Adult higher education and general higher education occupy the same important position in the higher education system. Together, they have built a complete higher education system, which complements each other and develops harmoniously. Although there are obvious differences between the two, there are also many similarities.

Different educational objects

General higher education mainly aims at young people in the pre-employment period and provides them with one-off pre-employment education; Adult education, on the other hand, is mainly aimed at adult workers in society to meet their needs for continuing education after work.

Different internal structures

The number of ordinary higher education is limited, the number of years of study is fixed, and full-time study is adopted; Adult higher education is more flexible, with unlimited number of students, flexible academic system and diverse learning forms.

Different external structures

The external structure of general higher education is relatively simple, mainly including students and their parents, educational institutions at all levels of the school; The external structure of adult higher education is complex, involving social workers and their units, training institutions, educational institutions and social organizations at all levels, economic, planning, labor and personnel departments.

Different training objectives

General higher education pays attention to cultivating professional talents with deep theoretical foundation, wide knowledge and strong system, and these talents have a wider scope of application; Adult higher education, on the other hand, mainly trains practical or continuing education-oriented talents, with a relatively small scope of adaptation.