Approaches and Reforms in Undergraduate Education for Integration of Major and General Education: A Comparative Study among Teaching, Teaching—Research, and Research Universities in China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
It was a pleasure reading your article. I believe the topic is relevant and you have built a strong case by using a solid methodology and presenting the results in a clear manner.
Author Response
Thank you very much for revising our article. We appreciate your comments on our article.
Reviewer 2 Report
This is an interesting, well-developed and well-written paper*. It investigates a timely, relevant topic, especially for those interested in curricular design approaches and competencies development. The aim is clear, the title is informative, and the conceptualisation is adequately presented**. The variables were defined and measured appropriately and the study methods are valid and reliable. The results are clearly presented, and expand previous knowledge.
Congratulations to the author(s) on a well-achieved work.
Improvement suggestions:
* correction of the typo in line 124 (Figure 1 "selected" > selected)
* lines 378-380: "Although... however" > this segment calls for a minor revision
* line 467: the syntax in the title is not quite accurate
** the concept of "credit" may require further clarification. What does it represent in terms of classroom hours or overall workload? How does that convert to other systems? In Europe, for example, we use an ECTS grading scale, a system defined in the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System framework: 1 credit corresponds to a 25-30h workload and most undergraduate degrees require students to complete 180 credits over the course of a 3-year period.
Author Response
Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions on our article. The comments and suggestions are valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our manuscript. We have revised this article according to the given comments and have made changes as they directed us (marked red).
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
1. This study is related with the academic dimension of comparative education. I suggest the author should provide more information about the context or locations of higher education in China.
2. The author employed the concepts of major and general education in China as the critical terms. But the little experiences about China education may not understand these concepts. I suggest the author could provide more related concepts to help the readers’ understanding about these terms.
3. In the section of 4.4.3, I suggest the author should provide more practical or useful educational changes, not to propose the abstract principles.
4. In the section of conclusion, I suggest the author should provide more information about the theoretical reflections and practical study suggests on the basis of this study.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer, Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions on our article. The comments and suggestions are valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our manuscript. We have revised this article according to the given comments and have made changes as they directed us (marked red).
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
