The 2010 National Working Conference of Provincial Academic Degrees Committees and the Association of Chinese Graduate Schools(ACGS）, sponsored by the Office of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the Department of Degree Management and Postgraduate Education of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, and hosted by Anhui Provincial Department of Education and Anhui Provincial Academic Degrees Committee, was held in Hefei, Anhui Province from March 24 to 25, 2010. The leaders of Academic Degrees Office of the State Council and relevant departments and bureaus of relevant ministries and commissions attended the conference; the leaders of provincial education departments and provincial degree committee offices attended the conference; the deans of member units of the National Association of Chinese Graduate Schools(ACGS）attended the conference.

The meeting was presided over by Li Jun, deputy director of Academic Degrees Office of the State Council. Xie Guangxiang, vice governor of Anhui Provincial People's Government and chairman of the Provincial Academic Degrees Committee, delivered an opening speech to the conference; Zhang Yao, director of the Office of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, made an important report. He conveyed the spirit of the speech made by Comrade Liu Yandong, Chairman of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, at the 27th meeting of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, and conveyed the overview of the 27th meeting of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council; he also made a detailed explanation on the work of degree authorization audit and the work ideas of professional degree education. In particular, he emphasized that the key tasks of the Academic Degrees Committee Office of the State Council in 2010 were to further promote the reform of optimizing the structure of degree authorization system to meet the economic and social development; to actively promote the reform of postgraduate cultivation mechanism to improve the quality of cultivation; to further improve the key construction system of higher education to build high-level and distinctive universities. The directors of Arts, Science and Medicine Division, Engineering and Agriculture Discipline Division, Quality Supervision and Information Division, Key Construction Division and Comprehensive Division of the Office of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council introduced the work plans of this year respectively.

In the group discussion of the conference, the heads of degree committees of provinces (cities and districts) and the deans of graduate schools had a lively discussion on how to further adjust the structure of graduate education and promote the reform of graduate cultivation mechanism; to exchange the experience of further strengthening provincial coordination, scientific planning and promoting regional coordinated development in the light of the reform of degree authorization audit method; and how graduate schools can better play the role of demonstration and drive in the reform and development of graduate education in China under the new situation.

Liang Guoxiong, deputy inspector of Academic Degrees Office of the State Council, presided over the closing ceremony. Guo Xinli, deputy director of the Academic Degrees Committee Office of the State Council, made a summary of the meeting. He affirmed that it was a good format to jointly hold the working meeting of provincial academic degree committees and the working meeting of the joint conference of deans of graduate schools, and affirmed the achievements of the meeting. The meeting achieved the expected purpose and was a complete success.

Secretariat of ACGS

March 30th, 2010