On December 27, the Bayi School of the Open University (OUC) held its 2013 Press Conference on Military Distance Education. Director Zhang Yichen said that over 13 years, the Bayi School had helped over 160,000 noncommissioned officers achieved their college dream. Through its advanced teaching model, the OUC’s military distance education has gained the respect of the army’s noncommissioned officers.
The Bayi School has conducted distance education among the seven regional military commands, the Navy, Second Artillery Corps and People’s Armed Police. The school has established more than 1,000 teaching sites that serve over 160,000 noncommissioned officers, over 80,000 of whom have earned university diplomas or nationally recognized job qualification certificates. Military distance education has become the preferred choice for China’s noncommissioned officers, who are opting for in-service training due to the headquarters’s tuition subsidy, the OUC Noncommissioned Officers’ Scholarship, and the Bayi School’s Pengcheng student subsidies. This powerful policy support has helped these officers achieve their educational dreams. In 2013, 14 of the army noncommissioned officer students were selected for the “Hundred Best Class Monitors” honor, and one was chosen as the 12th National People’s Congress representative. Altogether, over 20,000 students have been enrolled in the programme, and over 10,000 have gone on to graduate and make significant contributions to the army’s professional development.
Beginning this year, the OUC Bayi School has deepened the reform of the military’s personnel training model and established a more professional continuing education system and curriculum. These developments have improved the occupational competency of noncommissioned officers, while broadening their options for financing and variety in their educational options. The implementation of the “Top Faculty, Excellent Instruction, and Cutting-edge Resources” and Military Distance Education Cloud Project has further promoted the reform and transition of military personnel training model.
Meanwhile, the Top Ten Headlines of 2013 in Military Distance Education have been released to the public. The biggest stories include: “The OUC Learning Outcomes Accreditation Centre (Bayi) Established,” “Sansha Troops Receive First Batch of Military Distance Education Learning Facilities,” “New Student Enrollment in Military Distance Education Surpasses 20,000,” “Second Artillery Corps Carries Out Personnel Training Project in ‘To Join the Army is to Enter College, and One Will Become a Talent Upon Discharge from the Army’ Campaign,” “14 Noncommissioned Officer Students Earn Title of ‘100 Best Monitor Celebrities,” “Entire Noncommissioned Officer Professional Educational Curriculum Offered Online”, “The OUC Bayi School Carries out Quality Resource Construction Project,” “200 Noncommissioned Officers Awarded First Semester Pengcheng Student Subsidies,” “The OUC Bayi School Honored as a Branch of the National Digital Learning Resources Centre” and “The OUC Bayi School and Country Garden Group Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement.”
By He Jing, the OUC