Some degree of academic interference from the college is inevitable, with or without the consultations, he said.

"We actually do not feel special pressure, because even if there were no such system, supervision would still be there," he said.

In an interview published on university's website, PKU deputy head of student affairs Zha Jing insisted that the school will not use the consultation program to control or punish students.

"The school should do its utmost to aid [students with serious problems] and mobilize to support them so they can conquer their problems and turn the corner," Zha said. "This goal was the basis for establishing our consultation program."

The program will primarily focus on students with academic problems, especially those who have failed courses multiple times, Zha said. But it will also address students who frequently exaggerate small misgivings with the school's services – "for example, those who criticize the school whenever the price of food in the cafeteria goes up a few cents."

Increased efforts to provide more support and counseling on college campuses come in the wake of a murder last October by a Xi'an Conservatory of Music student, who stabbed a motorcyclist to death after accidentally running her over with his car.

Recent years have seen a number of serious crimes and suicides committed by Chinese college students, including the 2005 murder of a PKU Health Science Center student by one of her classmates and a three-day killing spree by a Yunnan University student in 2004, which left four dead.