Introduction to China Agricultural University's 2013 College Entrance Examination Admissions
Zhou Xufeng, Director of the Admissions Office of China Agricultural University, receives an exclusive interview with Xinhua Net. Photo by Yang Gang, Xinhua Net
Host: Hello, dear netizens. Welcome to this edition of Xinhua Net's college admissions interview series. As the highest institution of agricultural learning and its place of origin, China Agricultural University has many students applying every year. After nearly a hundred years of development, China Agricultural University has formed its own educational characteristics and philosophy. Many netizens also want to learn about China Agricultural University's college admissions information. Today our guest is Zhou Xufeng, Director of the Admissions Office of China Agricultural University. Hello, Director Zhou, welcome.
Zhou Xufeng: Hello, host, and hello to all netizens.
Host: Please first introduce to everyone the characteristics of China Agricultural University.
Zhou Xufeng: China Agricultural University is a century-old school with more than 100 years of educational history, and is also one of the national 985 universities and 211 Project key construction universities directly under the Ministry of Education. China Agricultural University has now developed into a research-oriented university with advantages and characteristics in agronomy, life sciences, and agricultural engineering. In terms of disciplines, the university covers 9 categories: agriculture, engineering, science, economics, management, law, literature, medicine, and philosophy. China Agricultural University currently has more than 1,200 undergraduates and more than 7,000 graduate students, including master's and doctoral students, with a total enrollment of about 20,000. The disciplinary strength of China Agricultural University is very strong. We have 6 national key first-level disciplines and 6 national key second-level disciplines, covering 24 second-level disciplines in total, and all 6 of our national key first-level disciplines rank first in the Ministry of Education's rankings, which also demonstrates the disciplinary advantages of China Agricultural University. China Agricultural University has 3 national key laboratories, 1 national engineering laboratory, 6 national-level research centers, and a large number of provincial and ministerial-level scientific research bases. At present, there are more than 1,500 full-time teachers and more than 1,200 professors and associate professors, including 5 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 6 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 11 chief scientists of “973 Project”, 19 specially appointed professors of the Changjiang Scholars Award Program, and 39 winners of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. The university's rankings in disciplines and faculty are basically around the top ten among national universities.
Six disciplines of China Agricultural University rank first nationwide
Host: Please introduce to everyone which majors the university has advantages in.
Zhou Xufeng: Among our first-level disciplines, 6 rank first nationwide, such as crop science, plant protection, agricultural resources and environment, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, and agricultural engineering. In addition, food science and engineering and pratacultural science rank second, horticulture ranks third, agricultural and forestry economics and management ranks fourth, hydraulic engineering ranks seventh, biology ranks eighth, ecology ranks tenth, and so on. In addition, 7 fields of our university, including agricultural sciences, environment/ecology, chemistry, engineering, plant and animal science, biology and biochemistry, and microbiology, have entered the top 1% of the ESI world rankings. Supported by these disciplines or fields, we have a large number of advantageous undergraduate majors. Our university's distinctive programs also include 2 science experimental classes in life sciences and information science, 2 national science bases in biology and chemistry, and majors such as economics (Chinese-foreign cooperative education), etc.
Agriculture is the foundation of the national economy; studying agriculture well has broad development prospects
Host: What kind of good prospects will students in agriculture-related majors have?
Zhou Xufeng: It should be said that agriculture is very important. We are a major agricultural country. This includes the food issue. Food is the first necessity of the people, and it is the most important foundation of the national economy. This also involves everyone's daily life now, such as food issues. The scope involved is very broad, very close to our lives, and very important. Agricultural development cannot be separated from scientific and technological development, especially now when our agricultural level still has considerable room for improvement. If one studies agriculture-related majors, in the future one will produce greater results in practical production applications. The situation of the graduates we have trained over more than 100 years since the university's founding is also like this. Many of our graduates have become leading figures in academia or scientific and technological circles. Some have taken root at the agricultural frontline and made many contributions. Comrade Wen Jiabao once said during an inspection at our university, “If I had another chance to attend university, I would definitely apply to an agricultural college,” which also reflects the very good development prospects of applying to agricultural schools in the future.
CAU controls a relatively low filing ratio and promises not to withdraw files of candidates who meet relevant requirements
Host: Netizens feel that for many students who want to enter China Agricultural University, if their first choice does not reach the admission cutoff score, they need to choose a second choice. Director Zhou, please introduce to us whether China Agricultural University admits second-choice candidates. How many second-choice places are there in each region?
Zhou Xufeng: Here I will systematically explain our university's admission rules. Our university tries to control a relatively low filing ratio, and promises that in provinces implementing parallel choices, if candidates accept major adjustment and meet the relevant requirements, we will not withdraw their files. Our university recognizes all bonus policies recognized by the Ministry of Education and approved by each provincial admissions office, but the maximum is 20 points, and bonus points are also recognized when arranging majors. In major placement, the rule of score priority is adopted, and there is no grade difference between majors. As for the second-choice issue, because most provinces currently implement parallel choices, there is basically no second choice anymore. Generally, unfinished first-choice plans are directly refilled. In provinces implementing non-parallel choices, science candidates will have reserved second-choice plans, with the total not exceeding 3% of the local plan, and the score must be more than 30 points higher than our first-choice admission average. In Beijing's case, the final admission score for second choice is even higher than this threshold. In recent years, it has been about 150 points higher than the first-tier line. When arranging majors, 30 points are first subtracted from the filing score before comparing with first-choice candidates, and each broad category admits no more than two people, with each major admitting no more than one. In previous years, these plans were mainly concentrated in provinces such as Beijing and Shandong, and candidates were able to enter relatively good top majors. Zhou Xufeng, Director of the Admissions Office of China Agricultural University, receives an exclusive interview with Xinhua Net. Photo by Yang Gang, Xinhua Net
Host: What changes has China Agricultural University made in this year's undergraduate enrollment scale compared with previous years?
Zhou Xufeng: In recent years, our undergraduate enrollment scale has been stable with a slight decline. This year's enrollment scale is 2,850, a decrease of 70 compared with last year. There is such a small decrease. Each province will also have a certain amount of reduction.
Host: On the other hand, as the highest institution of agricultural learning, does China Agricultural University have any differences in enrollment regions?
Zhou Xufeng: When arranging enrollment plans, China Agricultural University mainly refers to several indicators: one is the number of candidates, and the other is the quality of candidates, including their study situation after entering the university and the quality of our university's student source. Recently we have also gradually tilted toward western provinces and remote areas. Originally we already had relatively many plans in western regions. For example, Henan, **, and Yunnan all have relatively large enrollment plan numbers.
Distinctive internationalized education; high employment rate reflects training quality
Host: What are China Agricultural University's newly added majors this year?
Zhou Xufeng: Our enrollment majors have some changes compared with previous years, mainly in two aspects. Some major names have changed, mainly name changes. Another aspect is the addition of two directions: one is the agricultural engineering (Chinese-foreign joint training) direction, and the other is that the International College has added agricultural and forestry economics and management (agribusiness) in cooperation with Oklahoma State University in the United States. The agricultural engineering direction mainly adopts a 2+2 training model for teaching, and the training plan refers as much as possible to foreign universities. Some courses are taught in English. Students need to go to the partner institution to complete the later part of their studies and can obtain dual certificates.
Host: Foreign institutions now already have a trend of recruiting students from the mainland, and domestic candidates are also interested in studying abroad. What measures does China Agricultural University have for undergraduate internationalization?
Zhou Xufeng: Internationalization should have a great impact on education. China Agricultural University can also be considered an early starter in this regard. We began preparations in 1994 and established the International College in 1995. This International College is specifically conducted as a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project. At present, it mainly trains students in economics-related majors, mainly with the University of Colorado and Oklahoma State University in the United States, among others. All courses are taught in English, and more than 75% of courses are taught domestically by teachers sent by the partner institutions. After four years of domestic study, upper-year students can also go to overseas partner institutions to complete the later part of their studies. We have been running this for nearly 20 years and have trained several thousand graduates, receiving broad recognition from society. After 2004, China Agricultural University also launched Chinese-foreign joint training programs with well-known institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, such as Cornell University, Purdue University, the University of Maryland, and Colorado State University. After students complete 2 years of domestic study, through selection, they can go abroad in their third year to complete the later part of their studies. The credits obtained in our university during the first two years are recognized by the partner institution, and the later credits obtained there are also recognized by us. Upon graduation, they can obtain dual certificates. These partner institutions are all very highly ranked internationally. Every year, 50 or 60 of our students go abroad for further study, and their later development is very good. In addition to joint training with degrees, we also attach importance to short-term student exchanges. For example, we have short-term exchange student programs with Japan and Taiwan, China, ranging from half a year to one year.
In addition, we also attach great importance to graduates going abroad for further study. Every year, more than a dozen undergraduates can receive state funding to go abroad as publicly funded students to pursue doctoral degrees, and the proportion of graduates going abroad can reach 15%. In terms of on-campus education, many majors invite professors from foreign institutions to offer courses at the university. For example, pure English-taught courses are offered every summer. We want to use these courses to attract some international students to study at the university, so as to establish a good internationalized atmosphere. Overall, there is still a long way to go in internationalization, and we are also making all-around efforts, striving to build a world-class agricultural university as soon as possible.
Host: Chinese-foreign cooperative education has been running at CAU for 20 years now. Some parents are also worried that current universities, such as good domestic universities, are exploring internationalization, and they worry that it should not just be labeled as internationalization. How is teaching quality guaranteed?
Zhou Xufeng: In the past, the trend in internationalization mainly involved more students who could not get into university, but in recent years the broader environment has changed. Now, looking at high schools, many outstanding students even give up admission to key domestic universities to study abroad. Our partner institutions are also becoming stronger and stronger, and our cooperative majors also lean toward advantageous majors. We manage strictly. After entering the university, courses are taught entirely in English, and there are strict requirements and management, which can guarantee the quality of our training. The teaching of the entire International College has also been recognized by relevant education quality evaluation organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries, so the quality is still guaranteed. In addition, judging from students' employment and further study, most students in Chinese-foreign cooperative education pursue further study at well-known overseas universities, and their employment directions are also industries and majors with relatively high recognition, which can reflect the quality of training to a certain extent.
The “no-threshold application for major transfer” policy gives students the opportunity to transfer to a major they like
Host: If students find after enrollment that they do not like their major, what measures does China Agricultural University have regarding major transfer?
Zhou Xufeng: We believe that students' interest in a major is the most basic prerequisite for studying university courses well. We have adopted a series of measures to ensure students' recognition of their majors. On the one hand, we launched a major transfer policy called “no-threshold application for major transfer.” Many schools now allow major transfer, but most set application thresholds, requiring a certain score before one has the opportunity. But there is a paradox here. Students who may be uninterested in the major itself because of admission or lack of understanding of the major may therefore have poor academic performance, but if there is a threshold, they have no way to transfer. Therefore, China Agricultural University has abolished this threshold. Students with excellent academic performance can apply for popular majors, and students who indeed want to transfer because they do not understand the major or for other reasons also have this opportunity to transfer to a major they like.
The number of times we allow major transfer has also increased significantly. In the first semester, we mainly call it freshman selection. We have two science experimental classes, half admitted through the college entrance examination and half selected from freshmen after enrollment. Starting from the second semester, at the beginning of each semester, students can apply to transfer majors. In terms of policy, our first- and second-year students can all submit applications, and each person can apply for two majors, subject to review by the college. We very much encourage each college to accept transfer students. Some popular majors have reserved places for transfer students, such as food-related, biology-related, and economics-related majors, so competition for them may be relatively intense. Most other majors accept more students than the number of applicants, so the transfer success rate is still very high. Every year, more than 300 of our students can transfer to different majors for study.
More than half of China Agricultural University's majors admit students by broad category. For example, within a college or among certain similar majors, these majors are combined under one name for broad-category enrollment. After enrollment, students receive unified basic-stage training, and then at the end of the first or second year, students choose specific majors and specific directions. Their understanding of the major is clearer and more targeted. We also offer some double degrees, which are also auxiliary measures for major transfer. China Agricultural University has specially opened freshman seminars, which are basically required for students. Teachers in the relevant major give systematic lectures on the development prospects of the major and the prospects for scientific and technological development in related fields, including employment prospects. In this way, students can gain a deeper understanding of their major through the courses, because some students do not have a very clear major preference and will be able to study this major well in the future.