”. As an important supporter of the construction of a learning-based society, the OUC has both the responsibility and the motivation to actively accelerate the implementation of the project. The OUC aims to present realistic policy proposals and potential operation modes for the establishment of a “credit bank” at the national level.
By Li Lingqun