OUC carries out distance educational activities using a integration of three networks, including a satellite TV network, a computer network, and the network of open universities' full-time and part-time faculty in China, i.e., the air network, the ground network, and the human network. This integration has become a prominent feature and strength of the open education in the OUC.OUC initiated its open education for the public in 1999. In 2007, this form of education passed the summative evaluation by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and was considered an independent educational form in the modern national educational system and lifelong educational system. By the autumn of 2008, 5,501,100 students had registered in the open universities in China with 2,766,500 active students, which accounted for over 2/3 of the total number of students receiving China's modern distance education. Up to 2,679,700 students have graduated, and its educational partners include 21 key conventional universities and 17 industry ministries in China.OUC offers 75 majors in 9 disciplines and 24 specialties including science, engineering, agricultural science, medicine, literature, law, economics, management, and education. By the fall of 2008, there were 3,090,000 active students in the open universities in China, among whom 2,950,000 were students of junior colleges and undergraduate students, accounting for one tenth of the total enrollment in higher education around the country. At present, it is the largest open and distance education system in the world.