Students in Chengdu Institute of Sichuan International Studies University find a new way to make up for being late at school recently. Latecomers now can exchange for a “being late coupon” for free, after gathering enough “Likes” for an explanation of lateness in WeChat, a Facebook like social media.

Dou Huanhuan, who first brought up this new idea, revealed how it works: a student who came late for school by less than 10 minutes could post an explanation for his lateness in WeChat Moments. If the student’s explanation, containing texts, emoji, photos or videos, received more than 80 “Likes” from others, he would be rewarded a voucher to exempt his late arrival. However, the explaining post should not contain any words expressing begging for “Likes”.  

“It’s fun but challenging. Gathering 80 ‘Likes’ without mentioning ‘begging for likes’ is not easy,” one student surnamed Mai told a local media.

The new rule was not designed to encourage students’ unpunctuality. If a number of likes were too small, it would be too easy to get. However, setting the amount too high was also meaningless, since it would be impossible to achieve, Miss Dou added.    

As a teacher of communication theory lessons, Miss Dou also said how student persuaded other to like his WeChat posts also helped his academic performance. Learning theories could be boring sometimes. However posting in social media was a fun way, which not only combined theoretical knowledge with daily life but also increased students’ awareness of punctuality.    

Lack of attendance and punctuality often appeared in college classes, especially theoretical classes. The new measure adopted by Miss Dou was a good way that not only avoids dispute with students but also put what they learn into reality, said another student surnamed Ma in Sichuan International Studies University.