Beijing Open University (BJOU) is an open university dedicated to distance education by using radio, television, computer network, textbook and audio-video textbooks. It is an important component of CCRTVU system with branches spreading around Beijing, constitute a long-distance system of holistic planning, independent running and management of branches. We have 53 branches in different districts and rural areas, among which 20 are branches and 33 are work stations and learning centers. BJOU has one direct affiliation, the College of Open Education. 

The mission of BJOU is to provide different forms of open education service. It promotes educational opportunity and social justice by offering high-quality university education to all who wish to realize their ambitions and fulfill their potential. BJOU promotes community education, rural education, vocational training, non-degree education, to satisfy people’ learning needs, to renovate knowledge and facilitate new skill training. It makes full use of educational resources, builds modern open education public service system, and provides supporting service for higher education school and other education institute.

BJOU occupies an area of 52919 square meters with 1900 staff, 815 of them are full-time teachers. Beijing, as the capital of China, owns ample educational recourses and outstanding teaching resources. BJOU also invites famous experts, researchers to deliver lectures, or to serve as consultants and advisors.

The characteristics of BJOU education are to explore a new mode of digitalized, multi-media, and interactive modern education. Now we have an intranet connecting branches, learning centers across Beijing. The satellite TV network, computer network, teaching and management network combined together create a modern long-distance education environment–“satellite, computer and human resource”. This is an in-depth exploration of talent-fostering pattern in the long-distance education, pushing the essential change from traditional long-distance education to modern long-distance education. Now BJOU offers various forms of education in the field of undergraduate, associate degree, high school diploma, open education, adult education, and vocational training.

BJOU's academic program covers a variety of science, economics, literature, law, foreign language, art and education with students of more than 150,000, pursuing their bachelor degree or associate diploma. Meanwhile, BJOU provides non-degree education such as vocational training, exam training, practical technological training, and elderly training for 650000 students. BJOU has supplied Beijing with a huge number of outstanding talents with practical skills.

BJOU was honored by the Ministry of Education and CCRTVU as “model for CCRTVU system" and in the year of 2005, BJOU was nominated as one of the best performer in the "Talent-Training Reform and Open Education Experiment" project.