Enhancing Student Engagement in a Sustainability …
329
Following the guidance of the MOE and led by some pioneering universities, more
Chinese universities have set up cooperative networks in communicating and disseminating green campus experiences and integrated green university initiatives into
their development strategies. In 2011, eight Chinese universities formed the China
Green University Network and drafted guidance for conservation-oriented campus
construction. Meanwhile, the MOE increasingly emphasized education related to
innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education in recent years.
3.2 The Central University of Finance and Economics
as a Case
Recent research has taken the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE)
as a case and studied students’ perceptions of a newly created sustainability course
that is open to all majors offered at undergraduate level (Liu 2018). This follow-up
study focuses on approaches to enhance student engagement in this sustainability
class.
The CUFE was established in 1949 and is under the direct leadership of the
MOE. As a medium-sized university located in Beijing, the CUFE hosts 29 schools,
with around 18,000 students, 1180 academic staff and 570 support staff. It includes
50 undergraduate programs, 76 master’s programs, and 31 doctoral programs. The
university owns a downtown campus and the suburban Shahe campus which is 30 km
to the north. The Shahe campus hosts about 1500 first-year master’s students and
7500 undergraduate students of all classes, exclusive of senior undergraduates.
The CUFE is one of the national Project 211 universities and in 2017, the discipline of applied economics was selected to be in the Double First-Class Plan. Due
to the popularity of disciplines in finance and economics and its location, CUFE
has become one of the most sought after universities in China. In 2016, CUFE
issued a new five-year plan, aiming to become a distinctive, multidisciplinary and
internationalized high-level research university (CUFE 2016). This strategic plan
emphasizes the adherence by CUFE to the vision of sustainable development and
takes conservation-oriented campus initiatives as a priority task in its mission of
infrastructure construction. However, the CUFE has not yet established an official
sustainability mission and coordination office.
4 Surveying Student Engagement and Results
4.1 Course Creation
A 12-week, 36 contact hour introductory sustainability course, with title “Sustainable development and the global challenge” was created in the fall semester of 2016
329
Following the guidance of the MOE and led by some pioneering universities, more
Chinese universities have set up cooperative networks in communicating and disseminating green campus experiences and integrated green university initiatives into
their development strategies. In 2011, eight Chinese universities formed the China
Green University Network and drafted guidance for conservation-oriented campus
construction. Meanwhile, the MOE increasingly emphasized education related to
innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education in recent years.
3.2 The Central University of Finance and Economics
as a Case
Recent research has taken the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE)
as a case and studied students’ perceptions of a newly created sustainability course
that is open to all majors offered at undergraduate level (Liu 2018). This follow-up
study focuses on approaches to enhance student engagement in this sustainability
class.
The CUFE was established in 1949 and is under the direct leadership of the
MOE. As a medium-sized university located in Beijing, the CUFE hosts 29 schools,
with around 18,000 students, 1180 academic staff and 570 support staff. It includes
50 undergraduate programs, 76 master’s programs, and 31 doctoral programs. The
university owns a downtown campus and the suburban Shahe campus which is 30 km
to the north. The Shahe campus hosts about 1500 first-year master’s students and
7500 undergraduate students of all classes, exclusive of senior undergraduates.
The CUFE is one of the national Project 211 universities and in 2017, the discipline of applied economics was selected to be in the Double First-Class Plan. Due
to the popularity of disciplines in finance and economics and its location, CUFE
has become one of the most sought after universities in China. In 2016, CUFE
issued a new five-year plan, aiming to become a distinctive, multidisciplinary and
internationalized high-level research university (CUFE 2016). This strategic plan
emphasizes the adherence by CUFE to the vision of sustainable development and
takes conservation-oriented campus initiatives as a priority task in its mission of
infrastructure construction. However, the CUFE has not yet established an official
sustainability mission and coordination office.
4 Surveying Student Engagement and Results
4.1 Course Creation
A 12-week, 36 contact hour introductory sustainability course, with title “Sustainable development and the global challenge” was created in the fall semester of 2016