The secretary is responsible for party affairs and political work. For example, party member and party member in the school have joined the Party, and the counselors are also under the management of the secretary. The formation of party committees at all levels of the school and the appointment of secretaries are in the hands of the secretary, and the party congress is also convened by the secretary. Generally speaking, in China, the Party is in charge of everything, and the secretary of the Party Committee is generally the same at the same level and position. However, there are exceptions, such as the chief officer of the military department, the director and chairman of the state-owned enterprise and the principal of the school, which are generally larger than the corresponding party secretary, because these places are more professional and the party secretary is not directly in charge of business. In some schools, there are many professors who are not party member, so the secretary has less binding force on them. In addition, the rules and regulations of the school clearly stipulate that the principal is responsible for the system, and the secretary should cooperate with the principal to manage the teaching, scientific research and daily management of the school.

In key universities, especially those whose presidents are appointed by the central government, the rights of secretaries are relatively greater, while others are greater than those of presidents.