Nanjing, where colleges and universities gather, is also an important town of independent colleges. In recent years, these independent colleges have staged the story of "going out of the city", and Jinling College of Nanjing University has become the eighth independent college to leave Nanjing to run a school. Why do you choose to move to run a school because of its unique geographical advantages, school-running advantages and enrollment advantages?
Policy adjustment, independent colleges have "far married" in other places.
Jiangsu is one of the first provinces to explore the new mode of running independent colleges. At present, there are 25 independent colleges in the province, ranking first in the country, with nearly 220,000 students, accounting for half of the total number of private schools in the province. At the peak, only Nanjing 19 public undergraduate colleges established 2 1 independent colleges, of which only 3 were not in Nanjing at the beginning.
In 20 12, the Ministry of Education stipulated that independent colleges would no longer issue alma mater diplomas. 20 13 The Ministry of Education also proposed that independent colleges should achieve "six independences", namely, independent legal personality, relatively independent conditions for running schools, independent enrollment, independent issuance of diplomas, independent campuses and independent financial accounting. After several rounds of policy adjustment, the development of Nanjing Independent College has reached a "crossroads".
Some independent colleges such as Shangmei College of Nanjing University of Arts stopped enrolling students, and more independent colleges chose to move out. At this point, except Jinling College of Nanjing University, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology Binjiang College moved to Wuxi, Zhongbei College of Nanjing Normal University moved to Danyang, Tongda College of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications moved to Yangzhou, kangda college of Nanjing Medical University moved to Lianyungang, Hanlin College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine moved to Taizhou, Hongshan College of Nanjing University of Finance & Economics moved to Zhenjiang, and Southern College of Nanjing Forestry University moved to Huai 'an first (then stopped enrolling students).
On the other hand, local authorities also "open their arms" to the arrival of independent colleges. Most colleges and universities in Jiangsu are concentrated in Nanjing, the provincial capital, and the resources of higher education in cities, counties and cities are relatively scarce, which obviously exists uneven distribution. "When local governments are faced with the grim situation of the transformation of economic development mode and the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, talents and scientific and technological support are urgently needed." Yan Mingkun, deputy secretary-general of the Provincial Private Education Association and part-time researcher of the Provincial Private Education Research Center, said.
In 20 17, Jiangsu issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Standardized Development of Independent Colleges, which made it clear that by 2022, the standardized acceptance of independent colleges in the whole province would be basically completed, and pointed out four development paths for independent colleges: transforming into independent private undergraduate colleges, continuing to exist as independent colleges after improving conditions, exploring mixed ownership, and terminating running schools. Facing the "big exam", moving from Nanjing to run a school has become one of the choices of independent colleges.
Relying on local development potential is greater.
The primary reason why more and more independent colleges leave Nanjing is the need to improve basic conditions for running schools. 2 1 Xiong Bingqi, vice president of the Century Institute of Education, believes that when an independent college can no longer use the campus of its parent college, the cost of land will be considered first, and then the relocation will be considered. "Some places even provide free land for independent colleges, which is the case all over the country."
The picture comes from the school in official website.
Xu Ming, director of the Admissions and Employment Department of Tongda College of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said that after moving to Yangzhou, the Yangzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government gave strong support in financial investment and campus construction. "Yangzhou has also paid off. In recent years, about 100 Yangzhou students have been admitted to Tongda College every year, but about 200 of the fresh graduates in the same year stayed in Yangzhou to work. These graduates have taken root in Yangzhou and made due contributions to local economic construction. " He said.
The relocation of Jinling College of Nanjing University to Suzhou Campus is actually a "solution to all problems in one fell swoop", and Suzhou will also contribute to support the development of the campus. "On the basis of the existing professional settings, according to the needs of economic and social development in Suzhou and surrounding areas, optimize the professional structure and build a number of high-level brand majors and characteristic majors." Feng Weibo, secretary of the Party Committee of Nanjing University, revealed that the new campus has ushered in many benefits. The campus will also actively cooperate with international famous schools, introduce advanced international educational resources, improve the level of international education, and carry out various forms of international talent training such as undergraduate joint degree and double degree in multiple majors. "In addition, I hope to explore mixed ownership education."
The relocation of independent colleges will help to optimize the urban population structure of the cities and counties where they are located, stimulate commercial consumption, improve urban energy level, promote scientific and technological innovation, promote enterprise upgrading, promote economic growth, and promote urban-rural integration. Que Mingkun said that after the independent college moved into the new city, it established a good interactive and cooperative relationship with the local government, enterprises and institutions, which also brought vitality to urban development. "For example, after Suzhou Institute of Technology of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology moved from Zhenjiang to Zhangjiagang, combined with the local industrial development needs of Zhangjiagang, 22 undergraduate majors were set up, including ship and ocean engineering, thermal energy and power engineering, to cultivate applied talents needed for economic and social development in Zhangjiagang and help local economic development."
It usually faces a short period of "pain"
Although independent colleges have created opportunities for a new round of development by relocating schools. However, the reporter noticed that after moving out, they will generally face a "painful period" of development in a certain period of time.
The first thing to bear is the admission score. "As a barometer of the level of running a university, the enrollment score and the quality of students directly reflect the position of the school in the minds of candidates." Yan Mingkun said that after the independent college moved out, the attractiveness of the regional location declined, and the transportation, medical care, public security and surrounding environment were far worse than before. In the short term, the school brand has not been consolidated, and the enrollment score and the quality of students have been affected to some extent.
For example, when Tongda College of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications runs a school in Nanjing, its admission score in Jiangsu ranks 8- 10 among similar institutions. On 20 12, the college moved to Yangzhou. At that time, the admission line in Jiangsu fell to three provincial control lines, and it only picked up in recent years. 20 13 kangda college of Nanjing Medical University moved from Nanjing to Lianyungang, and the admission line of arts and sciences dropped by 7 points and 27 points respectively. But last year, kangda college's lowest score in science admission in Jiangsu was about 10 higher than many independent colleges in Nanjing.
The construction of teaching staff is also facing challenges. The teachers in independent colleges are already very weak and rely too much on the parent universities. After moving to county-level cities or quite remote districts and cities to run schools, they are faced with a brand-new environment, and the construction of teaching staff is under great pressure. Yan Mingkun said: "Most of the backbone teachers in independent colleges are stationed by the parent universities, and a few are trained by independent colleges for many years. The working and living conditions, scientific research facilities and entrance education guarantee of the new campus are not mature in a short time. Some key teachers are unwilling to stay away from the original scientific research platform or teaching environment and are unwilling to move to a new location together. "
Some experts pointed out that after the relocation of independent colleges, it is difficult to enjoy the resources of the parent university, the cost of running schools is higher, and more investment is needed, which brings financial pressure to the sustainable development of independent colleges. "A good policy environment is an important condition for the healthy development of independent colleges. After moving to run a school, the education authorities and local governments need to give care and support. "
Que Mingkun believes that as China's higher education is about to enter the stage of popularization, the policy orientation encourages independent colleges to transform and supports the rapid and comprehensive transformation of independent colleges. Therefore, it is a realistic need and rational choice for many independent colleges to build a new campus, relocate schools, get rid of maternal dependence, get out of the resource dilemma and enhance their ability to run schools independently.