Global Higher Education
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Global Higher Education Libby V. Morris
Published online: 27 June 2008 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008
In mid-May 2008, I completed my second trip to the People’s Republic of China, where I met with several units of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and educators at two prestigious institutions, Beijing Normal University and Peking University. Dr. Han Min, Deputy Director of the National Center for Education Development Research (NCEDR), assisted extensively in developing our agenda; and his unit has been is instrumental in an emerging collaborative effort with the Institute of Higher Education in the University of Georgia, my academic home. Over a 10-day period, Professor Douglas Toma (a colleague in the Institute) and I met with key education personnel in the NCEDR and in other divisions and departments, including leadership in comparative education, assessment and evaluation, national universities, and higher education research. We also met with the China Education Association for International Exchange, the China Scholarship Council, the National Academy of Education Administration, along with faculty and administrators at Peking University and Beijing Normal University. As we walked on the campus of Peking University, I was struck by the beauty of the campus in the middle of this large city, with young college students walking along treelined, brick-paved pathways and faculty looking hurried and busy with teaching and research. We stopped by the campus store; and, as one would guess, it was filled with pen and paper, t-shirts, and cups with the university insignia—the normal campus bookstore fare. I especially liked the on-campus housing for retired faculty (good idea!) and a small garden area where several friendly cats had small houses, almost like condos for felines. One could sense the exciting intellectual and academic climate existing in the buildings and under the trees of this historic university. In our brief meetings, we came into contact with faculty who had been educated at home and around the world and who were at the forefront of considering issues in their fields and disciplines. Higher education in China is undergoing dramatic growth and diversification, expanding from 6 million students in 1998 to over 27 million today studying in over 1,700 institutions. In 2003, over 18,000 doctoral degrees were awarded, up from 20 in 1983 (Ministry of L. V. Morris (*) Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia, 102 Meigs Hall, Athens, GA 30602-6772, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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Education data). Additionally, over 1.5 million students study in private institutions of higher education. Such growth generates a range of challenges; and our meetings yielded lively discussions on topics such as quality assurance and improvement, structural diversification, social equity, financial aid, and faculty development. The commitment to improvement in Chinese higher education is evident in Projects 211 and 985. Under Project 211, launched in 1994, the State C
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