Nanjing University. [Photo/CFP]

Colleges and universities in East China's Jiangsu province shared their achievements in building national and provincial-level first-class undergraduate programs in 2020, local media outlets reported.

Nanjing University, one of the most prestigious higher learning institutions in Jiangsu, said that the number of its bachelor's degree programs ranked as national level grew from 23 to 46 in 2020, covering almost half of its 88 bachelor's degree programs.

Southeast University said that it also doubled the number of its national and provincial-level programs from 20 to 40, while Nanjing Medical University had 18 programs ranked as national level, as well as two as provincial level, accounting for 80 percent of its total.

Di Liuqing, an official at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, said that undergraduate programs that are ranked as national and provincial level are the school's most important and popular.

"The threshold is very high as selected programs all have distinctive features, such as enriched educational backgrounds, professional teachers, and graduates with good performance," Di said.

Lu Weidong, director of the office of academic affairs at Nanjing Tech University, said that over 80 percent of the 31 programs selected focus on engineering, an area that the school boasts strong capabilities.

"Our school rolled out detailed development plans for the programs every year, while regular mid-term and final examinations are carried out to evaluate and ensure the quality of these programs," Lu said.

Programs ranked as national level are allowed a three-year development period and should go through professional examinations held by the Ministry of Education. Those that pass the examinations will be finally accredited as national level programs.