Is it worth the second bachelor's degree education to be "abolished and established" for two undergraduates in six years
For this batch of college graduates affected by the epidemic, in addition to the expansion of employment scale and the expansion of graduate students, they have ushered in a new choice-the second bachelor degree expansion.
On May 29, the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Education on Continuing the Education of Second Bachelor's Degrees in Ordinary Universities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") pointed out that the second bachelor's degree education as a post-undergraduate education is to train composite talents Important channel.
In fact, in July 2019, the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council decided to stop enrolling in the second bachelor's degree from 2022. Why is the second bachelor degree "abolished and established"? Is it a timely adjustment in response to the employment dilemma under the impact of the epidemic, or is it a new measure for the development of higher education in my country? What changes will this bring to college students?
Why did the "second bachelor's degree" restart
Against the background of the impact of the epidemic, the restart of the "second bachelor's degree" has given a lot of hope to college students who have missed the postgraduate entrance examination, failed to apply for overseas studies, and are not ready for immediate employment.
Zhao Peng was a senior in a 985 college in the east. His academic performance is excellent, and his major is also the ace major in the school. The sudden epidemic disrupted his long-established plan to go abroad. Unwilling to find a job directly, the postgraduate has long missed the time, and he has been confused for a long time.
"Suddenly seeing the notice of the second bachelor's degree, my family and I are very excited. Let us, a student who has been blocked from applying abroad and missed opportunities, have a new choice, and suddenly feel that I may have another chance. I even thought, Is it possible to go to Tsinghua University, where I dreamed of, to study for a second bachelor's degree." Zhao Peng said.
It is understood that the second bachelor's degree education has developed in my country for more than 30 years. In 1987, the original State Education Commission and other departments jointly issued the "Trial Measures for Training Second Bachelor Degree Students in Higher Education" to establish a system. However, with the development of postgraduate education, coupled with the implementation of the second bachelor's degree in colleges and universities are mostly double bachelor's degree, minor bachelor's degree model, the second bachelor's degree gradually ceased enrollment.
In 2019, the Degree Committee of the State Council issued the "Administrative Measures for the Authorization and Grant of Bachelor Degrees" (hereinafter referred to as "Measures"), which stipulates that after the implementation of the "Measures" in 2022, each degree-granting unit will no longer recruit second bachelor degree students. Until the "Notice" in May this year clearly "continue to carry out the second bachelor's degree education", the second bachelor's degree education was abolished.
Many professionals believe that the restart of the second bachelor's degree is to delay the current employment pressure faced by college students.
Xu Fei, executive vice president of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said in an interview with a reporter from the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that restarting the second bachelor's degree will help China further optimize its talent structure, and second, it will create more opportunities for college graduates. The third is to enhance students' employment and entrepreneurship capabilities.
"However, we can also see the "hardship" behind the policy. At this time point, this policy was issued. There is no doubt that there are factors affecting the epidemic. The employment pressure of college graduates in China is very high. Let students read two more The Yearbook not only allows students to improve their abilities, but also can alleviate the current severe employment pressure by postponing employment. It is also one of the many moves." Xu Fei said.
Lu Xiaodong, a researcher at the School of Education at Peking University, has been pushing for the second bachelor degree education. He told the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that accelerating the reform of the second bachelor degree education will have a special impact on the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the employment market of college graduates this year. Urgency. "It is necessary to provide fresh graduates with an opportunity to continue their education, enhance their skills, and cope with future employment. In this regard, a second bachelor's degree education that can effectively promote the growth of interdisciplinary and compound talents is an ideal choice, which can increase the student's Innovation and entrepreneurship."
Is it cost-effective to study two undergraduates in six years?
According to the "Notice", the second bachelor's degree system is two years, for full-time study. That is to say, the college students who choose this path will get two undergraduate degrees in 6 years, which makes many college students start to "account."
"It seems that the second bachelor degree can be cross-examination majors, and you need to complete four years of undergraduate application before applying for a dual degree sophomore, but only a degree certificate. In this way, the double degree saves time and the second bachelor degree can be changed. I think that the gold content of the second bachelor's degree feels a bit higher than that of the double degree." Yang Yang, a senior student at a college in Hubei, is now studying the double degree of the school, so he is also concerned about the news of the second bachelor's degree.
Recently, junior student Zhang Yamei studying in a college in Xi'an and his classmates carefully studied this document of the Ministry of Education, comparing several options such as postgraduate, work, and second bachelor's degree. "This feeling is for people who can’t find a job but can’t take the entrance exam. To be honest, I’m a little bit tempted to think about'squatting' at home, I might as well read two years of books, prepare for a test or find a job while reading. I only know about graduation I still have the status of a fresh student. I don’t know what the degree of social recognition is now. I hope further details will come out quickly."
In Xu Fei's view, the concerns of college students about the "cost-effectiveness" of the second bachelor's degree are understandable.
“For students, after getting two bachelor’s degrees, they will have higher psychological expectations for salary and position when looking for jobs; from another perspective, for employers and employers, two bachelor’s degrees cannot Simple is equivalent to a master's degree." Nevertheless, Xu Fei believes that the introduction of this policy is reasonable. "Economy and education have a "countercyclical" law. People tend to go to school when the economy is bad and make money when the economy is good, which is in line with social laws."
Lu Xiaodong believes that it is not enough to focus only on the "cost-effectiveness" of the second bachelor's degree. Opening the channel of the second bachelor's degree education can enable college students to open up the imagination of academic development and embrace more possibilities. Turn around wisely, multi-disciplinary vision and creation beyond imagination, this is the highest "price ratio" for individual students and for the current national development.
Lu Xiaodong said that the second bachelor's degree is an important part of the middle of the higher education system and is indispensable. It is also a very common system in higher education in European and American countries. The goal of the second bachelor's degree education is to train interdisciplinary knowledge compound talents, which essentially provides opportunities for students' imagination and learning choices based on imagination.
"From the perspective of personal growth, there are always people who are willing to switch majors after graduation from college due to special opportunities, such as changes in the employment environment and growth goals. Therefore, a mature and complete higher education needs to provide this part of people with learning opportunities and provide conversion majors. 1. Efficient channels for changing careers. The second bachelor degree education is essentially such an efficient channel." Lu Xiaodong said.
The second bachelor's degree is still a few steps away
From "The Ministry of Education is studying the expansion of second degree enrollment" to "Enrollment of the second bachelor's degree starting this year", topics related to the second bachelor's degree have frequently ranked first on Weibo. Nowadays, many college students and parents are waiting, how to land a second degree? How much? How to move?
"Notice" pointed out that the second bachelor's degree mainly enrolls the current college graduates who have graduated with bachelor's degrees, as well as the past 3 years of college graduates who have received bachelor's degrees and are currently unemployed.
Not long ago, the head of the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education said that the second bachelor's degree will be completed by the end of July this year. It is understood that in terms of professional settings, the Ministry of Education will focus on supporting public health and preventive medicine, emergency technology and management, electronic information, big data, cyberspace security, integrated circuits, energy power, biology and medicine, and old-age care that colleges and universities urgently need in the country. A second bachelor degree major is added in related fields such as nursing and housekeeping services, and colleges and universities are supported to add a second bachelor degree major based on the "double first-class" construction discipline.
The official revealed that the majors that can be applied for the second bachelor's degree are more flexible. In addition to being able to apply for a second bachelor's degree major in a different subject category from the original undergraduate major, students are also allowed to apply for a second bachelor's degree major in the same subject category as the original undergraduate major but not in the same undergraduate major.
Aiming at the question of when the second bachelor degree will be enrolled by many college students and parents, Xu Fei said that many high-corrections are currently learning from students about their wishes and rankings. "Now that the expansion of enrollment is prepared from the perspective of the supply side, it is also necessary to understand the situation on the demand side, so as to select the appropriate major for the expansion of the second bachelor degree and determine the appropriate enrollment quota."
"From my observation, from the perspective of school resources, many universities are running at full capacity or even overload, and the space for tapping potential is not very large. This may be a practical problem facing colleges and universities. At present, colleges and universities Teachers, classrooms and other teaching resources are available, but the problem of accommodation resources is more serious. The limited dormitory of the school may be a factor that directly restricts the expansion of the second bachelor degree." Xu Fei said.
In Lu Xiaodong's view, the smooth development of the second bachelor's degree has two constraints. "First, more universities, especially excellent universities, set up a second degree major, but the number of students currently enrolled is restricted by beds. Second, students actively apply for the exam, but students are still constrained by customs and imagination."
As for whether the teaching resources of colleges and universities can support such expansion, Lu Xiaodong said that for colleges and universities, the expansion of the second bachelor’s degree does not require the recruitment of many students, nor does it mean that many courses are offered separately, so the existing teaching resources can carry The enrollment scale and major should be determined independently by the university. In this regard, colleges and universities should realize that using the credit system of study mode, the marginal cost of education for the cultivation of second-degree graduates is very low. In addition, in order to adapt to the actual situation of the tight school buildings in colleges and universities, it is recommended that students with a second bachelor's degree can take a day in the future.
(In response to the request of the interviewee, both Chinese and English college students are pseudonyms)
China Youth Daily reporter Ye Yuting Source: China Youth Daily