National Initiatives to Use New Information and Communication Technologies in Learning and Training - People's Republic of China

Source: Central Radio and TV University

China Central Radio & TV University (CCRTVU)

• Introduction
• Functions
• Courses and Examinations
• The Continuing Education Programme
• RTVU Students
• RTVU Staff
• International Exchange and Cooperation
• Characteristics and Advantages

Introduction

China Central Radio & TV University (CCRTVU) is a dedicated distance education institution, which offers multi-media university courses through radio, TV, print, audio-visual materials and computer software. It is located in Beijing under the direct supervision of the State Education Commission (SEDC).

On 6th Feb. 1978, Deng xiaoping approved the report on setting-up the TV University submitted by the former Education Ministry and the Central Broadcast Bureau, and at the national conference on education held on 22nd April 1978 he once more pointed out: "The measures to speedily develop modern educational media such as TV and should be formulated , as a quicker." After interse preparation, the CCRTVU together with twenty-eight Provincial TV University (PRTVU) were established on 6th Fab.1979, and the first nationwide transmission of the RTVU courses via China central TV (CCTV) was on 8th Feb.

At present this distance education system is made up of the CCRTVU, 44 PTVUs, more than 690 branch schools at prefecture and city level, 1,600 study centers at county level and 13,000 teaching classes. The system is run and operated at different levels, both central and local, on the basis of overall planning with the CCRTVU as its centre.

• The China TV Teacher College;
• The central Radio & TV Specialized Secondary School;
• The china Liaoyuan Radio & TV School, Which offers practical courses;
• The Distance Education Research and Information Institute;
• The library;
• The Press;
• The Publishing House for Audio-Visual Materials;
• China TVU Education Management departments;
• Administrative offices.

Functions

The CCRTVU in accordance with the needs of economic construction and social development, its' responsibilities is:

• Offers nationwide unified subjects in degree education, which involves formulation of corresponding curriculums and course syllabuses;
• Production of print, audio-visual materials and computer software;
• Setting-up and preparing end-of-term examinations for these courses.
• The CCRTVU is also responsible for the teaching management of the China TV Teachers College, the Central Radio & TV Specialized Secondary School and the china Liaoyuan Radio & TV School.
• The CCRTVU offers a wide variety of vocational training and continuing education courses at different levels in terms of "open entrance students" and "BA courses" also fall into the CCRTVU's responsibility.
• It conduces evaluation on teaching to ensure teaching quality, training of teaching, technical and managerial staff, and development of distance education research and information.
• The CCRTVU provides supervision and teaching service for RTVUs throughout the country.
• PRTVUs may offer subjects based on their local needs, formulate the corresponding curriculums and course syllubuses and produce print, audio-visual materials and computer software for their own courses.
• They operate and mark end-of-term examinations set by the CCRTVU for the centrally unified courses and set examinations for their own courses.
• According to the regulations set by educational authorities and the CCRTVU, PRTVUs draw up detailed rules and regulations for teaching, teaching management, testing and registration.
• They are also responsible for student enrollment, awarding degrees, issuing certificates, training teaching staff, conducting research and promoting interchange of experience in both teaching and management.
• They also provide supervision in teaching and student couseling for branch schools.

Branch schools teaching activities in accordance with curriculums set by the CCRTVU and the PRTVU, which involves scheduling tutorials, organizing counseling, assesing assignments, and organizing examinations, laboratory work and field studies. They carry out all the rules and regulations for teaching, teaching management, testing and registration. They oversee formation of classes and teaching administration in study centres. They are responsible for student counseling and may issue certificates.

Study centres are responsible for recruiting tutors and teaching staff for non-degree courses, arranging every teaching stage and managing classes as well as student counseling.

RTVUs mainly offer two-year or three-year specialized college degree courses, aiming at training applied professional personnel at grass-roots level, who develop in an all-round way-morally, intellectually and physically, to meet the requirements of socialist construction.

In 1996, the RTVU system altogether offered 529 specialities from 55 disciplines covering the 9 fields. Since its establishment, the CCRTVU has offered 350 courses in 59 specialities from 22 disciplines covering the six fields of natural science, engineering, humanities, economics and management, agriculture and medical science. The CCRTVU has produced more than 1,000 titles of audio-visual teaching materials, including learner's guides and teaching guides as well as over 300 items of audio-visual teaching materials. All the curriculums are devises through consultation with eminent specialists and professors. The university is always ready to offer new courses and subjects in line with the national and local needs of economic construction and social development.

RTVUs offer two- or three-year degree courses with a yearly creditation system. The academic year is divided into two terms, each with 18 teaching weeks. The credit is calculated in terms of teaching hours and one credit is awarded for every 18 hours. Including credits given for field study, a minimum number of 114 credits required is 76. A RTVU student must obtain no less than 60% of his/her total credits through courses offered by the CCRTVU.

PRTVUs may set mid-term exams for some of the courses, but end-of-terms for unified courses are set by the CCRTVU and held at the same time through the country. Passing the examination earns the corresponding credit. The student who has completed the specified courses, obtained the total credits required and been assessed as morally qualified can be granted a certificate of graduation. Both the two-year and three-year degree courses are recognized as tertiary education by the government.

The pilot programme of "open entrance students" adopts the credit system, that is the credit gained within eight years will be valid. Once the student has obtained the total credits specified in the curriculum, qualified for practical experience or field study and moral assessment, he/she will be granted a certificate of graduation which is also recognized by the government.

The Continuing Education Programme

The CCRTVU offers a wide variety of vocational training and continuing education courses at different levels in terms of non-degree education.

Since 1986, the CCRTVU has cooperated with more than 40 institutions, including governmental departments, vocational organizations, academic bodies, universities and colleges and large enterprises to run some 60 projects in non-degree education ,which has resulted in around four million trainees.In addition, PRTVUs have also offered non-degree education courses with a total number of over 30 million trainees. Two million secondary and primary school headmasters have received training through satellite TV teacher training programmes.

Since 1990, the China Liaoyuan Radio & TV School has made skills-based practical courses for rural areas and up to now millions of farmers have viewed its programmes

The target students of RTVU degree courses are Chinese citizens with secondary education qualification or the equivalent. The students have to pass the national entrance examinations set by the SEdC for either fresh school leavers or for adult higher education. They can study full-time, part-time or in their spare time. Students in continuing education and in other forms of non-degree education who want to extend their knowledge and to upgrade their professional skills are not required to take entrance examinations. They can obtain certificates on graduation. Up to 1996, 2.953 million students had been enrolled on degree courses with the TVU system, from whom 2.127 million have graduated. The total number of undergraduates at present is 690 thousand (including 150 thousand "open entrance students" who are not required to take entrance examinations).

Over 600 thousand secondary and primary school teachers have completed the satellite teacher training programmes and received diplomas or certificates at either tertiary level or secondary level. Furthermore, around 500 thousand in-service adults have followed the courses offered by the Central Radio & TV Specilalized Secondary School and received certificates. This category of students following courses at the moment numbers 400 thousand. The pilot programme of "BA courses" has 3,000 students.

At present, the number of all types of undergraduate within the RTVU system exceeds one million.

The CCRTVU has around 400 staff members, among whom 140 are teachers and 200 are professionals and technicians. The CCRTVU has invited more than 1,000 eminent professors, specialists and scholars from universities and research institutions both at home and abroad as main writers and presenters of its courses, such as the famous mathematician, Professor Hua Luogeng, who gave the first lecture in math, and the world famous physicist, Professor Yang Zhenning, who have lectured in physics .

In this way, the teaching quality and the quality of teaching materials of the RTVU can be guaranteed. At present, the total number of staff members of the RTVU system is 54 thousand, among whom 25 thousand are full-time teaching staff. In addition, there are 19 thousand part-time tutors who are recruited from conventional universities and research institutions.

International Exchange and Cooperation

The CCRTVU is a member of the International Council for distance education institutions and a menber of Asian Association of Open Universities. It has over the years built up and maintained good relations with other open and distance education institutions and international organizations(e.g. USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Thailand, India as well as Hong Kong and Macao). There contacts have provided a valuable forum for discussions and exchanges of ideas and have been of mutual benefit.

The British Council has cooperated with the CCRTVU since 1981 and has sent English language teaching experts to provide assistance in the production of both printed and audio-visual teaching material.

The Japanese government funded the programme to produce Japanese language courses covering trade, science and traveling subjects as a result of cooperation between the CCRTVU and Japan NHK International Inc. In 1995 the CCRTVU, the US-China Distance Education Development Foundation and the San Francisco State University College of Business cooperated to develop and offer three courses on Marketing, Finance and Accounting to RTVU students. After the students have completed the courses, they can obtain the course certificate jointly issued by the CCRTVU and San Francisco State University.

In 1996, the CCRTVU worked with Novell, USA in offering Novell Network Administration Training Course to the public.

Characteristics and Advantages

After two decades of effort the CCRTVU has formed a modern distance education system with Chinese characteristics.

Its main features and advantages are:

• The state government provides the large scale transmitting system via both microwave network and satellite;
• RTVUs can select and invite eminent professors, specialists and scholars throughout the country as main writers and presenters of their courses;
• They can use modern teaching media to conduct multi-media instruction;
• They are responsible for setting end-of-term examinations for nationally unified courses to ensure teaching quality;
• They achieve high efficiency by overall planning, operation at different levels, bringing both central and lo9cal initiatives into play and making full use of their systemic potential.
• RTVUs are oriented towards grass-roots units, rural areas, remote areas and minority nationality regions and have established the operation mechanisms to meet the needs of national and local economic development with degreeee and non-degree education developing hand in hand

At present the RTVU system has become an important component in China's higher education. It makes great contributions not only in extending the scale of higher education by training a large number of qualified professional personnel for economic construction and social development, but also in adjusting the disciplines for higher education and improving the imbalance in the geographical distribution of higher education in China.

[Top]