I. Basic Knowledge
1. Evaluation of Undergraduate Education:
Measuring oneself against one’s own criteria and seeing whether one’s own objectives have been met (self-evaluation); whether a certain qualification standard has been reached (qualified evaluation); focusing on horizontal comparison and sticking to the rankings (quality evaluation).
2. Core Concept of Evaluation:
Placing students at the centre, setting learning outcomes as the orientation and building a mechanism of continuous quality improvement.
3. The “Five Degrees” Evaluated:
The degrees of achievement, adaptability, assurance, effectiveness and satisfaction.
4. Methods of Evaluation:
In-depth interviews, attending and observing lectures, study visits, document reviews, identification of problems, and communication and feedback.
5. “Putting Undergraduate Education First and Promoting the Four Returns”:
At the 2018 Undergraduate Education Work Conference, Chen Baosheng, Minister of Education, put forward the concept of “insisting on putting undergraduate education first and promoting the Four Returns”.
a. “Putting undergraduate education first” � Undergraduate education should be placed at the foremost as it is the foundation of higher education institutions and crucial to their development
b. Promoting the “Four Returns” � Higher education and institutions should return to common sense, responsibilities, original intention and aspirations. Returning to common sense means that students should study hard; returning to responsibilities means that teachers should focus on teaching and educating students; returning to original intention means that higher education institutions should devote themselves to cultivating builders and successors to the socialist cause; returning to aspirations means striving for the achievements of patriotism and the prosperity of the nation through higher education.
6. “Six Excellences and One Top-notch” Plan 2.0:
Namely, the “Excellent Engineers Education Cultivation Plan 2.0”, “Excellent Doctors Education Cultivation Plan 2.0”, “Excellent Forestry & Agriculture Talents Education Cultivation Plan 2.0”, “Excellent Teachers Cultivation Plan 2.0”, “Excellent Law & Rule Talents Education Cultivation Plan 2.0”, “Excellent Journalism & Communications Talents Education Cultivation Plan 2.0”, and “Top-notch Students in Basic Disciplines Cultivation Plan 2.0”.
II. History and Conditions
7. Overview of Development:
The University was initially founded as Qiushi Academy in 1897 and renamed National Chekiang University in 1928. In 1937, the University moved westwards to get away from the flames of the war and later returned to Hangzhou in the autumn of 1946. In 1952, the departments of higher education institutions nationwide underwent adjustments and some of the University’s departments were transferred to other colleges and universities as well as the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The main parts of the University that remained in Hangzhou were then divided into several single-discipline institutions, which later developed into the former Zhejiang University, Hangzhou University, Zhejiang Agricultural University and Zhejiang Medical University. In 1998, the four institutions merged to form the new Zhejiang University.
8. Basic Data:
The University has 12 disciplinary fields covering science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, literature, history, philosophy, art, economics, management, law and education organised across 7 faculties and 36 schools (colleges), with a Polytechnic Institute, 2 Sino-foreign cooperative institutes and 7 affiliated hospitals. The University currently has 7 campuses: Zijingang, Yuquan, Xixi, Huajiachi, Zhijiang, Zhoushan and Haining. It has been selected as a university for first-class construction (category A) with18 disciplines listed as first-class disciplines.
9. University Motto:
Seeking truth and pursuing innovation.
10. Common Values of ZJUERS:
Diligence in learning, cultivation of virtues, discernment and Uprightness.
11. Spirit of Zhejiang University:
Developing a mind as broad as the vast sea admitting all streams and rivers, seeking truth from facts and upholding integrity, pursuing innovation and pioneering spirits, and strengthening and consolidating our country.
12. Guidelines of Talent Cultivation:
Possessing both virtues and talents, developing at an all-round manner, seeking truth and pursuing innovation, and striving for excellence.
13. Objectives of Talent Cultivation:
To cultivate high-quality innovative talents and leaders with global competitiveness and all-round development of virtues, intelligence, physical qualities, aesthetics and labour.
14. Basic Connotation of Cultivation Objectives:
Having ideals, foresights, nobleness and talents.
15. The Educational Concept:
Equal emphasis on knowledge, ability, quality and personality (KAQ2.0).
III. Focus of Evaluation
16. Teaching Orientation:
To build a world first-class university with Chinese characteristics (overall objective); to base in Zhejiang, face China, and go global (overall requirement); and to focus on first-class building and steadily promote high-quality connotative development (overall path).
17. “Three First-class”:
To firmly establish world first-class aspiration, focus on first-class goals and conscientiously implement first-class standards.
18. First-class Undergraduate Education Action Plan:
The University has formulated a first-class undergraduate education action plan, which includes 14 primary tasks such as the layout of majors, undergraduate admission, political and ideological education, curriculum construction, and construction of teaching and learning styles.
19. Majors and Scale:
Approximately 25,000 undergraduate students spread across 128 undergraduate majors.
20. Measures for the Building of the Teaching Force:
Optimising the faculty education background structure and internationalisation level; adhering to the rigid requirements of the teaching system; improving personnel policies.
21. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s Appraisal of the Teachers of Zhejiang University:
Having strong faith and noble morality, and conducting professional work.
22. Measures for the Morality and Style Construction of Teachers:
Improving the work organisation and implementation mechanism; perfecting the rules and regulations and the appraisal mechanism; strengthening academic norms and ethics; focusing on education publicity and ambience creation.
23. Important Measures for the Development of and Services for Teachers:
Establishing a teaching developing centre for teachers; fully ensuring that teachers live and work with contentment; and vigorously promoting the teachers-and-students-oriented campus culture.
24. Student Management Model:
The student management model of the University adopts the “one horizontal and multiple verticals” approach in which “one horizontal” refers to the Qiushi College of the Undergraduate School and that are responsible for the campus management of first-year undergraduates, while “multiple verticals” refers to all the schools, colleges and departments of different majors that are responsible for the education and management of undergraduate students.
25. “Freshmen’s Friends”:
Friends of Freshmen” refers to a system where one teacher is paired up with one freshmen dormitory and help guide first-year undergraduate students to better adapt to university life and help them make a good start as university students.
26. The Talent Cultivation Model of “General, Professional, Interdisciplinary and International”:
“General” refers to general education; “professional” means professional education; “interdisciplinary” refers to interdisciplinary learning, while “international” refers to internationalised cultivation.
27. Integration of the Four Classrooms:
The integration of in-class learning (the first classroom), on-campus practices (the second classroom), social practices (the third classroom), and international exchanges (the fourth classroom).
28. Student Guidance and Services:
An education team involving all faculty members; an education mechanism providing support in all aspects; an education pattern with an all-round development (The “Three Comprehensive Aspects of Education”).
29. Quality Monitoring of Teaching:
The conduct of appraisals of schools and colleges, majors, courses, teachers and students.
30. Internationalisation of Undergraduate Education:
The overseas exchange rate of local students is no less than 75%; there are nearly 7000 international students; Haining International Campus has established two double-degree cooperative institutes with the University of Edinburgh (UoE) and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
