Introduction to Chinese Higher Education

1. Introduction to Chinese Higher Education Shi Xiaoguang, Graduate School of Education, Peking University Li Mei Institute of Higher Education, East China Normal University 13-25 Sep 2010 @ International Forum of Education 2020

2. Outline • Higher Education System • Expansion: Move from Elite to Mass Higher Education • Governance and management • Achievements & Challenges

3. Background • Population: 1.3 Billion: Four times more than the US, • Land Area: 9.6 Million Square Kilometers: the Similar Land Size with US • GDP Per Capital In $ 3100: 1/10 of USA

4. Economic Development: growth of GDP per capita

5. Central Area 3 64% of Land 4% of Population East Area 2 36% of Land 96% of Population 1 West Area Hu HuanYong Line （黑河——腾冲）

6. Development of education, 321,870,000 students in the whole system(2007)

7. Higher Education System

8. Differentiation Diversifying of the system according to: The nature of the students: regular and adult education; Sponsorship: private and public Status: key (elite) universities and others, 985 or 211 institutions and others

9. Differentiation by the nature of students in 2007 297 private 376 private

10. Development of HEIs by level of degree conferred

11. Project 211 & project 985 • Project 211 • Time: Launched in 1995 • Goal: building up 100 top level HEIs and key disciplines for the 21 century Project 985 • Time: Launched in May 1998 • Goal: Aimed at developing 10 to 12 world-class universities, plus a number of renowned high-level research institutions;

12. Priority strategy for developing the leading universities There were 1867 Higher Education Institutions in 2006 “985” “211” Peking Univ. Tsinghua Univ. 56 39 9 107 2 295 720 581 Doctorate-granting universities Master’s universities 1147 Undergraduate universities Vocational or professional universities

13. Growth, expansion, structural change • Largest enrolment • Fast expansion: Great leap forward • Structural change of student groups: More Inclusive in terms of age, gender, ethnical groups

14. Gross Enrolment Ratio and Enrolment, 1990-2008

15. 23%

16. Enrolment by degree level, 1999-2008

17. Enrolment by gender, 1999-2008

18. Governance and Management • Governance structure reforms • Decentralization • Restructuration • Diversifying of financing mass higher education

19. Governance structure before reforms by 1990

20. Governance structure After reforms after 1990

21. Governance and Financial Reform(1970-Present)

22. Reform of the higher education system • Enhance the role of provincial government in supervising and supporting the higher education institutions, implementing the coordination of administration between central and provincial governments. • Further clarify the relationship between governments and institutions, enlarging the autonomy of higher education institutions to guarantee their independence as the legal and economic entities. Decentralization in higher education administration

23. Policy documents

24. Major Achievements ,Challenges and the Responses

25. Major Achievements • A Large and Comprehensive system established, Largest system worldwide • Enter the stage of Mass higher education • Gradual Improvement on governance and regulations • emerging Market-oriented mechanism for management • Multiple-channel of financial sources: governments, clients, enterprises etc

26. Main Realities • (1) Unbalanced development of different regions • Analysis by two aspects • Horizontal stratification • Public vs. private • Vertical stratification • Central vs. local institutions

27. Public Vs. Privateby levels

28. public vs. private by share, • the private sector has a limited productivity • (In 2006),there are approximately 1329 private HEIs,taking 40 percent (almost half)of the total number of Chinese HEIs, but the shares of private sector in total enrolment are just 2.8 million,taking only 11.4 percent of totality.

29. Central Vs Local Institutions by number 29

30. The current situation of localization of higher education Total enrolment Intake at central institutions Intake at local institutions.

31. Top five cities where Central Universities (the top ones) are mostly concentrated as their locations No1.Beijing:21(8) No.2.Shanghai:8(3) No.3Wuhan:7(2) No.4.Nanjing:6(2) No.5.Xi An:4(3)

32. 80 11% 56% 18% 81% 51% 85% 64% France USA Korea Japan India China UK 1980 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004* 70 60 50 Index ( % Gross Enrollments ) 40 30 20 10 0 Sources: World Bank Educational Statistics Database (2) Balance between quantity and quality China’s Gross Enrollment Rates still is facing some challenges ahead comprared with most developed industry nations 23% 2008

33. According to the National middle and long term Guideline of Educational Development and Reform (2020 vision)

35. Related Realities • Reality A: • How can more budgetary money be rised and input to improve the quality of HEI with their keeping a sustainable grwoth in enrolment ? • An Option: by tuition raise ? • An anwser: almost impossible ! • ,because its percentage in total budgetary expenditure of HEI has been raised from 13.4 % in 1998 to 33.7 % in 2007, ....no room to go up . ..

36. Estimated educational population trend by levels (age cohort) from 2004-2020( unit:10 thousand) Reality B: How the HEI can maintain their sustainable developemnt while the number of applicants at 18-22 age cohort decrease year by year ? junior S high S HEI premary S Primary(6-11)Junior (12-14) high (15-17) Tertiary(18-22)

37. Quality as a pressing issue • The quality issues become increasingly prominent. The quality issues are mainly represented as follows: • ---under- supply of faculty in number and their lower qualification, • ---big teacher-student ratio and inadequate teacher-student interaction, • ---outdated teaching materials, obsolete teaching methods, • --- short-stocked library, and deteriorated laboratories and classrooms… • -- Per student’ budgetary appropriation is decreasing, particularly in local universities.

38. Per college student budgetary appropriation for recurrent expenditure from 2000-2004

39. Per college student budgetary appropriation for recurrent expenditure from 1993 to 2005: Central vs. local institutions (Unit: 1 RMB)

40. (3)More graduates but not enough jobs • There is a mismatch between demand and supply, in other word-- imbalance between scale and employment. • The expansion in higher education increased opportunities for students’ college education since 1999,but the graduate employment problem might arise to a harsh reality, because labor market does not have enough places in particular to several provincial universities. It is officially reported by MOE that Employment Rate is about (average) 68% of total graduate.

42. Major Policy Initiatives as Responses • ---Improving quality of higher education • ---promoting employment rate as priority in upcoming years.

43. ---Improving quality of higher education • ---to establish agencies for assessment and assistance in college instruction • ----to develop a system of periodic review of instructional quality • ----to building links between program assessment and professional qualifications and certificates • ----to formulate assessment standards and indicators • ----to build database on college instruction • ---to develop an analyzing and reporting system • ---to build instructional quality assurance system

44. ---promoting employment rate as priority in upcoming years. • --to encourage enterprises to hire college Graduates first; • --to establish center led by a vice president, which will be in charge of helping students to be employed easily in the job- market. • -to offer courses on career development • --to organize more campus interviews activities

45. Thank you!