The development process of the Yuanpei plan, and the introduction of the Yuanpei plan

Yuanpei Program is the abbreviation of "Yuanpei Program Experimental Class", which has now been renamed "Yuanpei College".

Yuanpei Program is the abbreviation of "Yuanpei Program Experimental Class", which has now been renamed "Yuanpei College". In the process of building a world-class university, Peking University has implemented an undergraduate education reform program to explore a new model for the cultivation of undergraduate talents in China's comprehensive research universities in the 21st century and cultivate high-quality creative talents.

Since the reform and opening up, Peking University has continuously carried out the reform and exploration of talent training models. In the late 80s of the last century, on the basis of investigation and research, the school put forward the 16-character teaching reform policy of strengthening the foundation, diluting the major, teaching students according to their aptitude, and diverting training. At the moment when Peking University entered its second centenary, the state formulated a development strategy to rejuvenate the country through science and education, and issued a strategic call to build a world-class university.

This has injected new vitality into the development of Peking University, and at the same time put forward urgent requirements for the reform of school education.

In 1999, when the university's plan to build a world-class university was officially launched, in order to clarify the ideas and directions of school education and teaching reform, the university established a research group on the development strategy of undergraduate education and teaching, and began to research and explore new talent training models. On the basis of conscientiously summarizing the experience and lessons of long-term education reform at home and abroad, especially Peking University, and after repeated arguments, the university has put forward new goals and new models for the cultivation of undergraduate education talents in Peking University.

First, as a comprehensive research university with the goal of building a world-class university and the responsibility of cultivating leading figures for the strength of the nation and the country, the basic goal of its talent training is to cultivate top professionals who can play a leading role in various industries for the cause of national socialist modernization. However, this task cannot be accomplished by undergraduate education alone, and can only be accomplished in a complete university education, including undergraduate and graduate students. So what is the task of undergraduate education?

It is to carry out the basic education of higher education, and cultivate high-quality talents with broad basic knowledge, strong sense of innovation, and strong adaptability with good self-study and hands-on ability, so that such talents can not only become the source of students in the graduate education stage (in this sense, undergraduate education is mainly to lay the foundation for graduate education), but also can become compound talents with a wide range of adaptability to the needs of society.

Second, in order to achieve the above goals and establish the basic position of undergraduate education, it is necessary to implement general education in the lower grades and a wide range of professional education in the upper grades, and at the same time carry out a comprehensive reform of the learning system, and implement a free course credit system under the guidance of teaching plans and tutors.

After two years of discussion and deliberation, the above-mentioned educational ideas have been gradually determined and have become the basic concepts of undergraduate education at Peking University in the new century. The Yuanpei Program was officially launched in the fall of 2001 in order to implement this educational concept.