The Research On Chinese Undergraduates’ Right To Major Selection

Undergraduates’ right to major selection is a sensitive and complicated problem in ourcountry. With the popularization of higher education, its charging policy andundergraduates’ increasing awareness of rights, this right to major selection has gainedmore attention and recognition.Based on the theory of freedom to learn, this study summarizes policies onundergraduates’ major selection and rules about their rights to education and of consumers.Thus, this study clarifies that major selection is a right and freedom of undergraduates, andbe supported and protected by laws. Currently, there are two ways to select majors duringundergraduate life. The first one is that students can change their majors twice or moretimes by the universities’ related policies. The second one is that students whom faced withenrollment in according to large class can select their specific majors after one or twoyears’ common courses. This study comes to the conclusion that the current situation ofundergraduates are not totally entitled to the right to major selection after analyzing on thestatus of the implementation of the above two policies. This study explores its reasonsfrom the following three aspects: conceptual level, institutional and policy level and thelimitations of major selection itself. Then this study put forward countermeasures andsuggestions to protect Chinese undergraduates’ right to major selection.First of all, the govement should reform higher education system, introducing themarket mechanism, perfecting the legistion, and reforming the mechanism of majorselection. Secondly, colleges and universities should innovate management model,reconstructing management concept, strengthening the guide of major selection, andproviding career planning couerses for students.Finally, undergraduates should cultivate their subjectivity, fostering a sense of right and responsibility, and making better the careerlayout.