Quality Assurance
23 Feb 2007
Quality assurance and accreditation
Relative standing and accreditation
The establishment of world class universities, the development of key disciplines and the training of high-qualified talents have been intensified in recent years. At the same time, the effort in implementing the Quality Programme in higher education has been strengthened and the guidance and planning for the innovation of science and technology in HEIs and for the research of humanities and social science has been improved as well.
Recent development and quality control
Various reforms in the higher education system have been carried out since 1992. The overall objectives of these reforms have been to achieve both qualitative enhancement and quantitative growth.[1]
Qualitative enhancement
Project 211
In 1995, the Project 211 was established by the Ministry of Education (see above). The Project 211 is often explained as the attempt by the central government to establish 100 key universities in China in the 21st Century. By 2002, the central government had invested 18 billion RMB in 99 institutions as part of Project 211.
Project 985
In 1998, the effort to improve the quality of education was given another boost with the introduction of the so-called Project 985 (thus named because it was announced in May 1998). Aim was to provide additional funding to create more world-class universities and key disciplines. Once again, the Peking and Tsinghua universities were singled out to be the major receivers of funds, but in the meantime another 38 universities have received Project 985 investments from central and local authorities.
Mergers
Another measure that has been taken to achieve improvement of quality and efficiency has been the merger of specialized and smaller sized institutions into very large-scale comprehensive universities. These new institutions are more research oriented and usually cover all academic disciplines. Today, 708 institutions of higher learning have been merged into 302 universities. Merging of schools of higher learning has deeply reformed the management system of higher education, optimizing allocation of educational resources, and further improving the teaching quality and school standards.
Quality assessment
The Chinese authorities have also introduced a more strict system of quality assessment in Chinese universities. To facilitate this process, in 2004 the Higher Education Evaluation Center (HEEC) was set up by the Ministry of Education. The Center implements assessment of the quality of education in all higher education institutions in 5-year cycles. The main responsibility is to organize and implement the evaluation of Bachelor degree programs and non-degree degree programs offered in institutions of higher education. The Center organizes the evaluation, conducts research in the areas of policies, regulations, and theories in higher education reform and evaluation, and provide data for the decision making body of the Ministry of Education, develops international cooperation and exchanges with higher education evaluation (accreditation) agencies/commissions, develop non-government cooperation and exchanges in the study of higher education teaching & learning, conduct straining for evaluators and provides consultation and information service in the area of higher education evaluation and other related services authorized by the Ministry of Education (http://www.pgzx.edu.cn/zxgk/zxgk_eng.htm).
[1] Futao Huang, “Qualitative Enhancement and Quantitative Growth: Changes and Trends of China’s Higher Education”, in Higher Education Policy, 18 (2005), p. 117-130