China’s Quest for “World- Class” Research Universities: A Comparative Case Study between Hong Kong and Shanghai

China’s  Quest  for  “World-­‐Class”  Research  Universi:es  in  the  Age  of  Uncertain  Times  

Roy  Y.  Chan  Ph.D.  candidate  

Boston  College  Center  for  Interna:onal  Higher  Educa:on  (CIHE)  

[email protected]    h#p://www.bc.edu/cihe    

 CIES  2013  NE  Regional  Conference  –  Amherst,  MA  Saturday,  November  2,  2013  

Outline  •  Intro  to  Chinese  higher  edu.  •  Defini9on  of  “World-­‐Class”            Universi9es  •  Research  Ques9ons  •  Conceptual  Framework  •  Sampling  and  Data  Collec9on  •  Results  •  Implica9ons    •  Future  Recommenda9ons  

Conference  Ques:on  of  the  Day  

In  the  United  States,  there  are  about  4,500  colleges  and  

universi9es.  About  how  many  colleges  and  universi9es  are  in  

Mainland  China?    

Answer    About  2,400  colleges  and  universi9es  in  China  (Na9onal  Bureau  of  Sta9s9cs  

of  China,  2012)    

2011  Undergraduate  Enrollment:  24.3  million  (China)  vs.  21.7  million  (USA)  

The  Rise  of  Chinese  Higher  Educa:on  •  Rapid  expansion  since  2000  (massifica9on)  •  Enrolls  the  largest  number  of  Ph.D.  students  in  its  higher  educa9on  system  in  the  world  

•  Large  investments  on  research  and  development  (R&D),  especially  at  science  and  technology  universi9es  (e.g.,  South  University  of  Science  and  Technology  of  China,  Hong  Kong  University  of  Science  and  Technology)  

•  Mass  reforms  in  teaching  and  learning  curriculum  from  Overspecializa9on  to  General  Educa9on  (e.g.,  East-­‐West  learning,  HK  3-­‐year  to  4-­‐year  curriculum)  –  From  planned  economy  to  socialist  market  economy  

 The  Rise  of  Chinese  Higher  Educa:on  •  The  rise  of  Western  Liberal  Arts  ins9tu9on  to  promote  crea9vity  in  classroom  (e.g.,  Xing  Wei  College)  

•  The  rise  of  “Branch  Campuses”  (e.g.,  NYU  Shanghai,  Duke  University-­‐Kunshan  University,  Kean  University-­‐Wenzhou,  University  of  Nofngham-­‐Ningbo,  Liverpool-­‐Xian  Jiaotong  University)    

•  The  rise  of  “Interna9onal  Branch  Campuses”  (e.g.,  Xiamen  University-­‐Malaysia,  Soochow  University  -­‐  Laos)  

•  The  establishment  of  Peking  University  School  of  Transna9onal  Law    (i.e.,  western-­‐style  J.D.  program)    

•  The  forma9on  of  “Schwarzman  Scholars”  program  (i.e.,  Rhodes  Scholars  program  at  Tsinghua  University)  

China’s  Government  Ini1a1ves  •  Project  211  –  To  establish  100  key  universi9es  •  Project  985  –To  establish  39  “research”  intensive  universi9es    •  C9  League  –  To  establish  9  research  intensive  universi9es  as  

“Chinese  Ivy  League”  by  2020  •  2011  Project–  Proposed  by  Tsinghua  University  in  2011  to  

increase  China’s  research  outcomes  and  produc9vity  •  China's  Blueprint  -­‐  Medium  and  Long-­‐term  Na9onal  

Educa9onal  Reform  and  Development  (2010–2020)  

GOAL    To  increase  interna6onal  compe66on  and  compe66veness  in  

the  age  of  the  knowledge  economy  

What  is  “World-­‐Class”  University?  •  Idea  started  as  a  result  of  intensified  compe99on  through  academic  world  rankings/global  university  league  tables(Dill  &  Soo,  2005;  Guarino  et  al.,  2005;  Liu  &  Cheng,  2005;  Meriso9s  &  Sadlak,  2005;  Marginson,  2006)  – Catch  Phrase:  “Everyone  wants  one,  no  one  knows  what  it  is,  and  no  one  knows  how  to  get  one”  (Altbach,  2004)  ;  “No  universal  formula”  (Salmi,  2009)  

– Aspira6onal  Concept:  Global  Research  University  (GRU)  (Marginson,  2012);  Emerging  Global  Model  (EGM)  (Mohrman,  2008)  

What  differen:ates  “World-­‐Class”  University?  Key  Features  

•  Highly qualified faculty and talented students •  Excellence in research •  Quality teaching of international standard •  High level of government/non-government funding •  Academic freedom •  Autonomous governance structures •  **Well-equipped facilities for teaching, research,

administration and student life (Altbach, 2004; Liu, Cheng & Liu, 2007; Yang, Liu, Huang & Fu, 2007)

University  of  Tokyo

University  of  Hong  Kong Tsinghua  University University  of  Tokyo

Stanford  University Yale  University   University  of  Toronto  

Cambridge  University University  of  Sydney   Moscow  State  University  

Research  Ques:ons  •  What  is  the  effects  of  college  environment  (e.g.,  academic,  campus,  interpersonal)  on  Chinese  students’  learning  and  living  experiences  at  “world-­‐class”  research  universi9es  in  China?  – In  what  ways  do  the  college  environment  impact  Chinese  student  learning  and  development  in  research  intensive  universi9es?  

– What  environmental  characteris9cs  are  necessary  to  create  and  establish  a  “world-­‐class”  university  in  China?  

Rela:onship  between  “World-­‐Class”  Universi:es  and  College  Environment  

•  “Research  university  environment  affects  the  collec9on,  arrangement,  and  dissemina9on  of  informa9on  to  various  stakeholders  of  the  university”  (Chirikov,  2013,  p.  463).  

•  “Research  universi9es  require  physical  facili9es  commensurate  with  their  missions,  and  this  means  expensive  libraries  and  laboratories  along  with  sophis9cated  technology”  (Altbach,  2013,  p.  329)  

Theore:cal  Framework  Jamil  Salmi  (2009)  Characteris6cs  of  World-­‐Class  Universi6es  

~ Autonomy ~ Academic Freedom  

~ Students ~ Teaching Staff ~ Researchers  

  Research Output  

Technology Transfer  

High Concentration of Talent  

Abundant  Resources   Favorable

Governance  

~ Leadership Team ~ Strategic Vision ~ Culture of Excellence  

~ Endowment Revenues ~ Tuition Fees ~ Public Budget Resources ~ Research Grants

World-Class Universities  

~ Supportive Regulatory Framework  

Graduates  

*  To  offer  rich  learning  environment  and  facilitate  advanced  research  

As:n’s  (1968)  instrument  of  Inventory  of  College  Ac:vi:es  (ICA)    College  Environment  Variables  

•  1)  Academic  Environment  (soS)  –  Teaching  and  Learning  –  Intellectual  Atmosphere  and  Ins9tu9onal  Culture  –  Interac9on  with  teachers,  staff,  and  peers  

•  2)  Campus  and  Physical  Environment  (natural)  –  Campus  Facili9es  –  Campus  Services  –  Campus  Resources  

•  3)  Interpersonal  and  Peer  Environment  (soS)  –  Faculty-­‐Student  Rela9onship  –  Student-­‐Student  Interac9on  –  Administrators-­‐Student  Coopera9on  

Preliminary  Conceptual  Framework  

Sampling  and  Data  Collec:on  •  Convenience  Sampling  (open  to  all  Chinese  students)  •  Universitas  21  (i.e.,  interna9onal  network)  

– The  University  of  Hong  Kong  (HKU)  – Shanghai  Jiao  Tong  University  (SJTU)  

•  About  100  Chinese  students  randomly  selected  – 50  from  HKU  – 50  from  SJTU                

•  ‘2010  Student  Sa6sfac6on  Survey’  from  the  Centre  for  Research  into  Quality  at  Birmingham  City  University      

Sampling  and  Data  Collec:on  

•  Process:  75  ques9ons  with  5  open-­‐ended  follow  up  interview  ques9ons  

•  Es6mate  Time  of  Comple6on:  30-­‐45  minutes  •  Time  Period:  March  2011  –  July  2011  •  Data  Collec6on:  Face-­‐to-­‐Face  (in  person)  •  Loca6on:  Library  or  Coffee  Shop  •  Compensa6on:  20HKD  /  10  RMB  (however,  most  declined  compensa9on)  

DEMOPGRAPHICS  OF  SURVEY  RESPONDENTS  

Group  Photo  of    July  2013  SJTU  GSE  Higher  Educa:on  Policy  and  Planning  Summer  School  Par:cipants  

RESULTS  FROM  SURVEY  DATA  

Brief  Findings  –  More  than  80  percent  of  SJTU  students  had  never  used  the  career  services  compared  to  only  40  percent  at  HKU  

–  More  than  90  percent  of  SJTU  students  had  lived  on-­‐campus  at  some  point  during  their  college  years  compared  to  only  47  percent  at  HKU  

–  More  than  50  percent  of  SJTU  students  were  dissa9sfied  with  the  canteen  compared  to  only  17  percent  at  HKU  

–  More  than  78  percent  of  HKU  students  had  interacted  with  an  interna9onal  student  compared  to  only  23  percent  at  SJTU  

–  The  on-­‐campus  usage  level  of  libraries  and  computer  labs  at  were  both  equivalent  in  percentage  both  HKU  and  SJTU.  

Overview  of  Results  College  campus  environment  (e.g.,  campus  facili9es,  campus  resources,  and  campus  services)  had  highest  levels  of  impact  on  Chinese  student  learning  and  living  experience  at  both  HKU  and  SJTU  

College  interpersonal  environment  (e.g.,  faculty-­‐student  rela9onship,  faculty-­‐student  interac9on,  faculty-­‐student  mentorship)  had  the  second  highest  impact  

College  academic  environment  (e.g.,  curriculum,  degree  program,  teaching)  had  the  least  most  impact  on  Chinese  student  learning  and  living  experience  

Conclusion    China  must  con9nue  to  restructure  learning  environments  that  foster  student  success  in  the  classroom.  Chinese  universi9es  must  assess  student  college  experience  from  a  variety  of  perspec9ves  including  the  imposi9on  of  structure,  processes,  and  student  learning.  Furthermore,  development  should  focus  on  improving  the  quality  of  teaching,  research,  and  services  if  the  research  universi9es  are  to  achieve  “world-­‐class”  status  by  the  year  2020.    

Recommenda:ons  for  Chinese  universi:es  •  Higher  educa9on  stakeholders,  par9cularly  those  from  2nd  and  3rd  9er  ins9tu9ons,  must  con9nue  to  promote  safe  and  nurturing  learning  environments  that  foster  crea9vity,  compe99veness,  cri9cal  thinking,  discovery,  innova9on,  and  independence  in  China  

====By  Doing  So====èChina  can….  •  A#ract  world-­‐class  scholars  &  students  •  Promote  ‘world-­‐class’  educa9onal  experience  and  academic  culture  in  the  age  of  globaliza9on  

•  Foster  brain  gain,  not  brain  drain  •  “Anchor”  globaliza9on  into  na9onal  development  (Pos9glione,  2013).    

Ques:ons?  Comments?  E-­‐mail:  [email protected]    

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