The Ministry of Education has issued 12 measures

Recently, the Ministry of Education issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Establishment of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Colleges and Universities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") to make arrangements for the establishment of undergraduate majors, aiming to cultivate national strategic talents and urgently needed talents, enhance the support and contribution of education to high-quality development, promote the formation of new quality productivity, and better serve the construction of Chinese-style modernization.

The "Notice" focuses on the implementation of the annual update and release mechanism of the undergraduate major catalog, the improvement of the setting and adjustment mechanism of undergraduate majors, the dynamic adjustment of the state-controlled distribution of majors and ad hoc majors, the implementation of the pre-declaration system for the establishment of majors, the strengthening of the demonstration and publicity of the addition of majors, the standardization of the adjustment of degree awarding categories and the length of study, the adjustment of the name of the major, the standardization of the revocation of the major, and the standardization of the professional establishment of the proposed new undergraduate colleges and universities and cooperative educational institutions with legal personality. Standardize the filing and approval of cooperative education majors, and make specific requirements.

The "Notice" makes it clear that the Ministry of Education updates the "Catalogue of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Colleges and Universities" every year, and the undergraduate enrollment majors of colleges and universities shall be implemented in accordance with the updated and published "Catalogue of Majors". Colleges and universities should plan to add majors in advance according to the needs of economic and social development, the urgent needs of regional development, their own positioning and conditions for running schools. In principle, the Teaching Steering Committee of relevant majors (categories) in colleges and universities of the Ministry of Education shall propose an adjustment plan and solicit opinions extensively, and the Steering Committee for the Establishment and Teaching of Colleges and Universities of the Ministry of Education shall deliberate. In principle, colleges and universities applying for additional majors (excluding Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run majors and second bachelor's degree majors) should be included in the school's discipline and major development plan, and the pre-declaration should be made one year in advance. In principle, majors that have stopped recruiting students for five consecutive years and have no students in school should be revoked.

The "Circular" stresses that the quality of professionalism should be well controlled. Colleges and universities should conduct research and demonstration on the necessity and feasibility of the proposed additional majors, highlight the characteristics of colleges and universities, optimize the allocation of teaching staff and teaching resources, put forward scientific talent training programs, ensure the quality of major settings, build and strengthen the expert organization for the evaluation of major settings, implement the annual report system for the quality of major construction, and take the initiative to openly accept social supervision.

The "Notice" requires all localities to strengthen provincial-level overall planning and guidance. Provincial-level education administrative departments should be based on serving regional economic and social development, comprehensively apply measures such as policy guidance, resource allocation, and funding arrangements, and guide colleges and universities to increase the number of majors related to strategic emerging industries and majors urgently needed for regional development, build specialty groups with special advantages, and eliminate majors that do not conform to economic and social development and the school's orientation.

Let's take a look at the full text of the notice -

Circular of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on Further Improving the Establishment of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Institutions of Higher Learning

To the education departments (education commissions) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Education Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the education departments (bureaus) of relevant departments (units), all institutions of higher learning under the ministry, all institutions of higher learning jointly established by the ministry and the province, and the Teaching Steering Committee of Colleges and Universities of the Ministry of Education:

In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, implement the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to deepen the reform of the discipline and professional system of higher education in the new era, dynamically adjust and optimize the undergraduate major settings of ordinary colleges and universities (hereinafter referred to as colleges and universities), cultivate national strategic talents and urgently needed talents, enhance the support and contribution of education to high-quality development, promote the formation of new quality productivity, and better serve the construction of Chinese-style modernization, according to the "Reform Plan for the Adjustment and Optimization of the Discipline and Specialty Settings of General Higher Education" (Jiaogao [ 2023] No. 1) and the "Regulations on the Administration of the Establishment of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Colleges and Universities" (Jiaogao [2012] No. 9), the following notice is hereby given on further improving the establishment of undergraduate majors in colleges and universities.

1. Implement the mechanism for the annual update and release of the undergraduate major catalog. The Catalogue of Undergraduate Majors in Colleges and Universities (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue of Majors) is updated annually. Majors that are newly included and no longer listed in the "Professional Catalog" will be announced together with the results of the professional filing and approval in the current year. The undergraduate enrollment majors of colleges and universities shall be implemented in accordance with the updated and published "Major Catalog".

2. Improve the setting and adjustment mechanism of undergraduate majors. In principle, the Teaching Steering Committee of relevant majors (categories) in colleges and universities of the Ministry of Education (hereinafter referred to as the Professional Education Guidance Committee) shall propose an adjustment plan and solicit opinions extensively, and the Steering Committee for the Establishment of Majors and Teaching in Colleges and Universities of the Ministry of Education (hereinafter referred to as the Teaching Guidance Committee for Professional Settings) shall deliberate.

3. Dynamically adjust the state-controlled distribution specialties and ad hoc specialties. According to the economic, social, scientific and technological development and changes, dynamically adjust the professional scope of state control distribution. The adjustment of the state-controlled distribution of specialties is generally proposed by the professional education and guidance committee, and the professional establishment education and guidance committee deliberates. Conversion of ad hoc majors to basic majors shall be adjusted in accordance with the above procedures.

Fourth, the implementation of the professional pre-declaration system. Colleges and universities should plan to add majors in advance according to the needs of economic and social development, the urgent needs of regional development, their own positioning and conditions for running schools. In principle, colleges and universities applying for additional majors (excluding Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools and second bachelor's degree majors) should be included in the university's discipline and major development plan, and the pre-declaration should be made one year in advance, and relevant materials should be submitted through the special website.

5. Strengthen the demonstration and publicity of the establishment of additional majors. Colleges and universities should conduct research and demonstration on the necessity and feasibility of the proposed additional majors, highlight the characteristics of colleges and universities, optimize the allocation of teaching staff and teaching resources, put forward scientific talent training programs, and ensure the quality of the additional majors. For the addition of a new major that has not yet been included in the "Catalogue of Majors", it is also necessary to demonstrate the distinction between the major and other related majors in the catalogue, refer to the "National Standards for the Teaching Quality of Undergraduate Majors in Ordinary Colleges and Universities", put forward the talent training objectives, basic teaching requirements and talent training programs of the additional majors, and invite the relevant professional education guidance committee to put forward argumentative opinions, and the relevant requirements should highlight the normative and forward-looking, so as to provide reference for other colleges and universities to open this major. The application materials and demonstration reports of the proposed major shall be reviewed and approved by the Party Committee of the school or the president's office meeting, and shall be publicized on the official website of the school for no less than 5 working days.

6. Standardize the adjustment of degree awarding categories and study periods. Colleges and universities shall adjust the degree awarding category of a major to one of the categories of awardable degrees indicated in the "Professional Catalogue", and handle it in accordance with the filing procedures;

7. Standardize the adjustment of professional names. Colleges and universities may adjust the name of the major according to the requirements for the development of the connotation of the major. Among them, the adjustment to the catalogue of majors (except for the state-controlled distribution of majors) shall be handled in accordance with the filing procedures for the addition of such majors, and the adjustment to the state-controlled distribution of majors or new majors outside the catalogue shall be handled in accordance with the examination and approval procedures. After the major is filed or approved, the original major will be handled by the university as the cancelled major, and the relevant achievements will be inherited by the newly established major.

8. Standardize professional revocation work. Colleges and universities that withdraw majors must solicit opinions and publicize them on campus, and report to the Ministry of Education for the record in accordance with the procedures. In principle, majors that have stopped recruiting students for five consecutive years and have no students in school should be revoked.

9. Standardize the work of setting up majors in newly established undergraduate colleges and universities and cooperatively-run schools with legal person qualifications. All localities and departments shall apply to the Ministry of Education for the establishment of new undergraduate colleges and universities, as well as Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools with legal personality that have been approved to prepare for the establishment of Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools with legal personality (including the cooperation between the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the same below), in accordance with the procedures for the establishment of additional majors, and simultaneously carry out professional filing or examination and approval applications.

10. Standardize the filing and approval of cooperatively-run majors. Applications for the establishment or establishment of Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools and projects, as well as the addition or change of majors in Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools, shall be carried out in accordance with the administrative licensing procedures for Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools. Among them, the establishment of state-controlled majors or majors not included in the catalogue shall be applied for in advance in accordance with the procedures for the establishment of additional majors, and the application for Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools can only be made after the examination and approval is passed; The validity period of enrollment should be extended for cooperatively-run majors, which should be updated in a timely manner.

11. Ensure the quality of professional settings. Colleges and universities that fail or suspend the qualification assessment of undergraduate teaching work, as well as colleges and universities that do not meet the standards of basic school-running conditions, shall suspend the establishment of new majors before completing the rectification. Colleges and universities should improve the internal quality assurance system of education and teaching, incorporate the establishment and adjustment of majors into the school's career development plan, and conduct special research. It is necessary to establish and strengthen professional evaluation expert organizations, implement the annual report system for the quality of professional construction, and take the initiative to openly accept social supervision.

12. Strengthen provincial-level overall planning and guidance. Provincial-level education administrative departments should be based on serving regional economic and social development, comprehensively apply measures such as policy guidance, resource allocation, and funding arrangements, and guide colleges and universities to increase the number of majors related to strategic emerging industries and majors urgently needed for regional development, build specialty groups with special advantages, and eliminate majors that do not conform to economic and social development and the school's orientation.

The education departments (education commissions) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Education Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and the education departments (bureaus) of relevant departments (units) are requested to deploy this work to their ordinary undergraduate colleges and universities.

General Office of the Ministry of Education

March 26, 2024

Source: Ministry of Education's new media "Weiyan Education"