If we look at the higher education system in China and make a picture, it will be like this.
Self-taught examination is first and foremost a self-study system, and it is essentially self-study. Self-study means reading by yourself, and success means finally getting a diploma. How can I check whether I have reached the level of issuing a diploma? The country holds exams twice a year. If you pass the exams, you can finally graduate.
This is normal and abnormal, that is, "full-time self-study" and self-study.
"Full-time self-study exam": a self-study class organized by the College of Continuing Education of a university. The full-time education here is not full-time, but "all-weather" study in universities. If the concepts are not confused, it is also an acceptable form of self-study counseling. As for how helpful this class will really be, how the learning atmosphere is, and whether the cost performance is high or not, that is another question.
Self-taught examination is an exploration of the self-taught examination system. The original intention of the system design is to introduce the concept of full-time self-examination, expand the role of the examiners' colleges, and introduce the assessment method of process evaluation (usual grades). Correspondingly, the self-study exam is not completely "self-study", and the training method of "teaching" is added, which is much higher than the conventional self-study exam (tuition vs no tuition). However, in practice, because the usual assessment and school examination have been separated from the field of national unified examination, colleges and universities have considerable discretion and they also have interests. In fact, it has become a way to get a certificate quickly with money. Indeed, this method is expensive, but the graduation speed can be very fast (from zero starting point to one and a half years of undergraduate course, one year of undergraduate course). But as a reality, it is an ideal way for people who simply need to improve their academic qualifications quickly.