China’s Sustainable Talent Cultivations for Basic Disciplines: Evaluating the Reformed National College Enrollment Policy

Abstract

Understanding the effectiveness of the implementation of higher education policies could help stakeholders make informed decisions. As a relatively new policy, research on the evaluation of the reformed national college enrollment policy—Strengthening Basic Disciplines Plan (SBDP), especially from the perspective of policy innovation and implementation is limited. This study attempts to evaluate SBDP at an early stage, thereby understanding how effectively SBDP has been implemented and what its innovations are. Utilizing the policy documentation and institutional admission documents, this study operated qualitative data using a semi-quantitative method, primarily focusing on two comparisons: the SBDP policy documentation vs. institutional SBDP admission documents, and institutional SBDP vs. Independent Enrollment Policy (IEP) admission documents. Results showed that most pilot institutions regulate SBDP admission documents in accordance with the policy documentation. However, institutional divergence in practical implementations still exists, even under centralized governance. In addition, four major demand-oriented innovations such as cultivating talents in basic disciplines and cultivation strategies in SBDP were found, compared to IEP. These findings have implications in helping Chinese higher education stakeholders to effectively implement SBDP and achieve sustainable talent cultivation for national strategies.

Maturity model for assessing the medical humanities: a Delphi study

“…In China, this is the first study focusing on the maturity assessment of second-level disciplines; therefore, it may be beneficial for further research on disciplinary research [ 34 ]. In the past, researchers in a particular field of study could only conduct disciplinary evaluations by collecting data on papers, monographs, etc., from all university researchers in the country [ 35 ]. This method requires a lot of money and takes a lot of time, and the process is complicated [ 36 ].…”

Effects of the New NCEE Reform on the Quality of Students in “Double First-Class” Universities

“…In the case of engineering, the improvement may be attributed to two policy guidelines in relation to high school subject selection and basic discipline enhancement. These guidelines not only mandated high school students to select physics for admission to 19 major categories, with engineering accounting for 13 of these categories [34], but also encouraged students to major in basic disciplines such as engineering [35]. These policies aimed to encourage more students to choose physics [35,36], a move supported by studies showing that students who actively select physics as an elective subject often exhibit strong academic performance [37].…”

“…These guidelines not only mandated high school students to select physics for admission to 19 major categories, with engineering accounting for 13 of these categories [34], but also encouraged students to major in basic disciplines such as engineering [35]. These policies aimed to encourage more students to choose physics [35,36], a move supported by studies showing that students who actively select physics as an elective subject often exhibit strong academic performance [37]. The subsequent improvement in the quality of students in engineering can be indirectly linked to the implementation of these 2020 guidelines.…”

Maturity Model for Assessing the Medical Humanities: a Delphi study

“…In China, this is the rst study focusing on the maturity assessment of second-level disciplines; therefore, it may be bene cial for further research on disciplinary research [26]. In the past, researchers in a particular eld of study could only conduct disciplinary evaluations by collecting data on papers, monographs, etc., from all university researchers in the country [27]. This method requires a lot of money and takes a lot of time, and the process is complicated [28].…”