Sunday, April 28, 2013, 23:58

Major declaration by students has been adopted by some universities for years in China, however, it was not until recently that all students of a Chinese university can choose their own majors by themselves.

“A program launched for trial by us since last semester can ensure all students, instead of just some, to pursue their interested majors,” Chen Chusheng, vice-president of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), said in an interview.

High school graduates in China need to choose majors when applying for college enrollments. Many students, who are not sure of their own interests and the curriculum designs, often find their original choice for the majors not a desired one after studying at the college for a period of time.

Some universities like Peking University and Wuhan University have started to offer students a second chance to switch their majors after enrollment. USTC, too, has been allowing students on campus to change majors since 2002.

“But in reality, due to limited teaching resources, not every student can succeed in changing their majors,” Chen said.

The School of Physical Sciences of USTC, for instance, has been one of the hottest schools of the university. Every year more than 70 students apply to switch to the school, but only some 60 students can make it, according to Professor Wang Guanzhong from the school.

“In 2011, 28 students in USTC failed to change their majors due to limited teaching resources and their own poorer performance,” said Yang Fan, a teaching coordinator of USTC.

But since December 2012, these failed students have been offered an additional choice: studying their desired major on their own as well as under the help of a professional team dedicated to them.

Even if they have not been accepted by their target schools, these students can get  diplomas and certificates of the target majors issued by the university as long as their performance meet the graduation demands, according to Li Bei, vice-director of the president’s office of USTC.

Some 25 professors from different schools and dozens of coordinating staff are working as a special team to guide these students throughout the switch process, Yang said.

“An online platform is being built, through which students can receive guidance from the team and get to know how many credits they need to get and what courses to sit in to get the target diplomas,” Yang said.

Setting up a dedicated team and an online platform to help students choose their majors is undoubtedly innovative, however, it comes no easy way, Vice-President Chen revealed.

“The management staff has a larger workload and the curriculum designs need to be adjusted,” Chen said, adding that disputes occur when adjusting the curriculum designs and it takes over three years  to reach a consensus between schools.

However, the management team of the university believes such extra efforts are worthwhile. “Almost half of our top graduates from schools like the School of Mathematical Sciences are students who’ve had major declaration, according to statistics,” Chen said.

This major declaration program, which may sound trivial to some education reformers, has brought huge benefits to the students, said Zhou Dan, a 23-year-old senior of USTC, who has been enrolled by California Institute of Technology as a postgraduate student recently.

“Switching major is one of the most important decisions to us as it relates closely to our future career development and life,” said Zhou, who had her major declaration three years ago. “With the support (of our university), we can pursue our desired road without much fear or hesitation, which is a meaningful step in our growth,” she said.

Contact the writers at jibeibei@chinadaily.com.cn, machenguang@chinadaily.com.cn

http://www.chinadailyasia.com/focus/2013-04/28/content_15073459.html