The first stage is the establishment of the college (1999 ~ 2002). During this period, the spring breeze of independent colleges in the popularization of higher education mushroomed. There are various models, some in the form of secondary colleges in ordinary universities, and some in cooperation with the government or enterprises. The main characteristics of running a school are dependence on the parent university and spontaneity of development.
The second stage is the "independence period" of independent colleges (2003 ~ 2007). In 2003, the Ministry of Education issued "Several Opinions on Standardizing and Strengthening the Management of Independent Colleges in Colleges and Universities with New Mechanism and New Mode", which has definite connotation and remarkable characteristics. According to the definition of "five independences" in the documents of the Ministry of Education, the independent colleges in this period were explored as "independence", and the number of them developed rapidly, and the specialty settings were also explored according to the market and regional needs.
The third stage is the standardization period of independent colleges (2008-present). In 2008, the Ministry of Education issued Order 26, which cleared up a series of theoretical and practical problems surrounding the development of independent colleges in 10. The development of independent colleges has entered a new stage, which is characterized by standardization and connotative development. However, how to successfully transform independent colleges into private colleges, how to further realize connotative development, and how to improve the level of running schools and the quality of personnel training are still being explored. ?
Along the way, independent colleges have been controversial and discussed, but at present, the number and enrollment scale of all independent colleges show that independent colleges have become an important part of China's higher education and a new growth point, which has been accepted and recognized by students, parents and society. ? For a long time, China's higher education has implemented a single government-run system, and the level of social and economic development and the state's financial expenditure capacity have seriously restricted the development of higher education. To speed up the development of higher education, we must break through the single government-run schools, actively develop private higher education, and explore the development path of "poor countries run big education" suitable for China's national conditions.
The practice of higher education development around the world proves that there can be no "popular" higher education without the diversification of higher education subjects and investment subjects. Independent colleges have taken a crucial first step in the diversification and popularization of higher education in China.