• Flexible offering of majors (disciplines) based on broad disciplinary categories. Using the bachelor’s degree and master's degree curriculum as a frame of reference, the OUUK offers 14 broad disciplinary categories and 68 disciplines or majors. The disciplinary categories mentioned here refer to a new system of classification that breaks through the traditional system of disciplinary grouping.
   
• Flexible, diverse and modular curriculum setup. The curriculum of the OUUK encompasses bachelor's degree, master's degree, and Ph.D. education programmes as well as non-degree vocational and certificate training. In addition to a wide selection of excellent degree programmes, there are single courses for part-time students, open courses from the Business School, advanced vocational courses, contracted training courses, advanced degree courses, programmes for full-time, part-time, correspondence, or research-oriented students, and community education programmes. The OUUK also provides orientation courses for students with little academic background, short-term courses relating to vocational training, family education, career development, personal health, environment and art, and long-term degree education. Degree education is divided into three levels (level 1, level 2, level 3).
   
• Broad and diverse certification system. The OUUK offers 250 kinds of certificates, diplomas and degrees. For example, for the category of Business and Management, the school offers named (programme) degrees and unnamed degrees, vocational certificates and diplomas. Named (programme) degrees include: BA in Business Studies, BS in Computing & IT and Business, Foundation Degree in Business, Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management. Unnamed degrees may be awarded as Bachelor of Arts Open or Bachelor of Science Open, and are designed for students who choose classes at will without following a major pathway. The degree is granted as an Arts or Science degree based on whether the majority of the student's courses were arts or science courses. Vocational certificates and diplomas include: Professional Certificate in Accounting, Diploma of Higher Education in Business, Certificate in Quantitative Business Research, Professional Certificate in Management, Diploma of Business Management, Diploma of International Development and Business Innovation.

The OUUK's teaching system has changed from being course-oriented to being major-oriented. From the school's foundation up until 1998, the OUUK planned and implemented undergraduate education centering on courses as the primary unit of study. Students enjoyed a high degree of flexibility in choosing courses. They could choose to study one course or several courses, and receive a certificate or an undergraduate degree based on the credits earned. This kind of open curriculum system, allowing undergraduate students to freely combine courses relating to their work with courses that interest them without being confined to disciplinary boundaries, reflects the well-rounded general education long valued by universities in the UK. Since 1998, the teaching system for undergraduate education has shifted from focusing on courses to focusing on majors or professional qualifications, but has preserved the idea of undergraduate education including a wide variety of knowledge.

1.2 Major and Curriculum Offerings at the Open University of Japan

The Open University of Japan (OUJ) is an educational institution providing open and lifelong learningn to all members of society. It offers degree education and partial non-degree education to adult learners. The curriculum setup of the OUJ is dynamically adjusted according to societal demands, mainly offering general-purpose majors that aim to raise the educational and cultural level of the populace. The 3 disciplines and 6 majors offered are: in the discipline of Life Sciences, the major of Living and Welfare and the major of Development and Education; in the discipline of Industry and Society, the major of Society and Economics and the major of Industry and Technology; in the discipline of Humanity and Nature, the major of Humanities Research and the major of Nature Research. The OUJ's classification of disciplines and majors is somewhat loose, and the curriculum offering is relatively broad. Courses from different fields are pooled together into a single major. For instance, the major of Society and Economics incorporates sociology and economics courses, since the objective of the major is to explore the relationship between societal development and economic development.

As for curriculum setup, OUJ divides the curriculum into five categories: common foundation courses, foreign language (6 credits), health care and physical education (4 credits), specialized courses, and comprehensive courses (6 credits). Students need to obtain 124 credits to graduate. The common foundation courses include general courses in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, foreign language, health care and physical education, core courses and topical courses, etc. Because of the wide range of disciplines and the requirement to obtain 58 credits in specialized courses with generally 2 credits earned for each subject, the OUJ provides a great number of specialized courses for students to choose from. In addition, students graduating from the undergraduate programme must accumulate at least 20 credits of face-to-face tutorials offered at local teaching centers (one credit equaling 15 class hours of face-to-face tutorial).

1.3 Major and Curriculum Offerings at Indira Gandhi National Open University

Indira Gandhi National Open University(IGNOU) is the only national open university in India and is the leader of open and distance education in the country. In terms of major and curriculum offerings, IGNOU offers 138 majors conferring certificates, diplomas, degrees and doctorates. These include degree programmes or certificate courses for traditional majors, computer application certification courses, distance master's degree programmes, certificate courses for human resources development and a vast array of other degree and certificate courses. More than 1300 courses are available in total, and at present, there are 20 master's degree programmes and 16 doctorate programmes. The curriculum system covers traditional subjects as well as new subjects seldom seen at other universities, such as hotel management, environmental studies, special education, women’s rights and so on. Indira Gandhi National Open University is able to grant diplomas, degrees (bachelor's, master's, and doctorate), certificates of completion, and vocational certificates.

1.4 Differences in Major and Curriculum Offerings Between Foreign Open Universities and the Open University of China

The Open University of China (OUC) operates as a system of schools including the central OUC, provincial radio and TV universities, municipal radio and TV universities, and county-level radio and TV universities. The central OUC is responsible for uniform establishment of majors and curriculum (mainly compulsory curriculum). The provincial radio and TV universities design majors and choose courses according to the guidelines of the central OUC, and can offer optional courses as locally appropriate. Currently, the OUC offers 34 majors in 10 disciplines, including 15 undergraduate majors and 21 associate degree majors. Courses are classified as compulsory or optional, with the compulsory courses uniformly established and supervised by the OUC.

Table 1. Differences in Major and Curriculum Offerings between Foreign Open Universities and the Open University of China

In terms of establishment objective, the open education systems of Japan, India and China are fundamentally in agreement, i.e., they aim to provide opportunities of higher education to working members of society. The OUUK's establishment objective, however, is the same as that of other conventional universities in the UK, i.e., "offering students an education that is on par with university and professional standards", emphasizing professional and academic training, and promoting the learning and development of knowledge through teaching.

In terms of education levels, the OUUK and IGNOU both offer a multi-level education system including doctorate and master's degree. The OUUK also has numerous certification programmes to support non-degree education. The OUJ offers bachelor's and master's degree education along with a wide variety of training courses. In contrast, the open education of China is relatively limited; the OUC offers only diploma and undergraduate education and is not authorized to confer bachelor's degrees for the undergraduate programme.

In terms of major and curriculum offerings, the OUUK offers a comparatively flexible curriculum with many major selections under each discipline. Learners can obtain specific certificates, diplomas or degrees by studying designated courses, or they can study courses of different disciplines and obtain an “open degree”. There is no need to select a major from the start; students can flexibly change direction later based on their changing circumstances. The curriculum of the OUJ features a broader classification of disciplines. Liberal arts and sciences are integrated, and there are fewer major offerings. However, the ample selection of courses satisfies the different learning demands of the students. An analysis of the OUJ student body indicates that approximately 33% are unemployed and 25% are students over 60 years old, and thus we can see why there are many general education courses. IGNOU has a system similar to the OUC network, but it is more comprehensive with more majors and certificate programmes offered.

In terms of course credits and graduation credits, the OUUK's credits per course (10-60 credits) and graduation credits (360 credits) are relatively high. This is mainly because the OUUK combines related subjects together into one course and then divides each course into different modules based on level of difficulty, thereby avoiding repetition between courses. The OUJ uses 2 credits for a single course and requires 124 credits for graduation. Relatively speaking, credits per course are fewer and generally students have to take more than 40 courses in order to graduate.  This has to do with the OUJ's objective of raising the educational and cultural level of the general population. IGNOU uses a credit system similar to the OUC.

2. The Background and Objectives of the Construction of the OUC as well as Requirements for its Major and Curriculum Offerings

2.1 The Background of the Construction of the OUC

The 21st century is an era in which lifelong learning is key, and open universities are important undertakers in the mission to construct a lifelong learning system. In May 2010, the State Council of China reviewed and approved the National Outline for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) (hereafter referred to as the Outline), which makes "the basic formation of a lifelong learning society for all" as one of the three strategic objectives of education reform by 2020. For the first time, it devoted an entire chapter to "continuing education" and proposed "accelerating the development of continuing education and building a flexible and open lifelong learning system", and "operating open universities effectively". With the publication of the Outline, provinces and regions around the country put forward their ideas on building open universities and contributing to a lifelong learning system.

2.2 The Objectives of the Construction of the OUC and Requirements for its Major and Curriculum Offerings

In accordance with the national plan for the development of continuing education and lifelong learning, the objective of the construction of the OUC is to create a new kind of institution of higher learning—an open university which adopts modern information technologies and educational technologies to provide all members of society with diversified lifelong learning services including degree and non-degree education.

Based on the objective above, the requirements for major and curriculum offerings are as follows:

• Meet the varying demands for professionals according to the socio-economic circumstances of each region. Education ultimately services the development of the economy and society. Thus, the OUC should first research what kind of professionals are needed in today's economy, and on the basis of that understanding establish majors and curriculum.
• Put equal emphasis on degree education and non-degree education in line with the directive to build a lifelong learning system and learning-oriented society. Judging by the experiences of foreign countries, open universities have played a central role in building a lifelong learning system and learning-oriented society where learning is accessible to anyone, anytime and anywhere. Consequently, the major and curriculum offerings of the OUC should be based on research of the learning demands of different segments of society, and provide a range of study resources spanning industrial development, professional skill training and upgrade, knowledge expansion, and improvement of cultural literacy and quality of life. Equal importance should be placed on degree and non-degree education. On one hand, the gross percentage of higher education enrollment in Zhejiang Province in 2010 was 45%, indicating that there are still many who are not able to obtain higher education. From the perspective of education equality, degree education based on professional skill development should be maintained and strengthened so as to satisfy societal demand for degree- and diploma-based education. Furthermore, with the growth and transformation of the economy, highly qualified professionals are increasingly needed. Undergraduate and associate degree students from traditional universities need further training. Thus, we should invest more in degree education, raise the level of education and increase programmes for doctorate and master's degrees. On the other hand, a lifelong learning system should create an environment in which everyone can learn. This implies increased demand for non-degree learning such as refreshing knowledge, improving skills, and raising cultural awareness and quality of life. Therefore, the curriculum offering should also meet non-degree educational demands.

2.3 Basic Concepts for the Major and Curriculum Offerings of the OUC

2.3.1 Guidelines and Principles

• Focus on course offerings (curriculum) while taking major offerings into account. Courses are the core of education and their demand is wide-ranging. Both degree education and non-degree education are ultimately fulfilled through the teaching of specific courses. Thus, the establishment and development of courses is a foundational step. The OUC should have its own course bank (or course supermarket) that satisfies various learning demands; degree education programmes for professional training can be constructed upon the basis of existing courses.
   
• Flexible major offerings. Major offerings should reflect the demand for professionals in various industries and positions. Given the fast-paced development of the economy and society, major offerings should be able to adapt quickly to changing societal needs.
   
• Multi-level training system. Since the OUC was built to meet the need for adult continuing education, it should not only provide basic education for beginners but also in-service education to working adults with a good educational foundation. Thus, a complete, multi-level training system is needed. Also, in order to meet the demand for professionals with advanced degrees, programmes for master's and doctorate degrees should be increased, and a multi-level training system ranging from associate, bachelor's, master's to doctorate degree should be implemented.
   
• Flexible and heterogeneous learning outcome recognition system. In addition to conferring traditional degrees and diplomas, the school should work with outside institutions and enterprises to conduct certifications and training courses that would yield qualification certificates, course certificates, or professional certificates that fit the learners' circumstances. In short, the construction of a lifelong learning system and formation of a learning-oriented society will gradually break down the old mindset of placing excessive importance on degrees. At the same time, the government should somewhat loosen its monopoly over the degree and certificate market. Employers and society in general should also abandon the single-minded pursuit of the degree and instead make the acquisition of knowledge the true objective of education.

2.3.2 Curriculum System Setup—Based on the Diverse Learning Demands of the Entire Society

The demand for learning refers to the human curiosity for the unknown and the series of reactions driven by the motivation to learn to satisfy one's production, living, and development needs. The construction of a lifelong learning system and learning-oriented society is not only the goal of education reform and development, but also the main channel by which people pursue learning for self-improvement. Thus, the curriculum offerings of the OUC should be based on the diverse learning demands of society.

The learning demands of society can be generally classified as: the demand for degree education for employment, the demand for on-the-job knowledge renewal and skill upgrade, the demand for broadening knowledge, the demand for enhancing quality of life, life experiences and cultural life. Taking into account these diverse needs, an extensive course bank is established (see Table 1).

• Setup of specialized courses. The learning demands of different industries and positions dictate the necessity to establish different specialized courses. For example, a position in accounting would require coursework including Fundamentals of Accounting, Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Computerized Accounting and other specialized courses for the accounting major. On the other hand, the demand for fundamental knowledge, additional knowledge or skill upgrading would call for courses of different difficulty levels. For example:
  Associate degree in accounting: Fundamentals of Accounting, Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Computerized Accounting, Accounting Practice
  Undergraduate degree in accounting: Intermediate Accounting Practice, Cost Management, Financial Analysis, Managerial Accounting, ERP Theory and Practice, Internal Control
  Master's degree in accounting: Advanced Financial Accounting, Cost Planning, Strategic Management Accounting, Accounting System Design, Case Analysis of Financial Management
   
• Setup of common foundation courses. In order to formulate sound values and a correct outlook on the world and life, and master the skills needed by university students today, the Ministry of Education regulates that undergraduate students must take certain foundation courses including political theory, ideological and moral education, English or basics of computer applications, etc. For example, undergraduate students should select courses such as Principles of Marxist Philosophy, Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought, Introduction to Deng Xiaoping Theory, and Ideological and Moral Cultivation. Graduate students should select courses like Theory and Practice of Scientific Socialism, Introduction to Dialectics of Nature (for science and engineering majors), Anthology of Marxist Classics. Doctoral students should select courses including Scientific and Technological Revolution and Marxism, Marxism and Contemporary Social Thought.
   
• Setup of practicals. Practicals mainly refer to comprehensive training courses or pre-graduation projects offered as part of a degree programme, which develop the students’ ability to apply professional knowledge to comprehensively analyze and solve problems.
   
• Setup of general education courses. These courses are provided to satisfy the societal need to improve quality of life, broaden experience and expand knowledge. They include generalized courses on society, nature, humanity, art and international issues, and can offset the problem of over-specialization in the current higher education system. Learners can observe and study the world from a cross-disciplinary perspective, select courses that suit their interests, broaden their horizons and round out their abilities, contributing to the comprehensive development of society. 

2.3.3 Flexible System of Major Classification—Based on Course Bank

Majors reflect the disciplines of a university, or one could say, a university needs to establish disciplines based on the labor divisions in society. The major system refers to groups of majors combined hierarchically based on the internal relationship between their disciplines or the nature of their professions. The OUC should establish majors according to regional economic demand for professional skills and various industry demands for on-the-job training. Therefore, the OUC major system ought to be flexible, adaptable, multi-layer and multi-domain. The basic plan for the setup of the major system is as follows:

• Major offerings revolve around the establishment of specialized courses. As open education is mainly adult in-service education, it is different from specialized education at conventional universities. The recipients of conventional higher education are high school graduates who do not have practical work experience. Thus, conventional programmes focus on the convergence of knowledge between courses and disciplines and their internal logical relationships, in order to produce professionals that meet society's demands. However, open education serves in-service adults who already have work experience or basic knowledge in a certain profession. They can identify their own learning needs. For this reason, open universities can make their programmes less rigid and give students more flexibility to choose courses in line with their personal study needs. In other words, major offerings should be based upon the course bank and focus on the setup of specialized courses and practicals (see Figure 2). Students would be free to choose other courses from the bank.
  
• The major system is derived from the combinatorial grouping of specialized courses from the course bank. Since a major can be formed by adding specialized courses to the course bank, the major offerings are extremely flexible. As the industrial economy evolves, knowledge is updated and demands for professional skills change, we can make adjustments to the major by simply adding new specialized courses (see Figure 3 for Major System).
  
• Highlight key majors, strengthen specialty majors, and create trademark majors. The OUC's major system, while suiting the needs of a lifelong learning system and learning-oriented society, must also be comprehensive. As an institution of higher education, the OUC must collect resources, develop key majors and strengthen specialty majors. On top of this, the school should create trademark majors, gradually acquire social prestige and establish a good image, and finally build itself into a top brand in education.
   
• Complete and layered professional training system. The OUC, which relies on the radio and TV university system, should provide diploma, undergraduate and graduate education and meet the diverse learning demands of society by raising the level of education. As the name of lifelong learning suggests, it should not only comprise basic vocational training before employment but also in-service training, with focus on the latter. Similarly, continuing education implies that most learners have already acquired certain professional skills and qualifications in a specific field, and they hope to increase their knowledge and raise their professional level through continuing education. If a university can only confer a diploma certificate, how can it provide continuing educational resources to members of society? Therefore, the OUC should at least have the right to confer master's degrees, even if this involves cooperation with other universities.

2.3.4 Methods of Choosing Courses and Learning Outcome Recognition

• Completely autonomous course selection. Current regulations of open education programmes have given students a certain amount of freedom in course selection. However, there are too many compulsory courses and too few optional courses. Many students can only choose two optional courses and even these are virtually mandated by the tutorial centers. Sometimes even the choice of major is determined by the tutorial center. This leads to many specialized courses having very low enrollment, which wastes resources. Learning demand springs from every individual in society and there is no one fixed mode that can satisfy this diversity of demand. Thus, only through minimizing restrictions on course selection and giving students complete freedom to choose can we satisfy all their learning needs. There is no need for students to determine their major and specialized area from the beginning. They should have the freedom to choose courses based on their interests, hobbies, and professional development needs. After they have decided on a specific field of study and relevant degree certificate that suits their needs, they can begin a focused study programme.
   
• Integration of learning outcome recognition system and other forms of training. By participating in training programmes and passing the exam, learners can obtain corresponding certificates as the recognition of their learning outcome. Learning outcome recognition at the OUC can include course completion and credit certificates, professional qualification (or level) certificates, professional certificates and degrees (or schooling record certificates).
  
  a. Course completion (passing) and credit certificate. If students study the selected course and pass the assessment, they can receive the course completion certificate. Credits for the course are added to the student's total credits.
  b. Professional qualification (or level) certificate and certificate credit. If students study the selected certification course, participate in training, and pass the designated certification exam, they can receive the corresponding certificate and credit.
  c. Professional certificate. If students complete all the specialized courses for a certain major and pass the exams, they can obtain the professional certificate. (Note: The OUC issues a certificate that testifies to the completion of the programme and assessment score.)
  d. Degree (or schooling record certificate). If students complete all required specialized courses, practicals and general education courses and have accumulated enough credits for graduation, they can get the schooling record certificate. If the degree requirements are met, they can also obtain the degree.
  e. Open degree certificate. Based on the experience of the OUUK, learners who choose courses at random without a set field of study can obtain a non-professional degree certificate if they have accumulated a certain amount of credits.

2.3.5 Major and Curriculum Construction Methods

The major and curriculum offerings of open education are designed to suit society's learning demands, and thus they should be open, high-quality, practical and dynamic. Among these characteristics, high quality is the precondition for openness; practicality and dynamic nature  are the guarantee of high quality. How do we ensure the quality of major programmes and course resources? Relying solely on the strength of radio and TV universities will fall far short. The construction of quality resources depends on extensive cooperation, joint construction and importing.

• In-house construction. Over the course of 30 years, the OUC has accumulated school operating experience and teaching resources. For majors and courses that are mature and have excellent teaching staff, we can pool together in-house teaching resources and construct the majors and curriculum on our own.
   
• Cooperation and joint construction. This is probably the primary method of major and curriculum construction by the OUC in the future. The Outline proposes to "comprehensively plan and develop continuing educational resources, encourage all types and levels of schools, institutions, enterprises and social organizations to participate in the construction of public-oriented educational resources, fully utilize the educational function of public cultural institutions and the news media, and gradually establish an educational resource sharing mechanism". This means the OUC needs to cooperate with other parties to jointly develop and share quality course resources.
   
• Import. Buying and incorporating resources is a relatively quick and convenient way to build resources. However, the incorporated resources may not necessarily meet OUC standards of resource construction and may need to be adjusted and transformed.