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Undergraduate Teaching Program
Reformation Ⅹ: More Latitude for
Freshmen
PKU NEWS 2006--12-12
http://ennews.pku.edu.cn/news.php?s=165984468
Peking University, Beijing, Dec.12th, 2006: Recruiting and cultivating students
according to the general classification for schools and disciplines was an important
measure in the reformation at Peking University, which aimed for ―Solidify the
Foundation, Emphasize less on Specialty, Teach and Cultivate in Accordance of
Individual Aptitude‖. Cultivation according to the general classification enables the
students to have a broader horizon and a solider groundwork for further studies.
Specifically speaking, the freshmen will receive a liberal education as their basic
courses. Moreover more professional courses will be assigned to them after they
enter the advanced stage. Thus the students have the opportunity to choose their
own specialties in light of their experiences, academic interests, as well as
personalities.
The policy above has been launched since 2002, when thirteen schools/departments
and three specialties adopted it. In 2003, the policy was extended to the whole
university, except for some particular specialties of the Department of Foreign
Languages. Since then, the number of specialties in recruitment program has been
reduced, while the number of the recruited students increased.
In the past five years, this policy has been validated by the favorable results in both
recruitment and undergraduate teaching program. On one hand, this policy released
the pressure for the students on the threshold of university life by offering them more
latitude in academic choice; on the other hand, with a liberal pool of specialties in
each school/department, the policy provided the students with the possibility of
deciding their own academic directions, which would be influential for their future.
And thus the assignment program of specialties was more rationalized, which was in
accordance with the development of society.
Another advantage generated by this policy was that the proportion of fulfilled
applications was greatly heightened. Since the number of the specialties decreased,
the quota of recruits in each school/department increased thereby, and the
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