There is a special place in the hall of the 1st floor of Gansu Radio and TV University (Gansu RTVU) Open Education Building. It is not large in area, actually less than 100 square meters. However, it fills an important role in ensuring learner support services for all students. Its decoration is not luxurious, but seems very warm. The teachers here are always kind and ready to offer attentive service and sincere concern to the students, and the students feel at home here.
This is the one-stop learner support service centre, affiliated to Gansu RTVU, providing learner support services for students.
I. Accurate positioning and scientific preparation
The one-stop learner support service centre is an important part of the learner support service system of the Experimental School of Gansu RTVU. The school has always seen the improvement of learner support services as the focus of enhancing the strength and core competitiveness of comprehensive school-management, earning the school a reputation for high quality student support. The school has a deep appreciation for the fact that learner support services are an important part of open and distance education. Because students are separated from their teachers, the school aims to refine learner support services so as to improve the learners' self-directed learning ability and to ensure the teaching quality of open and distance education.
In recent years, with the growing size of the school, the resources provided by the learner support service centre for the students has been continuously enriched, and the service level and standards continue to be enhanced. On this basis, the school proposed the building of a separate platform for learner support services. That is, combing "distance education, online education, and entity education, founded on the combination of consulting, services, and learning", the school created a one-stop learner support service centre in accordance with the principle of overall planning, gradually working towards more difficult objectives, step-by-step implementation, and gradual improvement, and providing comprehensive learner support services for all learners. These convenient, efficient, high-quality, and personalized learner support services will further highlight the objective of school-management based on “doing everything for learners, serving learners with everything".
In July 2013, under the assistance of the Party Committee leaders and relevant departments, the school began to build a one-stop learner support service centre. In August, the centre was opened in the hall of the first floor of the open education building and began trial operation. The centre was equipped with appropriate one-stop service agencies and relevant personnel, and began to carry out personnel rotation business training. Currently, the centre of the building has gone into the improvement and development stage, and will actively explore a mechanism of one-stop service operation to further standardize services and procedures, and analyze the data collected from the teachers and students of Gansu RTVU, as well as social counsellors, so as to provide a reference for teaching and teaching management of Gansu RTVU.
II. Full function and distinctive presentation
As a learner support services platform, the one-stop learner support service centre of the school is not only a place for students to consult on studying and registration, but also a centre for handling any difficult problems that may occur during their learning process. It is not only a platform to provide students with assistance, guidance in study, facilitating self-directed learning for students, but also a showcase for the fine services offered by RTVU. The centre collects the issues that are of the most concern to students and that are the most urgent, and then submits them to the staff at the front desk, making learner support services more comprehensive, convenient, timely, and efficient.
Currently, the centre has been fully outfitted with the latest hardware, and is equipped with large electronic screens, computers, copiers, printers, fax machines, touch sensitive information displays, and other facilities. It provides four functions.
Live Service Desk: Offers learner answers to any teaching matters concerning open learning methods, disciplines, discipline rules, school management, exams, graduation, and degree certificate acquisition, etc; providing proposals on course choice, registration, payment of tuition fees, business handling and other services; contacting teachers of relevant disciplines to answer any questions on the curriculum and teaching issues; handling complaints from the students; keeping a record of any major issues that cannot be resolved at the site, and keeping track of the resolution and feedback.
Multimedia Inquiry System: Provides learners with self-inquiry services, including school profile, admissions enrollment, teaching activities (learning navigation, teacher inquiry, curriculum, school calendar), tuition fee payment, and Q&A (Information on teaching affairs), education for the disabled, and other modules.
Learning Experience Centre: Provides learners with live learning experience and guidance.
Digital Information Board: Makes full use of the role of information technology tools; plays back school publicity videos, teaching arrangements and student activity videos in a real-time manner, enhancing the school spirit and promoting its multifaceted service orientation..
III. People-oriented and caring service
Improving the quality of the learner support services offered by the one-stop service centre has always been the pursuit of the school. All the teaching staff at the school adheres to the "student-centred" concept, taking to heart their due responsibility to provide all the students here with comprehensive learner support services in any and all respects. The centre tries to cater to any request that comes from the students or any possible needs that the teaching staff can foresee, in spite of any difficulties that may be encountered. By doing this, the effectiveness and quality of the one-stop service centre has been increasingly improved.
When you enter the school, you will be offered learning consulting services by the school counsellor, and the tutors will patiently inquire about your career goals and your preferred discipline/major, they will offer their professional opinion on your choice, and they will help you develop a learning schedule that is suitable for you. If you have any questions after checking your curriculum or relevant information via the multimedia query machine, the tutors will be quick to offer assistance. In a situation where a student has lost their student ID or forgotten to bring their student ID when taking an exam, the centre has a special system of providing temporary identification so as to be of assistance in such urgent cases. In case a student is not able to fetch their study materials in a timely manner, the centre will contact the relevant personnel to deliver them directly to the student. A clinic and an information inquiry office have also been set up for the centre, being prepared to provide any help that a student may need in case of emergency. The centre is also equipped with benches, drinking fountains and other facilities for students who need to take a break. Students have recognized and appreciated the attentive services provided by the centre. The students here can not only get satisfactory services, but also feel the care and concern that the school has for them, and this has enriched their appreciation of Gansu RTVU culture.
While improving efficiency and serving the students, the centre has also trained the teaching staff. The arrangement assists the teaching staff in various departments (centres) of the school to consciously improve their ideological and psychological level, as well as their language and service level, thus their working proficiency and their capabilities in handling emergencies have improved significantly. This one-stop learner support service centre of the school has become a window to showcase the culture of Gansu RTVU.
With the ceaseless progress of the OUC Gansu Branch and the Gansu Open University, the one-stop service centre of the school will continue to expand both in its depth and breadth, and its position will become more and more important. The centre will unswervingly continue to reflect the school-running goal of "doing everything for learners, serving learners with everything", and will continue to learn, to sum up experience, make innovations, and better serve learners and society, so that this small window can exercise its great role.
By Gansu RTVU