Shanghai Open University (), formerly known as Shanghai Television University (), is an open university conducting distance education based on

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

and television, and computer and other technology based subject courses. On July 25, 2012, the university officially changed its name to Shanghai Open University, and now offers Associate and bachelor's degrees. Bachelor's degrees offered now include Public Safety Management, Mechanical Electrical Engineering, and

Software Engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

. Admissions is open, though conferring of degrees is based on met requirements.Wenhui and Xinmin Media Group. ''上海电大更名上海开放大学首批设3个本科专业''. 文新传媒, 25 July 2012,

History

The university was founded on 1960 as Shanghai TV University (SHTVU) "offering undergraduate education for adults." While reports that during its early years the university functioned "simply okeep[] unemployed workers busy," and its diplomas were only "equal in status to those of a two-year college." By the mid-1960s the university had enrolled over 50,000 students but graduated only 12,000.White, Lynn. ''Careers in Shanghai''. University of California Press, 1978. pp. 31-33, cited in Irving Epstein
"Educational Television in the People's Republic of China: Some Preliminary Observations,"
''Comparative Education Review'', Vol. 26, No. 2. June 1982, pp. 286-291. Epstein regards this dysfunction as a typical example of policies in Chinese urban areas in the 1960s which "attempted to placate immediate political demands" but "proved to be counterproductive to long-term educational aims."Epstein, Irving
"Educational Television in the People's Republic of China: Some Preliminary Observations,"
''Comparative Education Review'', Vol. 26, No. 2. June 1982, pp. 286-291. According to the Xinhua General Overseas News Service, from 1991 to 1993 the university added eight economic courses to its curriculum including industrial and commercial business management, auditing, and finance."Television University Booming." Xinhua General Overseas News Service. February 9, 1993. In 2003, student enrollment amounts to 100,000. By 2012 Shanghai TV University was renamed as Shanghai Open University with the approval of the

Ministry of Education of China The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a cabinet-level department under the State Council responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs across the country. The Min ...

References

External links

Shanghai Television University Website (archived)

Shanghai Open University (English website)
Universities and colleges in Shanghai Educational institutions established in 1960 1960 establishments in China {{China-university-stub