Notice on Conducting the Mid-term Assessment for International Doctoral Candidates of 2022 Cohort

All educating schools,

According to the arrangement of graduate educating work, international doctoral candidates of 2022 cohort shall complete the mid-term assessment this semester. The relevant work is hereby notified as follows:

1. Assessment goals and requirements

   The mid-term assessment of international graduates is necessary in the educating process. It aims to comprehensively examine the ideological and political performance, course learning and self-study, scientific research innovation and practical ability of international graduates after enrollment, identify problems in the educating process in time, and improve the educating quality. All schools shall earnestly strengthen the organization and leadership of this work, and ensure timely completion with quality in accordance with relevant regulations.

2. Assessment organization and process

   2.1 Assessment organization

   (1) Each school is responsible for organizing and implementing the mid-term assessment. It shall be carried out in combination with achievement display, innovation forum and assessment diversion according to the discipline characteristics and practical situation. The assessment results shall be submitted to the School of International Education for archive.

   (2) Each school shall set up an assessment team for the mid-term assessment which is generally composed of off-campus experts, relevant leader in the school, supervisors, and relating teachers and counselor, among whom there shall be at least 3 person with senior professional titles or above.

   2.2 Assessment process

   (1) Students shall fill in the Mid-term Assessment Registration Form for International Doctoral Candidates at HBUT (Annex 1), make personal summary and submit relevant supporting materials.

   (2) The teaching secretary shall verify the completion of the course credits and other educating process of the international graduates, and determine the list of candidates for the mid-term assessment. Students who fail to meet the requirements of the mid-term assessment shall be postponed for the assessment according to the relevant provisions.

   (3) The educating school shall organize graduates to participate in the mid-term assessment to present their achievements. Each school can display the achievements related to the thesis in the form of posters, works exhibitions, etc. in combination with the characteristics of the discipline.

   (4) The educating school shall hold an innovation forum for assessment and defense. Each school forum will have the theme of “XX Sub-forum of the Truth Seeking Graduate Innovation Forum”, and invite 1-2 Off-campus experts (who shall be high-level well-known experts such as academicians, Changjiang scholars, or outstanding youth) to give the theme report; students participating in the mid-term assessment shall be divided in groups to hold the Graduate Innovation Forum, where students should give a report and the assessment expert group will listen to reports and ask questions on site, then the students do the defense.

   (5) The assessment team shall examine the ideological and political performance, learning and scientific research of international doctoral candidates, and score each process, assess the level and write comments.

   (6) The school shall review the mid-term assessment opinions and give the final review opinions. The teaching secretary shall post the list of students who have passed the mid-term assessment in the school for three days according to the final review results. If there is no objection, the list will be submitted to the School of International Education for review and archive.

3. Assessment content and criteria

1. Assessment content

4. Ideological and political assessment. Students’ ideological performance and behavior, academic morality and attitude.

5. Academic assessment. The completion of course learning, literature retrieval and reading and other self-study effects; thesis proposal, etc..

6. Scientific research innovation assessment. The ability of participating in scientific research and using professional knowledge to independently analyze and solve problems, including the publication of scientific research papers, awards of scientific research achievements and academic exchanges.

7. Practical ability assessment. Participation in teaching practice, scientific research practice or social practice.

1. Assessment criteria

   The basic requirements for the mid-term assessment are to have a correct learning and academic attitude, complete all courses specified in the educating plan and pass the examination, and successfully complete dissertation proposal, and possess certain scientific research innovation and practical ability. The assessment results are divided into four levels: Excellent (≥90 points), Good (75-90 points), Pass (60-75 points), and Fail (<60 points). The assessment results shall be reasonably distributed. Please refer to the Mid-term Assessment Registration Form for International Doctoral Candidates at HBUT (Annex 1) for the calculation of the assessment score.

   Students with one of the following conditions shall be determined as unqualified:

8. Students fail two degree courses or fail one degree course after the course retaken in one semester;

9. Practicing academic fraud, causing heavy losses and other damages to the reputation of the university;

10. Violating school regulations and disciplines, and refuse to correct after criticism and education;

11. Poor analytical and scientific research ability in literature reading and thesis proposal preparation;

12. Failing to participate in the mid-term assessment without reason.

1. Assessment results and consequences

2. Those who are assessed as “Excellent” will be awarded the title of “Academic Star” at the school level and given certain rewards by the educating school. The “Academic star” at the school level will be the recommended as candidates for the “Academic Star” at the university level. The early warning mechanism shall be commenced for those who fail to pass the assessment or postpone the assessment.

3. Students who pass the assessment can continue their study for doctoral degree. For those who fail the mid-term assessment, the educating school shall put forward a preliminary opinion on postponing the assessment or terminating the education, and then submit it to the School of International Education for approval before postponing the assessment or dropping out.

4. For students who apply for postponement of assessment, the school shall focus on tracking, giving key guidance to their course learning, proposal, paper submission, defense and other process, and conduct the second assessment within 3 months after the first mid-term assessment. They can apply for dissertation defense only after they pass the mid-term assessment. Those who fail the second assessment shall postpone their graduation or drop out of school. For doctoral candidate who shall drop out, the student shall submit a dropping out application, which shall be approved by the supervisor and submitted to the educating school and School of International Education for review. After approval by the school, the student shall be allowed to drop out. The credits they have obtained during their doctoral program studies shall be recognized and they can be transferred to master program students.

5. Students having any objection to the assessment results can appeal to the School of International Education within 7 days from the date of publicity. The School of International Education will organize relevant personnel to review and make corresponding decision according to the review results.

1. Assessment time and archiving

2. Assessment time. Each school shall organize and complete the mid-term assessment before the end of this semester according to the practical situation. The arrangement of the assessment work shall be submitted to the Cultivation Office of School of International Education before November 8^th.

3. Material archiving. Each school should compile and print the mid-term assessment achievement display materials, and submit the Mid-term Assessment Registration Form for International Doctoral Candidates at HBUT to School of International Education for archiving.

It is hereby to notify.

Annex 1: Mid-term Assessment Registration Form for International Doctoral Candidates at HBUT

School of International Education

October 24^th, 2024