National Open University

A Paragon of Lifelong E-Learning for the Global Chinese Society. Established in 1986 in Taiwan, NOU aims to provide open, sustainable, and never-ending adult learning and continuous education by implementing emerging technologies, in a spirit of lifelong learning and responding to social change. Consequently, it aims to cultivate our students to become modern citizens with life, cultural, and professional competencies and social responsibilities.

All efforts have been made to provide an inclusive, supportive, convenient, and responsive learning space for our students and society.

NOU pays attention to diversities and minorities; we welcome everyone to be a part of our family. Students are supported in their learning, tutoring, finance, guidance, and career planning. NOU provides learners with easy access to learning environments; students are able to learn anywhere and anytime. NOU responds to the voices and needs of our students and society.

Cultivate students to become citizens with civic consciousness and social responsibility. Equip students with the abilities to learn and develop positive attitudes of learning. Enhance students’ abilities in life, social adoption, and appreciation of cultural diversity. Foster students’ professional competencies and potential for growth.

Citizenship - Develop students’ knowledge and abilities in public participation, environmental protection, and other social responsibilities. Learning - Equip students to equip with language and technology excellence and a self-directed learning attitude. Life - Enhance students’ knowledge and abilities in art and culture appreciation, interpersonal communication, and life intelligence. Professionalism - Improve students’ professional competencies and systematic and creative thinking abilities.

In view of the fact that social changes had put too much emphasis on utilitarian values and ignored the importance of humanistic cultural development, the educational authorities founded the National Open University (NOU) in 1986. The Department of Humanities, one of the first three departments founded, is tasked with enriching students’ life and expanding their perspective of life through the nurturing of humanities. In addition, students are expected to shapint up the appropriate philosophy and attitude towards life through the knowledge and practice of humanities. Under the planning and promotion of the department heads and the faculty, a solid foundation has been laid for teaching, researching, and facilitating students’ learning. At the same time, the department is constantly improvising for the coping strategies for the ever changing environment.

In 2006, in order to provide students with professional training opportunities and enhance the ability of teachers’professional services, we established a health family research center, which expected to cultivate the talents, conduct academic research and social service from the whole life and family operation points. The department is not only improving the concept of public life quality, but also implementing four credit programs, including family education, child care and youth life guidance, aging life planning and tour planning with the changes of society in recent years. So they can cultivate more talents in the living sciences courses.

The Department of Social Sciences is with the vision to lead people to be a whole-person , to guide each and every learner to explore the relationship among the individual, the group, the community and the environment. Starting with one’s development and social adaptation, then into the coping with the environmental changes, and apply one’s knowledge to care for and to serve the society, to fulfill the civil rights and obligations, in order to complete the goal of keeping life extension and society expansion.

The Department of Business was established in 1986, being one of the three earliest departments of our university. The courses offered in the early period were mainly for the dropout social elites who have the intention of continuing study. The curriculum planning of our department includes seven categories, management, trade, statistics, economy, finance, accounting and information. Currently, courses of Department of Business are classified into general business and professional business. The department professional business consists of marketing, finance and enterprise management.