Established in 1978 by an executive order of Deng Xiaoping, the university is directly affiliated with and sponsored by the Ministry of Education of China.

[2] The Open University of China features higher education opportunities to adult citizens nationwide through distance learning and face-to-face sessions.

As a higher education system, it consists of one headquarters, 45 branches, and 3735 study centers in urban and rural areas across the country.

[5] As of 2023, the university operates 14 industry schools (行业学院), 11 specialized colleges (专门学院), and 8 internal research institutes.

This article on a university, college or other tertiary educational institution in China is a stub.