Self-study national exams

[tianjinpete]

Does anyone know whether the 高等教育自学考试 -- the national self-study examinations -- lead to the granting of an undergraduate degree that is worth, say, a B.A. from an ordinary four-year university?

A student of mine for personal reasons has dropped out of the B.A. program two years shy of graduation ... She tells me she can "get a B.A." (in English, I think) by pursuing a series of self-study courses and taking the exams ... But her understanding of the value of the degree seems to me a little hazy ...

And, theoretically, couldn't a foreigner take these self-study exams (which apparently cost only about 30 yuan to sit for) and end up with a degree from a Chinese university, or at least an official, government-endorsed B.A.?

[magores]

I just asked my colleague about this.

Apparently, it is pretty similar to the GED in the US, except it is for university students. Pass the test, get a degree.

Interestingly enough, China does not have the same type of thing for high school students.

I asked, "What if we had two applicants for a job. Each of them was exactly the same EXCEPT, one had a degree from a university, and the other had taken the test. Which would you choose?"

Without hesitation, she answered, "The one with the degree."

So, it seems to me, that while the test degree and a regular degree are basically equivalent, the regular degree is actually "worth" more.

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I have no experience with this first-hand, so take it with the usual grain of salt.

[studentyoung]

Does anyone know whether the 高等教育自学考试 -- the national self-study examinations -- lead to the granting of an undergraduate degree that is worth, say, a B.A. from an ordinary four-year university?

No, whether you can get the degree or not depends on your scores and papers.

And, theoretically, couldn't a foreigner take these self-study exams (which apparently cost only about 30 yuan to sit for) and end up with a degree from a Chinese university, or at least an official, government-endorsed B.A.?

I don’t know, but it seems impossible, because these self-study exams are just for mainland Chinese students and students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. I just wonder how you can register and get an exam card. Without this card, you can’t attend to any self-study exams. What’s more all text books are written in Chinese, which might be very hard for foreigners. If you want to get an official government-endorsed B.A, please choose a formal four-year university.

Thanks!

[HashiriKata]

I know a Chinese student who is currently studying for a master degree in the UK. This student got her B.A in China via the national self-study examinations, and then came here for a short postgraduate degree. This seems to be a good way for Chinese students to neutralise the negative effect of the self-study degree, if any, and to gain addititional qualifications at the same time. Most foreign universities will love your money and don't differentiate between a regular and a self-study degree.