In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has escalated its control over universities by using mobile apps to track the locations of students and counselors, implementing a detailed system of control down to the individual level. This has sparked dissatisfaction and protests among school communities.
According to sources, the Changshu Institute of Technology in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, recently introduced new counselor evaluation measures and developed a digital app system platform with location tracking and check-in functions to monitor counselors’ whereabouts in real-time. This move has led to protests by all counselors at the school.
A document titled “Regulations for Counselor Evaluation (Trial)” issued by Changshu Institute of Technology No. 13/2024 shows that the regulations were approved at the school principal’s office meeting on August 5.
Counselor evaluation includes performance assessment and review assessment, with base points of 60 and review points of 40, totaling 100 points. The assessment covers various aspects such as ideological education, themed class meetings, conversations with students, publicity reports, Party and class building, among others.
The document specifies that all counselor evaluation results are recorded in files. Counselors ranking in the bottom 10% in the annual evaluations will receive education reminders from the Student Affairs Office and the Party Committee of their respective colleges; those ranking in the bottom 10% for two consecutive years will not be allowed to apply for further education or promotion; counselors in the bottom 10% for three consecutive years will be handled by the school counselor’s working leadership group and submitted to the school.
According to sources, under the new regulations, counselors with low evaluation scores are required to work in the communication center without pay. Counselors are penalized for various issues such as students not paying tuition, falling victim to scams, sleeping or eating in class, or generating negative online sentiment. Counselors are also scapegoated during health crises, forced to the front lines, and have their scores deducted.
Changshu Institute of Technology is a provincially-run tier-two institution in Jiangsu Province, requiring counselors to be available 24 hours a day and respond to calls in the middle of the night. Counselors are often tasked with checking student dormitories at 10:00 pm and are not compensated for overtime work.
All counselors have expressed their discontent, stating that “counselors belong to the bottom-tier teachers of universities, who can be easily stepped on by any leader, assigned the dirtiest and most tiring tasks, and take the most responsibility. For example, when student dormitories have unstable electricity causing students to be unable to use air conditioning, counselors are sent to mediate. As a result, counselors face student insults, blame, reduced pay, and are required to conduct ideological education and maintain stability among students, leading to score deductions and pay cuts.
Counselors are a unique position in universities under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. They are typically not engaged in teaching but manage several classes with hundreds of students, handling a wide range of tasks from ideological and political education to daily management.
Former mainland Chinese university counselor Xiaoshan (pseudonym) told The Epoch Times that since the outbreak of the pandemic, universities have widely adopted the “Today’s Campus” app, initially for student management. Gradually, even when pandemic restrictions eased, the app continued to be utilized. Schools found the app to be an effective management tool and thus continued its promotion.
He explained, “In the initial strict lockdown stage of the pandemic, everyone was confined at home. After students returned, they started checking in via the ‘Today’s Campus’ app. Once a student checked in, their location would immediately be displayed. A prompt would pop up indicating ‘anomalous check-in, abnormal geographic location’ in a form. The control over individuals was significantly strengthened through this pandemic.”
“Sometimes the location is inaccurate; a student might actually be on campus but the location shows elsewhere. In such cases, counselors have to call the student for confirmation or even video call them, have a class monitor verify their presence and send a photo as proof.”
“This means our workload is very heavy. For instance, previously, students were entrusted with dormitory inspections based on trust. Since the use of ‘Today’s Campus,’ all personal information is recorded daily.”
Xiaoshan disclosed that he foresaw the future becoming increasingly difficult, which led him to leave the counselor position. He highlighted the current social situation where students struggle to find jobs, schools intensify ideological control and suppression, especially post-pandemic, leading to stricter controls.
Regarding the recent protests sparked by the counselor evaluation at Changshu Institute of Technology, Xiaoshan attributed the dissatisfaction to the system’s shift from collective penalties to individual penalties. Previously, there was no deduction system, but annual work summaries were reported to the Student Affairs Office, and each department had evaluations. The current evaluation system penalizes individuals, which has caused dissatisfaction.
“This type of evaluation has been in effect for a long time, but it has become more detailed than before. Previously, evaluation scores were collective, reflecting the overall ranking of departments. For example, our school’s art department, known for its individuality, was often ranked at the bottom. The shift to individual deductions affects title evaluations and counselor allowances. ‘No promotion allowed’ cuts off future opportunities.”
“Before the implementation of deductions, it was about accountability. Sometimes we would be directly criticized, even named and criticized at meetings for incidents like generating negative online sentiment.”
He disclosed that in the past, there have been similar collective opposition incidents at the school, primarily due to unfair treatment. During such times, leaders would divide and conquer, speaking with individuals one by one, resolving the issue by addressing the key dissenters first, leading to eventual resolution. Ultimately, everyone’s treatment within the collective varied.
Xiaoshan explained that counselors are managed by the Party Secretary and Deputy Secretary, with the latter directly supervising full-time counselors. Aside from teachers specialized in ideological and political education, many graduate students serve as counselors but aspire to leave the position for doctoral studies or further education.
Counselors are regarded as government tools, disposable entities. “Maintaining stability is a top priority, but counselors are burdened with various tasks and responsibilities, from Party building to student employment, scholarships, logistics, finance, and principal notifications. It’s overwhelming, excessive pressure weighing down on us.”
“Many counselors are young and find it challenging to cope with such control. I had a colleague who resigned within a month after being reprimanded by superiors for playing games with students. There are also instances of young counselors physically assaulting leaders.”
“This system is akin to the grid management system, all focused on individual control, layer by layer, essentially overseeing everyone. There is a lack of trust in counselors,” he concluded.