Datong Normal College

Datong Normal College [Photo provided to shanxi.chinadaily.com.cn/datong]

Founded in 1905, the college is among the sixth group of key cultural relic protection units in the country. It was named Datong Middle School when it was founded in 1913 and later renamed Shanxi Provincial No. 3 Middle School. In 1972, it was renamed once more as Datong Normal School. In 1978, it began to enroll the Datong Teachers class of Shanxi Normal University. In 2003, the provincial government abolished the normal school system and established the Datong Branch of Yanbei Normal University. In April 2006, it changed its name to Datong Normal College of Shanxi Datong University. In September 2008, the provincial government agreed to establish Datong Normal College. In 2010, the municipal government built a new campus on the original site of Datong Normal School. After the renovation and expansion, the college has reached the "Standards for the Establishment of Higher Schools for College Education". In March 2018, Datong Normal College was officially established with the approval of the provincial government and filed by the Ministry of Education.

The campus covers 324,666.67 square meters. Total project construction land area is 155,436.88 square meters and investment totals 588 billion RMB ($85.02 billion). The campus is divided into five areas for teaching, residences, offices, sports and cultural relics. The teaching area consists of individual buildings for teaching of arts and science, art and foreign language, audio-visual skills, and kindergarten instruction. There is also a teaching library. The living area is composed of eight individual buildings including student apartments, teacher apartments, expert buildings and comprehensive service centers. The sports area consists of a gymnasium and a 400-meter standard playground. The overall design of the university campus integrates usefulness, aesthetics and education. The harmonious and unified forest, garden and road are perfectly presented.

There are currently 3,306 students, 199 faculty members including 196 full-time teachers. Among the full-time teachers, there are 40 associate professors, 87 master’s degree holders and postgraduates, accounting for 44 percent. The total value of teaching and equipment is 21,949.4 million RMB ($3,173.88 million), and the library has a collection of 172,000 volumes. Currently, the Provincial Department of Education and the Ministry of Education have authorized seven teacher-training majors. In the next few years, the college will gradually expand non-teaching majors to meet the needs of Datong's economic development.

In recent years, the quality and quantity of students are increasing year by year, and the average employment rate of graduates is above 90 percent. In 2017, the pass rate of applying for the undergraduate examination was 60.5 percent, and the qualification rate of primary school teachers was 81.8 percent. In 2018, among the 792 graduates, 540 have signed up for the undergraduate examination and 243 have been admitted to second-tier A-level universities. Since 2014, the number of students enrolling after the three-year general college entrance examination who made Datong Normal College their first choice has exceeded the choice rate for provincial designated junior college admission. The university's strength and comparative advantages compared to similar institutions are outstanding.