On 9 May, 2018, the National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China (NCAC) granted computer-software-copyright certificates to the Bayi School of the Open University of China (OUC) for its seven academic-affairs management-application systems, including online enrolment, online learning, online assessment, online examination, examination management, student-status management and artificial-intelligence-response systems.

This is a major achievement for the school and the “Internet Plus” technology it uses to develop distance education for non-commissioned officers and explore the use of IT in distance education.

The OUC Bayi School has been unsparing in directing its research and development efforts toward the creation of an IT platform and targeting the needs of soldiers and non-commissioned officers, while advancing the integration of information technology with distance education and promoting the reform of teaching methods. The school has undergone significant changes as a result of these developments; for instance, its teaching resources are now transmitted through wireless online platforms instead of via satellite; enrolment and tuition payment are completed by scanning a QR code, relieving staff from piles of paperwork; and the intelligent-response system based on the WeChat platform has greatly improved efficiency, reducing human error and saving human resources and time by freeing management from the incessant labour of communication.

According to Zhao, who works at the enrolment-management division of the academic-affairs department: “It is very convenient and efficient to use the WeChat automatic-response system. We no longer have to talk over a phone held in one hand while waiting anxiously for another call!” “We used to answer the phones with both hands, and still couldn’t manage to deal with all the calls that came in during the enrolment and examination seasons. Even though we were constantly busy answering student questions, many soldiers complained that they couldn’t get through. Many of them had the same questions that we had to answer over and over, sometimes hundreds of times. The new system provides standard answers to FAQs, and students can simply follow instructions to find those answers. It has been a great relief to be able to focus on serving learners rather than always repeating the same answers.”

Mr. Li, a non-commissioned officer, expressed his delight with the system. “It is really convenient to use the online-enrolment system. We simply get a special QR code from the tutorial centre, scan it with a cellphone, and then follow the instructions to complete enrolment and payment. It only takes minutes if you have all the application materials ready.” The Bayi School enrolled a total of 16,000 students for the 2018 spring semester, of which 80% completed the enrolment process through the convenient cellphone online-enrolment system.

The seven academic-affairs application systems for distance education for non-commissioned officers were independently developed by the OUC Bayi School, and it holds the rights to them. The systems not only contribute to protecting the technological safety of the platform for distance education for non-commissioned officers involved in distance education, but also improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the teaching.

By Dong Ying, OUC Bayi School