Table 1 Students’ characteristics and attitudes towards the curriculum by degree type
Variable | Overall (n = 645) | Academic degree (n = 328) | Professional degree (n = 317) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sex, male, n (%) | 203 (31.5) | 99 (30.2) | 104 (32.8) | 0.473 |
Grade Level* | ||||
2020, n (%) | 534 (82.9) | 276 (84.4) | 258 (81.4) | 0.295 |
2019, n (%) | 69 (10.7) | 35 (10.7) | 34 (10.7) | |
2018, n (%) | 41 (6.4) | 16 (4.9) | 25 (7.9) | |
Postgraduate degree, doctorate degree, n (%) | 160 (24.8) | 78 (23.8) | 82 (25.9) | 0.540 |
Reasons why the curriculum is important, n (%) | ||||
Minimum credit requirements for applying for graduate degrees | 354 (54.9) | 185 (56.4) | 169 (53.3) | 0.430 |
Acquiring knowledge and skills for scientific research | 540 (83.7) | 276 (84.1) | 264 (83.3) | 0.766 |
Enhancing English proficiency for international academic exchange and academic paper writing | 356 (55.2) | 172 (52.4) | 184 (58.0) | 0.152 |
Acquiring specialized knowledge and clinical skills | 277 (42.9) | 122 (37.2) | 155 (48.9) | 0.003 |
Promoting multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary education and cultivating top talent | 154 (23.9) | 99 (30.2) | 55 (17.4) | < 0.001 |
Developing knowledge of the humanities and social sciences | 80 (12.4) | 46 (14.0) | 34 (10.7) | 0.204 |
Feedback on curriculum development, n (%) | ||||
Excessive compulsory courses and inadequate optional courses | 165 (25.6) | 55 (16.8) | 110 (34.7) | < 0.001 |
Inadequate curriculum for developing scientific research abilities | 335 (51.9) | 167 (50.9) | 168 (53.0) | 0.597 |
Inadequate curriculum for acquiring clinical skills | 228 (35.3) | 106 (32.3) | 122 (38.5) | 0.101 |
Inadequate humanistic curriculum | 125 (19.4) | 73 (22.3) | 52 (16.4) | 0.060 |
Inadequate interdisciplinary curriculum | 170 (26.4) | 99 (30.2) | 71 (22.4) | 0.025 |
The course content has some overlap or repetition to some extent | 171 (26.5) | 108 (32.9) | 63 (19.9) | < 0.001 |
Comments on the curriculum content, n (%) | ||||
Be attractive and in line with students’ learning objectives and requirements | 342 (53.0) | 190 (57.9) | 152 (47.9) | 0.011 |
Needs to be updated | 103 (16.0) | 51 (15.5) | 52 (16.4) | 0.767 |
Not very practical | 145 (22.5) | 68 (20.7) | 77 (24.3) | 0.279 |
Too difficult | 73 (11.3) | 30 (9.1) | 43 (13.6) | 0.077 |
Too easy | 18 (2.8) | 10 (3.0) | 8 (2.5) | 0.686 |
The continuity across course sections is inadequate | 110 (17.1) | 48 (14.6) | 62 (19.6) | 0.096 |
Your expected evaluation mode for final exam, n (%) | ||||
Closed-book exam | 34 (5.3) | 19 (5.8) | 15 (4.7) | 0.058 |
Open-book exam | 328 (50.9) | 149 (45.4) | 179 (56.5) | |
Thesis or literature review | 207 (32.1) | 114 (34.8) | 93 (29.3) | |
Presentation using Microsoft PowerPoint | 73 (11.3) | 44 (13.4) | 29 (9.1) | |
Others | 3 (0.5) | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.3) | |