National education graduates refer to full-time graduates, self-study exam graduates, adult higher education graduates, correspondence or TV university graduates and distance education graduates within the scope of graduation certificates issued by the Ministry of Education.

College graduates refer to students who have passed the national unified entrance examination for ordinary colleges and universities and are admitted by the provincial admissions department according to the national plan. At the same time, students have been admitted to full-time colleges and universities and obtained graduation qualifications. It belongs to a kind of national education graduates.

At present, China's national education and higher education qualifications are divided into four levels: junior college, undergraduate, master and doctor.

There are three kinds of higher education diplomas, namely: general higher education diploma (that is, general enrollment plan higher education diploma), adult higher education graduation (graduation) certificate, and higher education self-study examination graduation (graduation) certificate.

The above-mentioned three types of academic certificates are issued to graduates of higher education from independent colleges with academic qualifications (including adult colleges and military colleges, and institutions providing modern distance education), adult colleges (namely, radio and television universities, workers' colleges, farmers' colleges, management cadre colleges, education colleges, and independent correspondence colleges), private colleges, and higher education self-study exams organized by social forces.

The state recognizes the academic certificates issued by ordinary institutions of higher learning (including scientific research institutions that train graduate students), adult institutions of higher learning and private schools with academic qualifications approved by the state education authorities. In addition, self-study exams, graduation certificates issued by the self-study exam committees of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) authorized by the the State Council Self-study Exam Committee, graduation certificates obtained by students enrolled in full-time ordinary classes in party schools, adult colleges and military colleges approved by the national education authorities, graduation certificates issued by diploma examination schools, graduation certificates issued by colleges and universities in the form of distance education, and graduation certificates in line with the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Academic Certificates in Colleges and Universities of the People's Liberation Army of China. Incorporated into the national sequence, it belongs to national education graduates.