In recent years the number of students entering higher education in China’s inland has soared to unprecedented levels. Courses at colleges of further education offering access to higher education are now commonplace. Opportunities for mature students to return to higher education have also increased. Partnerships are being formed with employers and others to provide lifelong learning for employees.
As a result of the sheer physical size and population dispersion in China’s inland, many potential students have been denied equal access to courses because they are not geographically convenient. To satisfy both the demands of students and to maintain quality, a long-term view of flexibility in higher education would prove more practical. Web based learning and more traditional on-site methods of delivery can co-exist and, with rigorous quality control, lead to substantial improvements to both modes of delivery as well as research activity.
In this paper, the author argues that web based teaching may provide the best solution to the difficulties involved in higher education reform in China’s inland. The future, in terms of information technology, is here to be exploited. Meeting the challenges of such a large educational market, whilst maintaining quality, will entail a radical review of how course quality is assessed. The author further compares the situation in Hong Kong and China’s inland.
