History of BTVU

Beijing Radio and Television University was founded in 1960 with the name of Beijing Television University and was one of the first TV universities in China. With the feature of teaching through radio and TV, BTVU played an important role for publicizing science and technology for the common people. In February, 1979, it was renamed “Beijing Radio and Television University” by Beijing municipal government with the establishment of radio and television universities nationwide.

In the 1980s and 1990s, TV universities functioned as one of the best ways for cultivating talents, educating on-the-job staff, training vocational skills and advancing degrees. Based on the principles of capital economic construction and social development, BTVU focused on diploma education and harmonized diploma education with non-diploma training. Various majors were offered, such as those for teachers, for regular students, for leaders of the Communist Party, for business management, for self-study students, for students who studied for a second degree, and for students who studied foundation course of universities. Majors were opened such as Chinese, Industry administration, Business administration, Industry accounting, Business accounting, Industry statistics, Financing, Material, Financial administration, Civil engineering, Chemistry, Management engineering, Secretary, Archiving, News media, Librarian, Law, Costume design, and Electricity management. Meanwhile, non-diploma trainings were offered such as sole course training, job training, certificate training and further education. With the support of Beijing municipal government, BTVU improved on its conditions, set up 53 branch schools, and established the teaching and administration network covering the urban and rural areas of the city.

In 1999, BTVU carried out the pilot project for talent cultivating and open education and specialized in the modern open distance education based on computer network. BTVU improved on the digital campus construction with the development of satellite TV network, computer network and related system, and formed the teaching and administration network of satellite, computer network and human resource system. BTVU finished broadband Metropolitan Area Network, satellite TV, VBI, IP system, distance education information transfer and teaching platform, and created the environment for open education on the basis of computer network and interaction among the three levels of teaching. BTVU emphasized the student-centeredness, constructed multi-media teaching resources, and offered online teaching, VOD teaching, face-to-face tutorials, E-mail Q & A, BBS discussion, and telephone consultancy. Various majors were offered such as Computer science and technology, Law, English, Financing, Accounting, Business administration, Chinese, Engineering for water resources, Economics, Administration management, Advertising, Engineering design and automation, Education for primary schools, Gardening, and Medicine. Both diploma and bachelor education were opened for digital, multi-media, interactive modern open distance education, so that BTVU stepped into a new development era.

At present, BTVU serves the life-long education for the capital citizens and the establishment of a learning city of Beijing, featuring its open distance education. BTVU positions itself as the functioning system of open distance education of radio and television university, the component of life-long educating system and a learning society of Beijing, the modern open university with the capital characteristics, and the [next]center of distance education for Beijing to serve the capital economic and social development and meet the learning needs from all walks of life. Now BTVU is trying to become one of the major parts of Beijing life-long educating system.

BTVU presidents:

• First president: vice mayor of Beijing, famous historian Wuhan （1964—1966）
• Second president: vice president of the National Committee of CPPCC, experts in adult education Guan Shixiong （1980—1994）
• Third president: vice mayor Hu Zhaoguang （1994—2000）
• Fourth president: vice mayor Lin Wenyi （2000—2004）
• Fifth president: Yan Tuoshi （2004—2006）