3.1 Structure and modularity

3.1.1 Modularity

Based on the professional training objectives, the professional training program consists of nine competence fields with learning objectives and corresponding courses provided as follows. The study hours and credit points (CPs) for all the courses in each module are detailed in the curriculum for this program (see Appendix A). The proportion of CPs of each competence field in the entire curriculum is shown in Figure 3-1.

Fig. 3-1 The proportion of CPs of different competence fields

The courses and expected objectives of each competence field are as follows.

1) Engineering Science Foundation and Technology

Learning objectives: to help students master basic knowledge of natural sciences such as mathematics and physics, deepen their understanding of engineering science and improve their scientific literacy; to help students solve practical problems in the application of science and technology, and lay a foundation for learning basic chemistry courses.

General requirements: be able to use the basic theoretical knowledge of natural sciences to abstract and condense scientific issues and analyze them from the actual engineering practice.

Corresponding courses: Advanced Mathematics A (1), Advanced Mathematics A (2), Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics B, College Physics, and Engineering Drawing.

2)  Foreign Language

Learning objectives: to cultivate the capabilities of cross-cultural communication and international cooperation to better adapt to society and internationalization.

General requirements: master a foreign language, pass the National University Foreign Language CET-4; have the ability to read professional literatures and communicate in the foreign language professionally.

Corresponding courses: College English (1), College English (2), Interactive Practical English, Interactive Comprehensive English, Academic English Reading and Writing, Academic English Listening and Speaking.

3) Informatics

Learning objectives: to master basic knowledge of information technology and computer science to lay a foundation for utilizing computer programming and software to solve engineering problems.

General requirements: be able to use computer and information technology to solve practical problems proficiently in the fields of science and technology related to the learnt program.

Corresponding courses: Information Technology and Program Design and Practice.

4)  Professional Basics

Learning objectives: to help students have a wide range of engineering and professional basic knowledge to lay a solid foundation for subsequent learning of Applied Chemistry courses.

General requirements: master the fundamental knowledge and theories of chemistry systematically, possess solid basic theoretical knowledge and experimental skills related to inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, instrumental analysis, chemical engineering principles, polymer chemistry, material chemistry, spectral analysis, structural chemistry, fine chemicals etc. Understand the theoretical frontiers and application prospects of chemistry, and lay the foundation for studying professional courses.

Corresponding courses: Inorganic Chemistry (bilingual) (1), Inorganic Chemistry (bilingual) (2), Organic Chemistry (1), Organic Chemistry (2), Analytical Chemistry (bilingual), Biochemistry, Instrumental Analysis, Physical Chemistry (1) and Physical Chemistry (1), Principles of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Chemistry.

5) Core Professional Courses

Learning objectives: To help students master relatively solid and comprehensive professional basic knowledge.

General requirements: Focus on cultivating core competencies in applied chemistry based on cultivating high scientific and cultural qualities of students.

Corresponding courses: Structural Chemistry, Spectrum Analysis, Fine Chemicals Chemistry, Materials Chemistry, Organic Synthesis, Medicinal Chemistry, and the Safety Techniques of Chemical Laboratory.

6)  Professional Electives

Learning objectives: To help students have professional knowledge and skills in the emerging and cutting-edge fields of applied chemistry.

General requirements: Master the cross-fields and related knowledge involved in applied chemistry, and expand the professional application capabilities of students.

This part is an elective competence field, where students can choose the corresponding courses based on their personal interests and development. Students are required to take 14 CPs of electives based on their personal interests in 13 courses (36 CPs in total) from the 5^th to the 7^th semesters.

Corresponding courses: Bioinorganic Chemistry, Surface Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Analysis, Organometallic Chemistry, Biomaterial, Modern Separation Technology, Electrochemistry, Material Analysis, Polymer Materials, English for Applied Chemistry, History of Chemistry and Innovative Thinking, Food Chemistry and Analysis, and Inorganic Materials .

1. General Courses

Learning objectives: to cultivate the humanistic literacy, social skills and team spirit of students; conduct physical exercises and keep fit; conduct necessary military training and master basic military skills.

General requirements: improve basic physical fitness, master basic military skills, master basic knowledge of humanities and social sciences, possess good humanities and professionalism, and clarify personal responsibility for social development; through various social practice activities, advocate the realization of self-worth and the shaping of team spirit, and cultivate the ability to adapt to social development.

Corresponding courses: Morality and Law, Chinese History, Philosophical Foundation, Socialist Theory, Military Theory, Military Training, Physical Education, Innovation and Practice, Music and Art Education, Global Vision and Economic Management, Science and Engineering Ethics, Social Practice and Other Courses.

8)  Experiments and Practice

Learning objectives: To understand and master the basic or common chemical synthesis process, the basic operation and working principle of related test equipment, and cultivate the practical ability of students.

General requirements: Through the combination of theoretical knowledge, experiment and practice, students can further consolidate and deepen the basic theoretical knowledge they have learned and deepen their understanding of the application fields of the program.

Corresponding courses: Analytical Chemistry Experiment, Inorganic Chemistry Experiment, Biochemistry Experiment, Organic Chemistry Experiment, Physical Chemistry Experiment, Experiment of Instrumental Analysis, Experiment of Chemical Engineering Principles, Basic Comprehensive Professional Experiment of Applied Chemistry, Professional Experiment of Applied Chemistry (1), Professional Experiment of Applied Chemistry (2) and Cognition Practice.

9)  Undergraduate Graduation Project

Learning objectives: Through the graduation project, students should have the ability to analyze engineering problems and solve problems based on design tasks.

General requirements: Complete the graduation project task under the guidance of the tutor, and pass the defense.

Corresponding courses: Internship and bachelor thesis.

The specific training program (Curriculum) and the module handbook are shown in Appendixes A and G.

3.1.2 Structure

The 4-year undergraduate curriculum system is divided into 9 competence fields. The learning content of each module is related to each other in time series. In the distribution of credits and workload of each module, language education and general education courses, including English, philosophy, and physical education are provided in semesters 1-5 for students to learn languages, humanities and laws, and improve their cross-cultural communication skills and humanistic literacy. Mathematics and science foundation and information modules are offered in semesters 1-4 to provide knowledge and skills foundation for professional courses. Among them, advanced mathematics courses are offered in semesters 1 and 2, and linear algebra, probability theory and mathematical statistics courses are offered in semesters 2-3; information courses and college physics courses are offered in semesters 1-4 so that students can master the basic knowledge of computer and information. Meanwhile, the processional basics modules are set in semesters 1-5, including the four basic chemistry knowledge and related experimental operation skills of inorganic, organic, physicochemical, and analytical chemistry to connect the subsequent professional modules. In semesters 1, 5-7, the core professional courses of applied chemistry are offered. The professional elective modules are provided in semesters 5-7, offering different courses for interested students, which is a supplement and extension to the direction of applied chemistry. In semesters 1-8, the experimental modules are set, focusing on cultivating students’ practical ability and experimental operation ability to lay a sound foundation for further advancement and development. In semester 7-8, undergraduate graduation project is offered. All topics of the graduation project come from the scientific research projects of the teachers or the actual engineering projects of the production enterprises. At the same time, the enterprise knowledge internship module and the bachelor thesis help students accumulate massive practical application experience and improve their comprehensive employment competitiveness. Based on the curriculum system, students should earn 240 ECTS after eight semesters of study.

3.2 Workload and credit points

        In USST, the completion of studying a theoretical module course for 16 contact hours corresponds to one Chinese credit (except for Foreign Language and General Education Courses). As for Experiments and Practice courses, the completion of studying for 32 contact hours corresponds to one Chinese credit. Chinese credits count contact hours only, while ECTS credits count not only contact hours but also self-study hours. In the perspective of ECTS credits, the workload of a student is the sum of his/her contact hours and self-study hours. Generally speaking, 30 study hours (including contact hours and self-study hours) are equivalent to one ECTS credit in average, although there are differences between the above two credit systems on self-study hours. In different modules, there are differences in the conversion of the corresponding class hours. One ECTS is roughly equivalent to 30 total hours, but it is slightly adjusted according to the module characteristics.

3.2.1 Study hours (workload) / contact hours, credit points and self-study

The credits and study hours of all modules in the Curriculum of Applied Chemistry are detailed in Appendix A. The Syllabus of each course is available in Appendix G. In order to show the structure and classification of workloads in different items, such as compulsory courses, professional courses, electives, language courses. Table 3-1 provides provides the statistics of study hours of students in four years.

 

Table 3-1 Statistics of study hours with different classifications in four years

3.2.2 Credit pointing /oriented system

        Learning outcomes are reflected mainly in the form of credits. Every undergraduate student in the program to be accredited must get credits equivalent to 240 ECTS credits after completing four years of study, i.e. 30 ECTS credits in every semester on average. The deviation of credits among different semesters should not exceed 3 ECTS credits. The workload of each semester is relatively balanced, and should not cause structural pressures on students’ learning effectiveness and teachers’ teaching quality. The examination results are analyzed by course directors and the students’ study hours are investigated by counselors and academic tutors to get students’ actual learning workload every semester and ensure their actual learning workload is consistent with the planned workload. As above-mentioned, 30 study hours (workload) are equivalent to one ECTS credit in average.

3.3 Education methods

In this program, course teaching activities are conducted in strict accordance with the undergraduate teaching work norms for teachers at USST (USST Academic Affairs [2010] No. 20). Basic teaching documents such as course syllabus, lesson preparation notes, and course examination papers are complete. Moreover, in this program, teachers are encouraged to develop teaching courseware and continuously improve the course website to enhance the effectiveness of course teaching. Currently, all courses of this program have multimedia courseware, and most courses have course websites. USST has a teaching information platform system, where students can select courses, evaluate teaching, and check scores, and teachers can release teaching calendars, get information of students and courses, and manage the grades, etc. The platform is powerful in function and easy to use. It is the primary platform for the teaching management of the university, colleges, and programs. At the beginning of 2008, the “Curriculum Center” website of USST was completed and went live. After years of construction and operation, it has become an essential platform and self-help learning channel for students to learn independently. So far, most course resources of this program have been offered online. The information technology and network environment platform provided by the Curriculum Center can promote the transformation of teaching ideas and educational concepts of teachers. It has facilitated the renewal of teaching contents and the improvement of teaching methods by teachers, enhanced mutual exchanges between teachers and students, teachers and teachers, and students and students, and improved students’ ability and interest in independent and research-based learning, creating opportunities for cultivating more and better innovative talents. In addition, due to the impact of the pandemic, USST established an online course teaching platform based on the Chaoxing platform in 2020.

In this program, USST actively carries out the reform and practice of teaching methods, encourages teachers to use and explore advanced teaching concepts and approaches actively, and improves teaching effects continuously. After years of practice and accumulation, this program has formed a teaching model with its unique characteristics. In the teaching process, teachers of this program use a variety of teaching methods flexibly based on the characteristics of courses and the arrangement of course hours, such as the flipped classroom teaching method, the scientific research nurturing approach, the seminar-based teaching method, the inspired interactive teaching method, and the self-experienced method. Based on modern teaching methods such as multimedia, network technology, teaching audio and video, professional teaching contents in classroom are enriched, and students are guided to think and practice actively, which has cultivated their independent and self-help learning spirit, effectively improved the quality of professional teaching, and achieved a good teaching effect. In the past three years, many educational reform projects have been approved by USST. Ten projects have been actively declared and explored, demonstrating the enthusiasm and initiative of teachers in this program to devote themselves to teaching research.

Chemistry is an applied subject, and the quality of student training is closely related to the number of hours that students engage in the practical session and the quality of the practical session. Among them, the construction of off-campus practice bases is also an essential basic part of the experimental session.

To help students understand the relationship between theoretical knowledge and actual production of chemistry and chemical engineering based on the basic knowledge and principles, and deepen their understanding and mastery of theoretical knowledge, undergraduates of this program are required to carry out cognitive internships. In this way, the students can enhance their awareness and ability to integrate theory with practice and solve practical problems so as to lay a sound foundation for subsequent professional courses. In practice, they can further consolidate and expand the knowledge of applied chemistry, contact various types of departments, and understand the basic knowledge such as modern chemical enterprise management, production equipment, production processes, and modern technology development.

Graduation internships are conducted based on chemical production practice and society as a program classroom, with enterprise technical managers and workers with practical experience as teachers. As an essential part of practical teaching, its purpose is to help students learn again in society, market economy, and production line, strive to broaden the scope of professional knowledge, continue to learn and understand new knowledge and identify new problems during the internship, and have as much exposure to the knowledge that is hard to learn in classroom theory teaching as possible. Meanwhile, relevant materials are collected based on the requirements of graduation project and thesis topics. In the past few years, with the support of USST, colleges and industry counterparts, a series of “walking and looking” internship bases, “practicing” bases and real practice bases for pre-job training have been established.

In the past three years, a total of 150 students have participated in cognitive internships and graduation internships. Among them, the “walking and looking” internship bases mainly include many companies in the Science and Technology Park of the USST and the Yanji University Student Entrepreneurship District. The “practicing” bases mainly include Shanghai Research Institute of Materials, Dian Diagnostics, Shanghai Bidepharm, Shanghai Huayi Group Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd., etc. Pre-job training practice bases mainly include Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co., Ltd., Huayi Group Technology Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture Testing Center, Jiangsu Lianhuan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Meixue Cosmetics Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shuangou Printing and Dyeing Water Processing Co., Ltd., etc.

3.4 Support and advice

3.4.1 Administration

The routine management and support of the undergraduate teaching and training in USST are mainly managed by the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office, which consists of the academic affairs section, teaching and research section, practice teaching section, comprehensive section, admission section, teaching evaluation section and expansion section. The University Teaching Management Information System website is https://jwc.usst.edu.cn. In USST, each school has a dedicated teaching office, responsible for the teaching management of the whole school and the general teaching work of USST under the guidance of the deputy dean of teaching.

3.4.2 Student Office

The Student Office is responsible for guiding and supporting students in various departments to conduct ideological and political education and management, mainly including comprehensively promoting quality education, improving the overall quality of students, maintaining normal teaching order, creating a good style of study, and establishing a student management system to guide, coordinate, and evaluate student management in various departments. The Student Office also take the charge of student awards, loans, and subsidies, employment guidance and services, dormitory management and mental health education.

3.4.3 Student counselor system

Each program has full-time college student counselors who are, responsible for the life guidance and psychological counseling of students in USST, building a bridge for the communication between USST and the students’ families, organizing students to hold various cultural and sports activities, so as to provide students with a healthy, safe and energetic learning and living environment. The counselors introduces the program’s development status and future career direction to the freshmen and helps them set reasonable career goals and develop career plans as early as possible. Hence, most freshmen will plan their future career development in the first year of university life under the counselors’ guidance. For second- and third-year students, the counselors help them rationally adjust their career plans and improve their employment goals to lay a solid foundation for future competition in the job market. For fourth-year students, the counselors provide them with the latest employment information, guide them to improve their interview skills, and offer comprehensive guidance and services for their lives and community activities on topics that students care about. The counselors regularly organize students of different grades to have experience exchange meetings with those in the lower grades, which allows the students in the lower grades to get guidance on their study and life from those in the higher grades. The counselors also help students participate in innovation and entrepreneurship training programs to improve their innovative ability. In addition, the counselors organize special skills training seminars from time to time, such as inviting experienced professional teachers or enterprise technical personnels to teach the students how to use and develop various professional engineering softwares.

3.4.4 Academic tutor

Every new undergraduate student has a designated academic tutor to support his/her academic, professional and career development. Academic tutors guide students to master knowledge learning and problem-solving methods, help them establish academic and life goals individually, and stimulate their learning and career motivation. The scientific research and practical activities of academic tutors and students of different grades can make students and teachers get along well and allow students to fully leverage the advantages of learning inheritance. Academic tutors encourage students to apply for undergraduate scientific research innovation projects and actively participate in scientific research projects and related academic competitions. All academic staff can serve as academic tutors, identify students’ learning needs based on their personal strengths and interests, formulate helpful learning strategies, provide constructive suggestions for students’ academic research, and support their career planning.

3.4.5 Enterprise mentors

USST implements an enterprise tutorial system for undergraduates, encourages students to practice in the industry and communicate with engineers to cultivate their innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities. Enterprise mentors are managers or engineers from relevant enterprises employed and qualified by USST. Students can choose their favorite enterprise mentors based on their research interests and enterprise mentors can also choose students. Enterprise mentors are responsible for guiding students’ projects during their internship and keeping in contact with the academic mentors of USST for collaborative teaching.

3.4.6 Course website

Online teaching is extensively used in these projects. All courses have the corresponding course pages on the USST website. Teaching website: http://cc.usst.edu.cn, introducing Course Introduction, Syllabus (Chinese and English), Teaching Slides, Course Progress, etc. Based on the Chaoxing platform and the online live streaming platform of smart classroom at Teaching Building 1 of USST, we have established comprehensive online live streaming or recorded courses. Students can find the contents and materials related to the courses online and send questions to teachers by e-mails or social APPs. Teachers can answer undergraduates’ questions related to the courses in their office or teaching building at a designated time each week, or communicate with the students by e-mails or social APPs at any time.

3.4.7 Work plan for undergraduate online teaching during the prevention and control of COVID-19

I. General requirements

During the prevention and control of the pandemic, no offline teaching activities shall be carried out, and the online teaching model shall be adopted for all courses in principle. The theoretical courses for undergraduates in the spring semester of 2020 were provided online from March 2 (the third week) based on the overall arrangement of USST. In principle, teachers and students shall follow the schedule and teaching calendar. (The specific class schedule can be viewed in the educational administration system.) Teachers shall make full use of the educational information technology and various online course resources, ensure the order and quality of teaching through online recording (on-demand), live streaming (on-demand) and online guidance, and connect the online teaching due to the delayed start of school and the in-person teaching after the formal start of school seamlessly.

(1) For courses that focus on theoretical teaching, especially those with a wide range of subjects (university-wide public general education courses, subject basic courses, core professional courses, etc.), online classes should be started in strict accordance with the university teaching plan, and USST will organize teaching teams to implement the plan accordingly. Courses with a small number of hours and students and those offered in the second half of the semester should be started based on the original teaching plan if possible, subject to adjustment as the case may be. Courses or teachers that require adjustment of the original teaching arrangement due to objective factors shall be approved by the college and reported to the Academic Affairs Office for approval.

(2) For experimental and practical courses (including experiments, internships, curriculum design, graduation project, etc.) and physical education courses, information technology should be fully used. Those that can be completed remotely or online should be arranged in advance if possible. For those that really need students to return to school for in-person teaching, a proper plan should be made in advance by the college and class teachers. The internship courses are suspended, and the arrangements will be adjusted after the pandemic is over.

(3) The work related to the graduation project (thesis) of 2020 graduates shall be carried out based on the original plan in principle. Teachers shall provide guidance through online or other network communication methods and ensure that the students’ graduation project (thesis) work is guided and inspected properly. USST shall organize the inspection and supervision.

(4) The dean, secretary, and main person in charge of each teaching unit, as the first person responsible for talent training in the unit, shall personally control the deployment and comprehensively organize, coordinate, supervise and inspect the work. The deputy dean in charge of teaching shall pay attention to the implementation of the teaching plan, teaching management and teaching quality of the courses undertaken by this unit. The deputy secretary in charge of students shall cooperate closely in the implementation of teaching work. Program leaders and course teaching team leaders shall master the course teaching implementation plan (including Q&A, counseling, homework, tests, etc.) and ensure its thorough implementation by every teacher. Colleges (teaching units) shall conduct online teaching inspection and supervision properly, ensure the discipline and quality of online teaching operations, and provide the guidance to ensure the teaching quality..

II. Teaching Model

We recommend online teaching models, including but not limited to the following three models:

Model I: Online live streaming teaching + online tutoring (Q&A) + online assessment

Model II: Online recording + online tutoring (Q&A) + online assessment

Model III: Online MOOC + online tutoring (Q&A) + online assessment

The Academic Affairs Office has linked the Chaoxing Fanya online platform to the relevant data of the educational administration system and imported the relevant data of courses offered in the spring semester, class teachers, and students who have selected the courses in the educational administration system into the Chaoxing platform. The matching of teachers, students, and courses has been achieved. Course teachers can easily build courses and classes, organize teaching and check the learning status of students very conveniently. USST will focus on facilitating the teachers to make good use of the Chaoxing Fanya online platform.

Course teachers who choose other online platforms other than the Chaoxing platform shall report to the college and the Academic Affairs Office, contact every student who takes the course one week before its’ start, establish an online teaching class, and inform these students about the online teaching organization form of the course, the learning platform website and other information to ensure that all students who have selected the course can participate in the online course study normally from March 2.

USST recommends that all the pre- and post-class sessions, tutoring and Q&A, discussion and interaction, process assessment, etc. of undergraduate theory course teaching should be organized based on third-party online teaching platforms such as Chaoxing Fanya. Course teachers can log in online platforms such as Chaoxing Fanya (http://usst.fanya.chaoxing.com/) to build course pages, release course announcements and course learning resources, assign and correct homework, organize online forum discussion and conduct course process assessment, etc.

During class (that is, during classroom teaching), course teachers can make live streaming teaching based on Smart Classroom at Teaching Building 1 or a third-party platform such as Chaoxing Fanya, where students can watch it live online synchronously or select the video on demand after class according to their learning needs; or record the teaching based on third-party platforms such as Smart Classroom at Teaching Building 1 and Chaoxing Fanya and then upload it to third-party online teaching platforms such as Chaoxing Fanya, where students can select the video on demand to learn; or make use of the high-quality courses on the online platform recommended by the Ministry of Education, where students can learn by themselves online, and teachers organize in-class teaching activities with online tutoring and Q&A as supplement.

Model I: Online live streaming teaching+ online turoring (Q&A) + online assessment. Course teachers can choose to give live lectures based on the live streaming system of Smart Classroom at Teaching Building 1 or through third-party live streaming platforms such as Chaoxing Fanya according to the time arranged in the class schedule at Teaching Building 1 or other places on and off campus. Students learn the courses online synchronously through the Smart Classroom at Teaching Building 1 or third-party live streaming platforms such as Chaoxing Fanya. Teachers shall also interact with the students during teaching as a supplement to the third-party online platform functions. After class, students can also order the teaching content of the live streaming course based on their own learning needs. The advantages of this model are low workload of teachers before class, high acceptance by students, and guaranteed teaching effects. The disadvantage is that the live streaming process is subject to the limit of network bandwidth, and there may be problems in the transmission of lecture audio and video during the live streaming. Hence, if teachers choose this teaching model, they shall make a backup plan and inform the students in advance. For course teachers who are teaching by live streaming on campus, the university information office has assigned dedicated personnel to provide technical guarantee and improve services during the live streaming.

Model II: Online recording + online tutoring (Q&A) + online assessment. Course teachers can choose to record the course teaching video or course PPT screen (PPT + audio and video) in advance through the recording and streaming system of the Smart Classroom at Teaching Building 1 or third-party platforms such as Chaoxing Fanya and upload it to the third-party platforms before the start of the class for students to learn online and on demand. Meanwhile, teachers conduct online tutoring, assessment, and related teaching activities before and after class properly. The advantage of this model is that the real-time requirements for network bandwidth and data transmission are relatively low, The disadvantage is that the teacher needs to record the teaching video of each class in advance, and there is a certain limit on the file size of the teaching video (no more than 200 M, large video files can be divided into multiple segments). It is a highly reliable teaching model with guaranteed teaching quality. All course teachers are recommended to adopt this model first or as a backup plan for Model I. Teachers who need to use the Smart Classroom at Teaching Building 1 to record course videos are required to make an appointment in the educational administration system in advance.

Model III: Online MOOC + online tutoring (Q&A) + online assessment. Course teachers can select high-quality MOOC resources to assist in teaching activities, including the MOOCs recorded by our teachers, as well as courses on 22 platforms recommended by the Ministry of Education, such as Chaoxing Fanya, iCourse (Chinese University MOOC), and XuetangX with equivalent teaching contents and requirements for students to learn online. The advantage of this model is that the selected courses have rich online learning resources, which are convenient for students to learn online and can reduce the workload of teachers. The disadvantage is that the courses on the existing online platforms that meet the teaching requirements of USST are small in number and demanding on self-study abilities. USST recommend this model of teaching only for courses that are not strong in relevant disciplines (such as general education courses in humanities and social sciences). USST should strictly control the schools that offer the course, course content, ideology, difficulty, professional title of lecturers, etc. of the MOOC selected for this model, ensure their compliance with the course teaching requirements of USST, and strengthen the supervision of course teaching based on this model. Meanwhile, course teachers are required to attend the class with students throughout the whole process, enhance relevant teaching input before and after class, and increase the frequency and intensity of tutoring, Q&A, homework correction, and process assessment so as to ensure the quality of course teaching. Teachers who choose this teaching model are required to submit an application for MOOC resources to the college that offers the course 1 to 2 weeks before the start of the course and obtain the approval of the program leader (the head of the course team) and the dean of teaching before it can be implemented.

To test the effect of students’ online learning objectively, teachers who adopt the above three models should determine the composition and proportion of the course assessment results reasonably. USST recommends that the usual grades (attendance sign-in, seminar interaction, homework completion, process assessment, etc.) of each course in this semester should be no higher than 50%, and the final exam (taken by students after they return to school) should be no lower than 50%.

III. Teaching Organization

(1) Organization and operation

Each college that offers courses shall be responsible for the specific organization, content review, supervision and inspection of online teaching of related courses. Course teachers are required to conduct class teaching based on the course teaching plan. For courses with a heavy course load and wide range of subjects (university-wide public general education courses, basic subject courses, core professional courses, etc.), if there are different teaching classes with the same course code and class time, they can be combined for online teaching. The person in charge of the course determines the live streaming (recording) teacher for each lesson. At the same time, lecturers of other teaching classes except for those who are teaching are required to assume other teaching tasks of the course together in the live streaming (recording) classroom, teaching and research section, and other places on and off campus. All colleges are recommended to adopt the method of work division and collaboration of the course teaching team for the aforementioned course teaching to ensure the teaching quality in the whole cycle.

(2) Resource guarantee

Course teachers are required to provide students with e-learning materials based on the teaching needs of the course, obtain course teaching resources from various channels and provide them to students, and try to implement the electronic resources of the teaching materials, provide the electronic version of the teaching materials for free download, or the scanned version of chapters in the course materials if possible. Social science textbooks and teaching materials shall be reviewed and controlled by the secretary of the Party Committee of USST. The university library shall spare no effect to provide the corresponding e-books for teachers and students to access on the library platform based on the course requirements. All departments shall actively provide services and guarantees for live streaming (recording) and online teaching for all colleges (teaching units) and all teachers and students. All colleges (teaching units) shall ensure that teachers are ready for the installation of relevant teaching platform software and hardware, configuration and guidance to ensure smooth and orderly implementation of various teaching tasks.

(3) Quality assurance.

Course teachers shall firmly establish the sense of responsibility that teaching and educating students is the first responsibility, carefully formulate and strictly implement the online course teaching plan, and ensure that the teaching requirements, teaching standards, and assessment criteria for online teaching are not compromised. They shall strengthen the quality requirements of the online learning process and multiple evaluations, control the teaching interaction, online testing, homework, and other Q&A and tutoring sections for online teaching, track the learning status of students timely, record their learning and process assessment properly to ensure the quality of teaching. Each college (teaching unit) shall establish a supervisory team to check the discipline and quality of online teaching operation for each course and each class one by one.

3.4.8  Contingency plan for online teaching emergencies during prevention and control of the pandemic

For the purpose of implementing USST’s overall work requirements of “suspending classes without suspending teaching/learning” and ensuring the stability and order of online teaching during the pandemic prevention and control period at USST, the following emergency measures are formulated to address possible emergencies in online teaching:

I. Sudden failure of teaching platform

(1) Teachers shall notify the students immediately and enable the online emergency platform (a teaching platform with playback function is recommended) or software (such as DingTalk and Tencent Conference) to complete the teaching work;

(2) If the online teaching still cannot be completed normally, teachers shall immediately report to the Academic Affairs Office of the college, notify the students in the course learning group (such as QQ and WeChat groups), guide them to learn independently, and provide online tutoring and Q&A at the same time.

II. Sudden failure of teaching equipment

(1) Teachers shall notify students to wait online and arrange for them to study the materials released in advance;

(2) Conduct re-commissioning of the equipment and deal with the failure;

(3) If the equipment failure has not been eliminated, teachers shall immediately explain the situation to the Academic Affairs Office of the college, interact with students through the course learning group (such as QQ and WeChat groups), and provide tutoring and Q&A.

III. Sudden network failure

(1) Teachers can visit https://www.speedtest.cn/ through a browser and click on the network speed test to check whether the network is stable (network with an upload rate below 4mbps is unstable) ;

(2) If it is determined that the network is faulty or congested, teachers shall notify the students to wait online and arrange for them to study independently temporarily;

(3) Teachers can enable alternate networks or mobile phone hotspot;

(4) Teachers can also switch from live streaming or video teaching to audio teaching.

IV. Emergencies in teaching operation

(1) Teachers who cannot attend classes due to emergencies should contact the Academic Affairs Office as soon as possible. The Academic Affairs Office will arrange a substitute teacher based on the teaching progress and appease the students properly;

(2) If the Office of Academic Affairs cannot arrange a substitute teacher in time, the course teacher shall release the teaching resources to the students at the selected time, and arrange another time for discussion and Q&A.

V. Cybersecurity emergencies

Situation 1: Others are posting bad remarks or spreading false information on the platform

(1) Teachers shall eliminate adverse effects by themselves or contact platform technicians;

(2) Report to the Academic Affairs Office of the college promptly and handle it accordingly.

Situation 2: Account being stolen, hacked, and other adverse behaviors

(1) Teachers shall notify students as soon as possible and activate the online emergency platform to continue the teaching work;

(2) Teachers shall contact platform technicians in time after class and solve security problems with platform assistance;

(3) Report to the Academic Affairs Office of the college timely and handle it accordingly.

VI. Related Instructions

(1) Each college shall arrange dedicated personnel to be responsible for liaison and reporting, handle online teaching emergencies timely, and report to the Academic Affairs Office for the record.

(2) The Academic Affairs Office shall assist all colleges in the information release, responsibility identification, and adjustment of teaching arrangements on teaching emergencies.

(3) After the pandemic is basically under control, a mixed online and in-person teaching plan shall be carried out, with in-person teaching as the mainstay and online teaching plans as a backup.