Private Colleges Transforming into Public Institutions—A Long-Sought Transformation, with Underlying Challenges and Efforts

The transformation into public undergraduate institutions has always been the goal pursued by many independent colleges. This change not only symbolizes an elevation of status but also carries infinite hope for the future development of the schools. Recently, the Ministry of Education pre-announced the approval of the establishment of 33 universities, including the anticipated transformation of Hunan Normal University's Shuda College into the public Changsha University of Science & Technology, highlighting the importance the city of Changsha places on improving local higher education levels.

However, it is not an easy task for independent colleges to transform into public institutions. According to relevant policy regulations, this process must meet at least two basic conditions: firstly, there should be no social entities involved in running the college, in other words, it must be solely or jointly established by public universities, their affiliated institutions, or the local government; secondly, the local government must have the ability and responsibility to undertake the establishment of the college, including providing financial support, venues, and institutional staffing.

The strength of the independent colleges in education is particularly crucial for a successful transformation. According to the "Interim Provisions on the Establishment of General Undergraduate Institutions," colleges should meet prescribed standards in areas such as land, facilities, and faculty. For many smaller colleges with limited resources, this often means making great efforts to remedy deficiencies in both hardware and software.

In fact, only a minority of the independent colleges that have completed the transformation have successfully become public institutions. From 2019 to date, although more than 90 colleges have completed the transformation, there are not many instances where they have truly become public. The history of the transformation of private independent colleges is not long; it only began in 2020 when the Ministry of Education officially approved the transformation of institutions such as Zhejiang University City College.

For those colleges that have obtained the opportunity to transform, they face a new development track: how to improve their own education quality while receiving "public funding," and how to satisfy social and market demands, will become the key issue for their future sustainable development.

The Dilemmas and Development Strategies Faced by Independent Colleges after Transformation

Financing and Fundamental Improvements

After the adjustment to a public system, the independent colleges that used to self-fund now have the opportunity to benefit from nation's finance or local government support channels, providing a reliable support for the improvement of the school's education quality and the advancement in educational conditions.

The Challenge of Teacher Teams

Despite becoming public, these colleges still face various challenges after leaving the umbrella of the parent university. The most urgent is ensuring the size and quality of the teaching staff. On one hand, colleges need to expand their faculty to accommodate an expanded scale of education; on the other hand, the loss of brand influence from the parent university has led to a serious lack of relevant professional teachers.

Zhejiang University City College, as an example, demonstrates how to resolve this issue by strengthening talent strategies: The college, with support from the city of Hangzhou and Zhejiang University, proactively executes a talent development strategy. As of June 2023, within three years of its transformation, the college has introduced 312 talents, including national and provincial high-end talents as well as a large number of potential young elites, providing a solid talent foundation for the rapid development of the school.

Enrollment Challenges and Academic Layout

Another difficulty faced by independent colleges after transformation is ensuring the stability of their enrollment capabilities and academic reputation. For example, Qingdao University of Technology faced a decrease in its admissions scoreline after separating from Ocean University of China Qingdao College, leading to unresolved enrollment plans. Therefore, transformed independent colleges need to focus on how to cultivate application-oriented talents and innovate in the layout of disciplines and professional settings.

In response to this challenge, Zhejiang University Ningbo Institute of Technology has formulated a clear development strategy: after the restructuring, the school has established a development reference that is based in Ningbo, reliant on Zhejiang University, and looking globally. According to the needs of Ningbo's integrated circuit industry, the school focuses on the development of information functional materials, and with support from Zhejiang University in various aspects, accelerates its own educational level enhancement and improves the quality of its independent talent training.

Research Achievements and Discipline Construction

Zhejiang University Ningbo Institute of Technology also commits to fully leveraging its disciplinary and pioneering advantages, concentrating research and development efforts in fields such as digital design and manufacturing, intelligent port services, strengthening cooperative research and development with enterprises, and accelerating the practical application and transformation of scientific and technological achievements. As of September 2023, the college has achieved significant scientific research accomplishments since its transformation, leading numerous national and provincial-level research projects, and has obtained awards such as the National Science and Technology Invention Award.

The Status and Historical Mission of Independent Colleges

Born in the context of the major expansion of higher education in the 1990s, independent colleges have played an indispensable role in promoting the popularization of higher education in China. Today, as higher education enters a phase of substantive development, these independent colleges, having completed their historical missions, are gradually fading into the background. Since 2023, with the changes in education ministry policies, the process of transformation of independent colleges has accelerated once again.

As the deepening of education reforms progresses, many of China's independent colleges are gradually transforming into publicly-funded undergraduate institutions. Recently, the Beihai City Education Bureau mentioned in an official document that Beihang University Beihai College and Guilin University of Electronic Technology Beihai Campus have successfully merged to form the Guangxi Ocean University, marking the college's entry into the "14th Five-Year" plan for higher education institutions in Guangxi. After being evaluated by the Autonomous Region Education Department, the merged schools' conditions have met the Ministry of Education's requirements for the transformation of independent colleges and are currently in the process of submitting for assessment and acceptance to the Ministry of Education.

On the other hand, the Anhui Province Education Department has also announced that Anhui University Jianghuai College has been approved to transform into Hefei University of Technology. Hefei University of Technology will be invested and operated by the Hefei municipal government and continue to function as a publicly-funded ordinary undergraduate institution. Moreover, Shanxi University of Electronic Science and Technology has been officially established, not only filling the gap of electronic information undergraduate institutions in Shanxi Province but also ensuring that every region in Shanxi has its own independent undergraduate college.

This type of restructuring covers more similar institutions, such as Jinhua Institute of Technology, Qinghai Institute of Technology, etc., all of which are in the process of transitioning to publicly funded undergraduate colleges. Whether transitioning towards private or public management, the restructuring of independent colleges exhibits a certain trend. We hold expectations for these independent colleges adopting different restructuring models, hoping they can explore and carve out their own paths of development, adding new impetus to the connotative development of higher education in China.