Wang Yihan, Rosalinda Tanguilan
ABSTRACT
College students play a pivotal role in China’s socialist modernization and national development, making the continuous enhancement of Guidance Programs in higher education strategically significant. In the new era, national policies have increasingly emphasized strengthening ideological, moral, and political guidance to promote students’ holistic development. Despite generally positive progress in the implementation of Guidance Programs in Chinese higher education, persistent challenges remain, including homogeneous program models, limited student engagement, administrative constraints, heavy counselor workloads, and the absence of systematic and scientific evaluation mechanisms. Using Jilin Engineering Vocational College as a case study, this research adopts a mixed-methods, descriptive–correlational design to examine the extent of Guidance Program implementation, students’ level of engagement, academic performance, and the challenges encountered in program delivery. Quantitative findings indicate that the Guidance Program is implemented to a very great extent and that students demonstrate a high level of engagement, alongside generally strong academic performance. However, correlation analysis reveals no statistically significant relationship between student engagement in guidance activities and academic performance, suggesting the influence of additional factors. Qualitative results further identify structural, managerial, and workload-related issues that may limit the program’s full potential. Based on these findings, the study proposes targeted improvement measures to strengthen institutional support, optimize management practices, and enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of Guidance Programs. The results provide empirical evidence and practical insights for improving Guidance Programs in vocational colleges and other higher education institutions in China.
Keywords: Guidance program, higher education, ideological and political education, program management, vocational
college
https://doi.org/10.57180/vpoh3377