Yan Zhen/Shanghai Daily news

Nearly 300 foreign freshmen at Fudan University will study in the same classes as their Chinese peers during their first school year as the century-old university began to lump all its freshmen into a single college starting this year.
Starting this semester, all 3,700 first-year students enrolled in different majors at Fudan need to sign up at Fudan College - a newly established college for first-year students only - for one year of basic university education.
Students aren't limited by their majors when they select courses for their first year, meaning, art students can sign up for science classes and vice versa.
Previously, students were grouped by majors.
To ensure foreign students fully understand lectures, the school will open special language tutoring classes for foreigners with poor Chinese skills in their spare time. Similar tutoring courses were also available for students from the country's rural areas whose English or computer skills lag behind their local peers.
No academic credits will be granted for tutoring courses, but the classes will be offered for free on a voluntary basis.
"The all-round professional training system is a brand-new concept for China's university education and management, which is quite challenging for us," said Xiong Sidong, dean of Fudan College. Xiong added all freshmen will live in four dormitories. Alumni began to visit the university yesterday as part of a monthlong activity to celebrate Fudan's 100th anniversary this month.
Fudan graduates, regardless their graduation date and major, will be entitled to a free campus tour on one of four electric shuttle buses. Alumni will also be provided a free lunch at the school canteen if they visit the school before the end of this month.
Fudan will hold a grand gala and a series of activities to celebrate its 100th anniversary on September 24.