Page 32 - Open and Distance Education In Asia : Good Practice From AAOU Members

12 OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATON IN ASIA
Good Practices from AAOU Members

Table 1
K-MOOC in numbers

Year 2017 2018 2019
Developed Lectures 324 510 1,703
Participating Institutions 69 95 116
Budgets (unit: KRW) 6,928,000,000 7,840,000,000 9,734,000,000

Other Open Educational Practices contributions. However, the number of
As Korea’s first and unique national distance new students is slightly decreasing due
higher educational institution, KNOU has to diversified distance higher educational
been establishing its educational and student institutions and an increase in higher
support systems based upon social needs. education rates. As such, it is time for KNOU
KNOU has computerized and automatized to reconsider how to lead future education.
its services in response to an increase in the In order to overcome the current issues
number of students and has made efforts to and to grow as a more successful distance
provide an optimal educational environment higher educational institution and a lifelong
by systematizing the Office of Student Affairs. network university, KNOU should provide
more quality educational services than the
The traditional education system focusing on preexisting degree-oriented system and
college-aged students was shifted to adult- quickly respond to social changes. To achieve
student centered lifelong education due to this, KNOU should operate various curricula
the changing of the times. KNOU has been and innovate its student service systems in
striving to meet various students’ needs the near future. In addition to quantitative
such as career development and academic growth in education, KNOU should secure
counseling. This is shown in the KNOU qualitative excellence and provide an
systems focusing on “life cycle-customized extensive range of quality educational
lifelong learning strategies” and “lifelong contents in response to students’ needs.
learning network strategies”. Furthermore, KNOU should strengthen
the connectivity between online-offline
KNOU grants scholarships to a variety of education and student activities, improve
social groups and students to realize higher its mentoring system, and reinvigorate the
education welfare. In addition, it supports study groups as new paradigms.
independent student bodies so that adult
learners can strengthen their social learning.
KNOU is considered a world-class distance
higher educational institution and lifelong
educational institution because of its
outstanding educational systems and social

Korea National Open University (KNOU)