Research On The Procedure Of Revocation Of Academic Degrees In Colleges And Universities In China

The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Academic Degrees(hereinafter referred to as the Regulations on Academic Degrees)have been the main legal basis for the implementation of academic degree-related acts in Chinese institutions of higher learning since they were promulgated in 1980 and revised in 2004.With the rapid development of China’s higher education,more and more talents have entered higher education institutions,and the awareness of the rights of the educated has been continuously strengthened.The disputes between higher education institutions and the educated in the process of management have also increased.The "Regulations on Academic Degrees" have gradually revealed its shortcomings.At present,one of the most common problems in degree disputes is the degree revocation dispute.In recent years,disputes caused by degree revocation have been increasing.Cases of "students suing alma mater" have emerged one after another.Typical cases include "Yu Yanru v.Peking University degree revocation case" and "Chen Ying v.Sun Yat-sen University degree revocation case".These litigation cases have attracted extensive attention and discussion from the society because they involve famous universities in China.In these cases,The final judgments made by the court all emphasized the necessity of due process principle in the revocation of academic degrees in institutions of higher learning,pointing out directly that the final handling of academic degrees revocation in these institutions is invalid due to major flaws in the procedures.Many disputes and litigation cases have exposed many long-standing disadvantages caused by irregular procedures or missing links in the implementation of degree revocation in colleges and universities.Therefore,how to bring the exercise of the revocation right of academic degrees in institutions of higher learning into the orbit of the rule of law,improve the procedural rules for the exercise of revocation right of academic degrees in institutions of higher learning,better regulate the exercise of their autonomy in running schools,and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the educated have become problems that need to be solved urgently.At present,academic circles have two views on the nature of academic degree revocation in our country: the state authorization theory and the university autonomy theory.However,the general scholars still support the former view,which includes academic degree revocation into the category of administrative acts in order to obtain sufficient reasons to apply the relevant requirements and principles of administrative law to regulate academic degree revocation.Based on the theory of state authorization,this paper explains the nature and connotation of degree revocation,explains the relationship between degree revocation and due process principle,and the rationality and necessity of following due process principle,and clarifies the specific administrative behavior orientation of degree revocation.Based on this orientation,combined with the legal provisions of degree revocation and the procedural norms of administrative regulations,this paper divides the revocation of degree in colleges and universities into five parts: initiation,investigation,confirmation,hearing,decision and relief.Through combing the procedural provisions of degree revocation at the current legislative level and at the level of university regulations,this paper analyzes the specific problems such as the lack or imperfection of procedures in each part.The principle of due process is mainly reflected in the revocation of academic degrees in institutions of higher learning,which is carried out in accordance with legal preset procedures and the real participation of the parties concerned.On this basis,with reference to administrative regulations and basic requirements of administrative acts,feasible suggestions are put forward to improve the revocation of academic degrees in institutions of higher learning.First,a preliminary review procedure is set up to confirm whether to initiate revocation of academic degrees,so as to prevent arbitrary behavior and waste of resources.At the same time,it is emphasized that the obligation of informing the parties concerned should be fulfilled in the initiation stage.Secondly,standardize the procedure of investigation and evidence collection and identification of degree revocation,including the legal procedure of evidence collection,the procedure of examination of form and substance and the procedure of hearing the statements and arguments of the parties during the investigation and identification phase.Thirdly,it expounds the importance of hearing system to maintain procedural justice for degree revocation and how to specifically incorporate hearing system into degree revocation procedure.Secondly,it puts forward specific procedural standard suggestions for the decision-making process of the academic degree committee,including the delivery of the decision.Finally,from the two aspects of appeal,reconsideration and compensation,the author puts forward some suggestions to improve the relief procedure of degree revocation.This article is based on improving the procedure of withdrawing academic degrees from colleges and universities,so that colleges and universities can better manage their schools according to law,which is helpful to better protect the basic rights and interests of the educated,and is beneficial to the development of the procedure of withdrawing academic degrees from colleges and universities into legal norms and even to the development of the legalization of university governance.