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Learning assessment is defined as assessment and evaluation of the learners' learning activities, process and outcomes. In recent years, as the Internet access is increasingly available, a majority of distance education providers in China have succeeded in delivering programs and support services through modern communications technology, in particular, the Internet. However, as far as the education assessment mode is concerned, the conventional paper-pencil test or endof-course assessment is still overwhelmingly employed for measuring learning outcomes. Therefore, the exploration of web-based learning assessment mode is not only the practical need for conducting open distance instruction and assessment reform at China Central Radio and Television University (CRTVUS), but also has become a hot research topic in the whole sphere of distance education. Under this circumstance, the Examination Center in CCRTVU began to show research interests in exploring web-based assessment mode. As a consequence, in 2005, the Center applied for and launched research project "Practice and research on web-based learning assessment in open and distance education", which is approved by Ministry of Education as a key project program of 2005. This article reports the important research contents of the project. This article first describes the core achievements of the project-namely, design and implementation of the web-based assessment system, principles in creating assessment scheme for the mode, and the mechanism. Then it moves on to report feedback from the pilot population about the application of the web-based learning assessment mode in the two semesters of year 2005. The article ends with the discussion of innovations the research has made.

The purpose of this paper is to identify staff skills and competencies on which Chinese open universities should focus their professional development activities in order to enhance the quality of open and distance learning (ODL) in China.

Data were collected from surveys of 220 academic and academic-related Chinese staff, each of whom participated in one of seven 3-day Learning Design and Course Creation (LDCC) workshops at three large regional open universities in China between 2017 and 2019. The workshops were based on the UK Open University (UKOU) approach to learning design (LD) and course creation. Using content analysis methodology, textual responses were analysed and compared against the Instructional Design Competencies framework provided by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI).

(1) Designing instructional interventions, (2) keeping up to date with design theories, (3) communicating in order to manage stakeholders, teams and projects were the main competencies identified from the participants responses. However, these three identified competencies differed in emphasis between the institutions that took part.

In Western higher education institutions (HEIs), LD has developed as an important approach to improving quality. A need has been identified for robust approaches to quality and professional development opportunities to enhance teaching and learning standards in open and distance learning (ODL) in China. This paper identifies and discusses specific LD skills and competencies that could be targeted to improve the quality of ODL in China.