Of course, students of XJTLU are not floundering in a sea of knowledge by themselves. Each student has multiple tutors to provide them instruction and guidance on their academic and career development. The college has provisions for them to choose at least three: a personal tutor, extracurricular tutor and student tutor. In the fresh year, students' personal tutors are their English teachers, and in the second year, their personal tutors are their teachers for specialized courses. Every teacher in this college, whatever their professional title, accepts three to five students, with the focus being on students' studies, research and personal growth. XJTLU's creative introduction of the extracurricular tutor system builds bridges with the outside world; extracurricular tutors are mostly senior executives of the world top 500 enterprises, or successful entrepreneurs. They offer students career guidance and instructions on starting a business. Peer-to-peer assistance comes in the form of senior students offering advice to those in lower grades.

At the opening ceremony each year, President Xi always requires the freshmen to keep two things in mind, "First, from this day on, you are responsible for your own behavior as a young adult; second, the most important aspect of your studies in XJTLU is not to obtain the two diplomas (one from Xi'an Jiaotong University, the other from the University of Liverpool), or extend some specialized knowledge, but to learn to be a mature person capable of independent study and making your own decisions. This is part of the higher education process."

Academic and Administrative Authorities: Each Performs Its Own Functions

Putting teachers and students in a position to become the true masters of the school is a principle that XJTLU has been sticking to faithfully. "The academic authorities and administrative authorities are clearly separate, and perform their respective functions efficiently," said Zhang Junlong, an associate professor of the Bioscience Department, who returned to China about one year ago after more than 10 years of teaching and research abroad.

"Administrative power and academic power are two indispensable means to effectively operate a higher learning institution. To guarantee effective operation of both, the key lies in the establishment of clear and complete systems and procedures," remarked President Xi. At XJTLU, all academic affairs like disciplinary development, academic assessment, evaluation of teachers' academic ability and promotion, students' academic performance and punishment of students for violating academic discipline, fall onto the duty roster of specialized academic organizations or commissions. The administrative department is not entitled to interfere with these affairs.

At XJYLU, highly placed administrative officers do not necessarily have a big say in academic affairs due to its principle of students and teachers being masters of the college. Therefore, if some students or teachers regard a decision of the academic organization or committee unfair and lodge an appeal to the administrative department, the administration still can't rule on academic matters. The administrative department can only supervise the academic department by examining the facts based on which the academic decision was made and the legitimacy of the procedure. If the facts are true, and the procedure legitimate, the administrative authorities must support the decision and preserve the independence of the academic authorities.

At the end of 2010, XJTLU set up a fund of RMB 6 million for postgraduate research and scholarship in the sciences. The committee of the scientific development fund, consisting of teachers, is entitled to make the decision on its distribution and scholarship allotments. For applications, the rule is quite clear: the administrative department is only responsible for collecting the applicants' materials according to the application procedure. Nowhere in the process is "PR work" (as done by teachers and students in some domestic colleges) needed, nor do teachers need to devote time to competing for research projects and funds. Being committed to their teaching and research work is sufficient.

This clear division of powers makes the operation of the college efficient. Its high-level executive team has only four members; apart from President Xi, the three vice presidents are responsible for administration, for academic and research affairs, and for service work and information management.

The clear division between academic authorities and administrative authorities has nurtured the exceptionally strong academic atmosphere at XJTLU, with students as the main beneficiaries. As of July 1, nearly 90 percent of the 530 graduates this year (the second batch of graduates in the college) received admission notices for postgraduate study from such world-renowned universities as Oxford, Cambridge, the Imperial College of Science and Technology, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Among them, 22 have entered successive postgraduate and doctoral programs. A considerable number received half or full scholarships.