Commercial Civil Society: A Perspective on Chinese Private Higher Education

Front. Educ China 2010, 5(4): 558�–578 DOI 10.1007/s11516-010-0116-9

Received February 14, 2010

YAN Fengqiao ( ) Graduate School of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China E-mail: [email protected] Jing LIN College of Education, University of Maryland, MD 20742, USA E-mail: [email protected]

RESEARCH ARTICLE

YAN Fengqiao, Jing LIN

Commercial Civil Society: A Perspective on Private Higher Education in China

© Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag 2010

Abstract� Two distinctive paradigms have been used in researching higher education phenomena in China�’s process of social transformation. The first might be described as �“critical realist,�” and the second as �“interpretivist.�” The book Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities: In the Move to Mass Higher Education, has inclined toward the second paradigm and a central concept is that of �“civil society.�” However, the authors of this article argue that the concept of �“commercial civil society�” may better explain the characteristics of Chinese private higher education. Different from civil society that is based on voluntary action and contributions, commercial civil society is characterized by profit making behavior. This article focuses on analyzing the profit making features of Chinese private higher education, and thus aims to supplement the interpretivist analysis presented in the book. The authors believe that the concept of �“commercial civil society�” not only reflects certain features of the social environment in which Chinese private higher education operates, but may also be helpful for analyzing private higher education phenomena in other countries. Keywords� commercial civil society, private higher education

Introduction

Higher education in China has experienced many significant changes since the reform that began in 1978. These changes include the outsourcing of logistical

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services, the merging of institutions, the implementation of tuition systems, the abolition of graduate job assignment in favor of self-chosen employment, the expansion of enrollment, and the establishment of independent colleges under the sponsorship of public universities in a kind of public-private partnership. While these higher education reforms have led to dynamic new practices, there are few systematic and in-depth studies of these practices from an international comparative perspective. This lack of research has resulted in an inadequate understanding of China�’s higher education system in the international community. Headed by Professor Ruth Hayhoe, a four-member research team focused on an important period at the turn of century, when China was developing its mass higher education system. Through in-depth case analyses, they created a set of portraits of China�’s universities during the transition from elite to mass higher education and, in doing so, explored the political, social and cultural meanings of mass higher education in the Chinese context. This is an extremely important study.

In the foreword to their book, Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities: In the Move to Mass Higher Education (hereafter referred to as Hayhoe�’s book), the authors wrote that their study aimed to answer three questions: (1) What kinds of cultural resources are Chinese universities drawing from their own civilization and how do these inform their activities as they move onto a global stage? (2) How has the move to mass higher education stimulated civil society and the emergence of forms of democracy shaped by Chinese civilization? (3) How has the move to mass higher education affected the diversity of the system, and what have been the consequences in terms of equity of access and provision?

The approach taken by Hayhoe�’s team was unusual. Their study was not only an analysis of China�’s mass higher education itself, but was also an interpretation of the social and cultural significance of the development of higher education from the perspectives of civilization, civil society-building, equity and diversity. Furthermore, Hayhoe and her team adopted a viewpoint emphasizing social development and cross-cultural dialogue. The aim was to understand the multiple meanings of China�’s mass higher education under a particular historical and social background. On one hand, they investigated the uniqueness of China�’s developmental paradigm, exploring how far it could be seen as an extension and development of traditional Chinese culture; on the other hand, they tried to anticipate the contribution of China�’s developmental process to the world. On several occasions, mention was made of the fact that when other countries developed their higher education systems, they focused on either quality of education or scale and access to education. China, however, tried to achieve both rapid quantitative expansion and enhanced quality through parallel projects of massification and the creation of world-class universities over the same time period. This makes it an interesting case for reference and discussion


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internationally. It should be mentioned that the perspective taken by Hayhoe�’s team is important to the investigation of China�’s local knowledge in the context of globalization; however, carrying out the investigation was a challenging intellectual activity.

Two Research Paradigms

Two different paradigms have been used for studying issues related to China�’s higher education system. The first paradigm, which is also widely used to study other social issues in China, tends to treat the values and developmental modes that originated in Western societies as universal and the only route to modernization for any country. In this paradigm, the legitimacy and validity of China�’s practices are judged according to Western theory, and those practices that are not in agreement with the theory are rejected (Tu, 2004, pp. 75�–105; Li, 2007, pp. 120�–128). Since the 1978 economic reform and opening-up China�’s social science researchers, including higher education researchers, have imported a large number of terms, concepts, theories, and methods from Western countries. Keeping China�’s social reality in mind and hoping to help China join the modern world, researchers adopted a critical, realistic research paradigm to examine China�’s developmental path. From the perspective of �“the other,�” they attempt to find a remedy that would solve their country�’s problems. Intentionally or unintentionally, one might say they made a diagnosis and wrote a prescription to cure China�’s problems (Yan & Wu, 2005). This paradigm has �“forward-looking�” characteristics (into the future) and �“outward-looking�” characteristics (especially towards a few developed countries). Using this paradigm, however, researchers often lacked the �“cultural awareness�” mentioned by Professor Fei Xiaotong (Fei Hsiao-Tung), China�’s legendary anthropologist. They overlooked the theoretical significance of China�’s own social practices and the contributions this might make to the world (Fei, 2002, pp. 358�–364).

The second paradigm is characterized by a strong cultural awareness. Instead of adopting a simplistic attitude of rejection towards particular characteristics of Chinese society, this paradigm uses different theories to investigate China�’s social practices and ongoing changes. It also encourages the establishment of connections between current issues and historical precedents, especially paying attention to those special circumstances where theoretical exploration could reveal possible universal values or adaptations. This paradigm is characterized as �“backward-looking�” (towards history) and �“introspective�” (towards China�’s own reality). According to Zhang Rulun (2009), �“Globalization is not a simple process of homogenization and integration; it is also a process whereby various particular groups assert themselves and express their longing for recognition�”


(pp. 5�–6). Therefore, different societies may have similar goals to achieve modernization, but the paths leading to modernization may not be the same. Sociologist Ambrose King (2002) states, �“globalization stimulated a reaction in the West, towards the rediscovery of the peculiarity, locality and diversity (of truth), therefore bringing forth a reaction that revealed the limitations of Western modernization�” (p. 232). From a research perspective, Liu Shiding (2003) suggests that it is possible to expand Western social theories if we understand the prerequisites for their establishment and encourage dialogue between these theories and certain unique features of Chinese society. From a cross-cultural comparative point of view, anthropologists have largely chosen to take the perspective of �“looking from the periphery to the center.�” Through the detailed analysis of field data, they set a good example by reversing an imbalance in theoretical understanding between East and West, tradition and contemporary reality (Wang, 2002, pp. 169�–170).

We refer to the first paradigm as the �“critical realist�” paradigm, and the second as the �“interpretivist�” paradigm. With their increasing cultural awareness, critical attitude toward theory and self-reflective stance on social issues, more and more Chinese scholars tend to choose the second paradigm. We are still unsure, however, whether it is possible to bridge these two paradigms. In the absence of an appropriate way to combine the relevant methods, a purely subjective effort would probably result in a self-contradictory and self-defeating situation. When speaking about a similar situation, historian Yu Ying-shih (2000, p. 3) argued that �“Making distinctions is always valuable, while combining things does harm to both.�” There is no doubt that the complexity of social reality determines the relative value and limitations of any interpretivist paradigm. It also reminds us to consider any research conclusion as tentative and subject to continuous exploration. According to Yu Ying-shih (2000, p. 2), �“Any attempt to put historical change into a simple theoretical framework will fail.�” Therefore, it is appropriate to have an open and tolerant attitude when studying China�’s social issues and investigation from the perspectives of multiple disciplines and multiple theories should be encouraged.

The team led by Ruth Hayhoe tended to employ the second paradigm in their work. The four researchers tried to investigate the unique features of Chinese society and its possible contributions to the world from a cross-cultural comparative perspective. In the last chapter of Hayhoe�’s book (Chapter 15), Qiang Zha tried to outline certain particular characteristics of China�’s higher education from a cultural and theoretical point of view. He suggested that China�’s higher education system is not a simple transplantation of the Western university model; rather it is the result of a collision between the Western university model and China�’s cultural context. He pointed to a cultural core in


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Chinese higher education which may be responsible for certain indigenous features in China�’s higher education development model. For example, the Imperial College of the Tang Dynasty, the Four Books and Five Classics revered in the Song Dynasty and the imperial examination system were very different from the university system that emerged in the West during the Middle Ages. Consequently, the team concluded that Chinese culture is an important factor that cannot be ignored.

As early as 1992, in fact, Hayhoe organized an international symposium on �“Universities and the Cultures of East and West�” in Toronto, Canada. The proceedings were published under the title �“Knowledge across Cultures�” (Hayhoe, 1993, 2001, Chinese edition, 2003). Hayhoe�’s interest in the unique cultural characteristics of China�’s higher education is also evident in her book, China�’s Universities 1895�–1995: A Century of Cultural Conflict (Hayhoe, 2000). In this book, she suggests that traditional Chinese higher education was significantly different from that of European countries�—in terms of both form and content. For example, Chinese higher education stressed the unity of knowledge and action, the integration of higher education and the state bureaucracy, and an epistemology based on practice and a holistic understanding of the natural and social worlds (pp. 26�–30).

Researchers with different perspectives have differing opinions on various kinds of factual evidence, and they also have different interpretations of this evidence. Motivated by their exploration of the unique as well as the universal characteristics of China�’s higher education development, Hayhoe�’s team affirmed many aspects of its developmental experience and contemporary achievements. First, their study adopts a historical and cross-cultural comparative perspective, and uses the data they have gathered from field work to give new life to the interpretation of Chinese traditional culture, reminding us not to be blind to traditions that may be worth preserving. Second, they gave a rather optimistic and affirmative evaluation of the continuing influence of such traditional Chinese cultural elements as institutional history, architecture and cultural symbols on contemporary Chinese universities. However, we believe that there are a number of issues in their research paradigm that need discussion. After all, the history of traditional higher education in China went through radical change, and one might even say was totally disrupted. The imperial examinations, academies or shuyuan and other basic institutions no longer exist; rather, most Chinese universities have adopted Western institutional patterns, and the influence of the outside world is much stronger than that of traditional elements in Chinese higher education (Chen, 1998, p. 14). In contrast to the opinions of Hayhoe�’s team, many Chinese scholars believe that there are many problems with China�’s higher education system, such as low quality, profit chasing, too much administrative control by the government, a general lack of order and academic corruption.


Commercial Civil Society and the Characteristics of China�’s Private Higher Education System

The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of China�’s private higher education system. While we will acknowledge the validity of the interpretivist paradigm used by Hayhoe�’s team (although we have probably been inadvertently influenced by the critical realist paradigm) we would like to enter a discussion with the team on the research concepts, analysis and judgment of problems in China�’s private higher education development in a way that is somewhat oriented towards critical realism.

It is difficult to provide an in-depth depiction of the developmental status of China�’s current private higher education system when using a historical and cross-cultural comparative perspective. China�’s current private higher education system displays several notable characteristics. First, although China has a long history of private education that can be traced back to the Spring Autumn and the Warring States period, the current private higher education system carries no direct historical inheritance from the previous systems. For instance, we no longer see old-style private classes, academies or private schools (Jin, Zhou, 2005, pp. 198�–201; Song, 2003; Ke, 2003). Second, although China�’s current �“people-run�” higher education system can be categorized as �“private�” in Western theoretical terms, concepts and theories such as civil society, the third sector and non-profit organizations are not entirely suitable for its analysis.

Private higher education emerged after China�’s educational reform was launched and as a result of a lack of resources for public higher education that resulted in inadequate opportunities for students. Under these circumstances, individual citizens and organizations were permitted and encouraged to take part in setting up schools privately. In 1981, the Ministry of Education responded to the desire of retired individuals to become involved in education; they issued an official document allowing individuals and organizations to run remedial schools and classes. In 1982, the first private higher education institution was established. It was a school that offered learning support for students preparing for the self-study examination system. In 1984, the government approved the first private higher education institution, which was authorized to issue diplomas independently. In 1997, the State Council issued the �“Regulations on the Running of Educational Institutions by Social Forces.�” In 2002, the National People�’s Congress passed a law related to private education (Gu, 2008, pp. 175�–176). This 30-year developmental process demonstrates that China�’s private higher education system exists in a separate sphere from the public system. It is linked to many systemic complications, public objectives and relationships between differing agendas; its developmental path has not been smooth, but rather has been marked by policy controversies and disputes (Law & Pan, 2009). In


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Hayhoe�’s book, the authors tended towards an optimistic interpretation of the potential role of China�’s private higher education system in the development of civil society. Her team presented a rather positive introduction and assessment in the portraits of three private higher education institutions. The goal of the current paper is to express our opinions about private higher education from a different angle, with a sense of concern and crisis, which might be considered as supplementary to the work of the team. In addition to some comments on the three private higher education cases, we will discuss the overall situation of China�’s private higher education system.

Civil society is an important concept in Hayhoe�’s book, but what is meant by this term? Civil society is actually not easily defined, but has multiple connotations and is often misunderstood or misused (White, 2000, p. 60; Rowe, 2003, p. 175; Zhao, 2003, p. 225; Chamberlain, 2003, p. 241). Wang (2007, pp. 401�–413) provided a rather comprehensive summary of this concept in his book, Ways to Bring Peace and Stability to a Nation: The Target and Path of the Transformation of a Nation. Here he outlined three primary meanings of civil society. First, in the philosophy of natural law, it refers to civilized society as opposed to natural society. Civilized society is marked by the establishment of a political society and the formation of a nation. Second, unlike the previous definition, Hegel believed that civil society was composed of three parts: a market economy, voluntary organizations and a legal system, what are now often referred to as the first, second and third sectors. Third, Tocqueville believed that the private domain outside of the control of the nation was the civil society. He thus emphasized the third sector; it was a democratic system allowing for broad participation in contrast to an authoritarian system. One may thus view civil society from the perspective of dualism or what might be called triadism. Dualism distinguishes civil society from the state by seeing the two constructs as opposite to each other, whereas triadism views civil society as being in opposition to both the economy and the state (He, 2000, p. 3). These two definitions differ significantly in their view of civil society. Dualism considers market mechanisms and private property rights to be prerequisites of civil society, while triadism excludes the market and commercial activity from civil society. In the current paper, civil society is defined in terms of triadism and refers to the area outside both the governmental and business sectors.

Some scholars consider �“civil society�” to be a concept related to social ecology; it can only have a realistic meaning when it is placed in specific social situations. �“Civil�” in one context cannot be equated to �“civil�” in another context (Zhao, 2003, p. 236). Furthermore, �“civil society�” should not be a term that is independent of historical context; it must be linked to a specific historical period. In a traditional sense, civil society is always seen as based on people�’s autonomous and voluntary actions and non-profit organizations, all of which are


outside of government control and the profit-seeking behavior of the market (Wang, 2007, pp. 401�–413). In reality, however, the boundaries between the government, the market and society are often blurred or in flux. If civil society is considered a static concept, there is no way of exploring changing situations and their complexity. In recent years, it seems as though there has been a tendency�—in China and abroad�—to link good deeds to civil society organizations and link wrongdoing with governments. This makes it hard to avoid exaggerating the positive aspects of civil society organizations (Wang, 2007, p. 431). After studying the behaviors of American hospitals, museums, universities and other traditional non-profit organizations at the end of the 20th century, Weisbrod (1998) found that non-profit organizations were becoming more and more like for-profit organizations; the boundary between non-profit and for-profit characteristics had become increasingly blurred. For example, when a university conducts a research project commissioned by a company, the research products are owned by the company and cannot be treated as a public good. Therefore, Weisbrod put forward the idea of �“a commercial transformation of the non-profit sector.�” Stimulated by this idea, we raise the following question: Does China have a private sector that is independent of both the government and the market? Beginning at the end of the 1970s, the general trend of China�’s reform stressed the separation of the Communist Party from the government, the government from business, and the government from social institutions. The purpose of this separation was to achieve the following goals: (1) to reduce or change the scope and manner of governmental intervention in economic and social activities; (2) to create more room for activities of the market and civil society organizations; and (3) to bring about a new situation defined by �“a small government and big society.�” Yet the characteristics of China�’s politics and society have made it difficult to draw a clear boundary between the government, the market and (civil) society, since civil society organizations cannot be completely independent from the influence of the political system and the economy (Yu, 2000, p. 340). If a civil society is on the rise in China, then this civil society is characterized by a measure of government control and market influence. In the West, being independent and fully non-profit are defining characteristics of civil society, while in China, control by the government and by market laws are unavoidable. Therefore, it may be beneficial to add the term �“commercial�” to the concept of �“civil society�” in analyzing the characteristics of China�’s private higher education system. �“Commercial�” indicates that the relationship between private colleges and students is similar to the relationship between businesses and their consumers, and is regulated by supply and demand as well as a price mechanism.

Before we reflect on how the concept of �“commercial civil society�” may be used to analyze the characteristics of China�’s private higher education, it is first


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necessary to provide a brief introduction to these institutions. From a legal perspective, China categorizes organizations into party and

government bodies, institutions, enterprises and civil society organizations. Civil society organizations can be further divided into three categories, namely social organizations, private non-enterprise units and foundations (Wang, 2007, p. 445). Private colleges belong to the category of private non-enterprise units. According to statistics from 2008, there were a total of 230 000 social organizations, 182 000 private non-enterprise units and 1 597 foundations. Of the 182 000 private non-enterprise units, 88 811 (or 49 %) were educational units.1 Private higher education institutions totaled 1 507, accounting for 1.7 % of private educational non-enterprise units.2

From a global perspective, private higher education has developed rapidly around the world over the past 10 years. Some estimates predict that there are currently about 150 million college students worldwide. Thirty percent, or about 45 million students, attend private higher institutions (Bjarnason, Cheng, Fielden, Lemaitre, Levy, & Varghese, 2009). Similarly, the scale of China�’s private higher education over the past 10 years has experienced a substantial increase. Based on China�’s official categorization, private higher institutions can be divided into three types: private colleges that can issue diplomas independently, independent colleges, and higher education institutions that are not qualified to issue diplomas independently (see Table 1 for details). In 2008, there were a total of 640 private and independent colleges that could issue diplomas independently. Combined, these institutions enrolled 4.01 million students. If the 920 000 students enrolled in the other 866 private higher education institutions and the 280 000 students of other types enrolled in private and independent colleges were counted, the total size of private higher education would reach 5.21 million, accounting for 12 % of the 45 million private college students worldwide (Yan, in press). Students in private colleges account for 20 % of the total college and university student population in China, which is lower than the global average of 30 %.

In 2008, there were 2 263 colleges and universities in China. Of these, 640 were private (28 % of all colleges and universities). A total of 20 210 240 students were enrolled as undergraduate and associate-degree students. Of these, 4 013 010 were enrolled in private colleges (20 % of all students). The gross enrollment rate of China�’s higher education in 2008 was 23 %, and the contribution from private higher education accounted for 1/5 of total 1 Retrieved on February 2, 2010, from http://cws.mca.gov.cn/article/tjbg/200906/20090600031762.shtml 2 �“Statistical profile of China�’s Educational Development in the Year 2008�” (internal document), issued by the Department of Development and Planning of the Ministry of Education in 2009.


postsecondary students, or about 4.6 % of the age cohort between 18 and 22 years old. Consequently, the contribution of private higher education to the expansion of access and learning opportunities is evident.

Table 1 Number of Private Colleges in China and Number of Students Enrolled in These Colleges in 2008

Type of college Number of colleges

Number of undergraduates

Number of associate-degree

students

Number of self-taught

examination students

Private colleges with undergraduate diplomas or specialty certificates

318 269 714 1 558 919 255 904

Independent colleges 322 1 963 143 221 234 10 949 Private higher

education institutions without diplomas

866 920 176

Total 1 506 2 232 857 1 780 153 1 187 029

Source: Summarized from data in the �“Statistical Profile of China�’s Educational Development in the Year 2008�” (internal document), issued by the Department of Development and Planning of the Ministry of Education (2009).

From the perspective of historical change, the scale of private higher

education in 2008 showed a dramatic increase over 1998, just before the overall massification process began. In addition to the 322 recently added independent colleges, the number of undergraduate and associate-degree colleges that could issue diplomas independently increased from 22 to 318. The number of undergraduate and associate-degree students has increased from a little over 22 000 to 4.01 million (see Table 2 for details).

Table 2 A Comparison of China�’s Private Colleges and the Number of Enrolled Students in 1998 and 2008

Private colleges Private higher education institutions Year Number of

colleges Number of colleges

Number of students

Number of institutions

Number of students (in millions)

1998 1 222 22 22 232 1 200 ú

2008* 1 506 640 4 010 000 866 920 000

Note: �“ú�” indicates the data were missing. * Including independent colleges. Source: Data for 1998 were taken from (Wu & Lu, 2008, pp. 588�–632). Data for 2008 came from the �“Statistical Profile of China�’s Educational Development in the Year 2008 (internal document), issued by the Department of Development and Planning of the Ministry of Education (2009).


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What was the reason for such rapid development in China�’s private higher education system? Let us go back to the theoretical issue mentioned above and consider whether �“civil society�” or �“commercial civil society�” is a more suitable concept for analyzing the characteristics of China�’s private higher education system. Apart from government permission and some modest policies of encouragement, the major reason for the rapid development of China�’s private higher education system lies in the central role of the market mechanism of supply and demand. China�’s private colleges accomplished their expansion with almost no state financial allocations and very little in the way of donations; the resources required for operations and development came mainly from tuition. Table 3 lists the income composition of China�’s private colleges in 2006. Tuition accounted for 87 % of total private college income.

Table 3 China�’s Private College Income Composition in 2006

Income Investment from administrators

School-based enterprises, work-study

programs and community

service income

Tuition and miscellaneous

fees

Other income

Percentage (%) 100 7.96 0.60 87.01 4.43

Source: Calculated based on the �“Report of income and expenditures of private colleges in the year 2006.�” Data in this table include 414 private and independent colleges that can issue diplomas independently.

What were the motives of the founders of private colleges? Although no

results based on serious independent research have been reported, common sense dictates that the founders of private colleges could obtain economic returns that were both certain and in some cases substantial, while providing society with educational opportunities. According to the Educational Law, educational institutions are not permitted to make a profit. However, this economic motivation for running private educational institutions is reflected in what might be described as a compromise provision in the Private Education Promotion Law, which allows for a �“reasonable return�” on investment. Theoretically, the economic returns received by college administrators could either be used for the construction of the infrastructure needed to expand the scale of the institution, or could be allocated as profit. Although the law does not allow administrators to make a profit, this is difficult to strictly monitor. In fact, it is well known that profit-making is prevalent (Yan, 2006; Wu & Lu, 2008). In sum, the administrators of private college have a number of different motives. Training individuals to meet society�’s needs and opening up diverse educational


opportunities are among them, but profit-making cannot be ignored and is indeed a crucially important motivation. Therefore, a paradoxical situation is created. If private colleges could obtain public financial support, they could reduce their dependence on tuition. But given the fact that profit-making is one of their core motivations, they cannot guarantee that any government funding they might obtain would be used for teaching and other public services. This in turn discourages government investment.

Making or seeking a profit is reflected in many aspects of private college management, beginning with the form of governance. Although the law requires private colleges to establish a board of directors or council as a decision-making body, such bodies are mainly designed to satisfy an outside requirement in most cases. In fact, important decisions are normally made by a few founders and administrators, and some private colleges even use a kind of family-style management, whereby finances and human resources are managed by family members (Yan, 2007). Second, driven by the profit motive, many private colleges take the expansion of the institution�’s size and scale as a central goal of development because student enrollment is closely correlated to educational resources. Only when a school�’s educational resources are guaranteed can quality and other issues be addressed. Third, private colleges spend a large portion of their resources on land acquisition and the construction of buildings and other kinds of infrastructure, while investment in teaching is relatively low (Yan, 2008). In addition, the educational quality of private colleges is also relatively low. To some extent, this is due to government restrictions on private colleges, such as enrollment restrictions that allow private colleges only to enroll students with relatively low scores in the national university entrance exam. Due to their relatively short histories and low social standing, job security and staff social benefits are also poor in private colleges, which results in a lack of stable or high-level faculty. Fourth, private colleges mainly run on tuition with few other financial resources. Private college students pay more tuition than public college students, and few private colleges have student scholarship systems. Fifth, under the market mechanism, private colleges are like enterprises�—the fittest will survive and the unfit will be eliminated. According to an incomplete statistic, a total of 453 private colleges closed between 1993 and 2007. Most were private higher education institutions.3 Between 1993 and 2002, the office in charge of private education in Shaanxi Province approved 145 private higher education institutions, but 91 of them either merged with others or were closed (Wu & Lu, 2008). Over the next few years, it is predicted that the size and even the survival 3 Colleges qualified to issue diplomas independently are called private colleges. Those without this qualification can only use self-taught examinations to support student learning; they are called private higher education institutions.


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of private colleges will be affected by a decrease in the college-aged population. The special characteristics demonstrated by China�’s private higher education

system are closely related to China�’s social conditions at the present time. Is this a problematic situation? From the perspective of the practical conditions in China�’s private higher education it is still possible for an equilibrium to be reached under this market mechanism. Six hundred and forty private colleges have provided higher education opportunities for four million students and, in doing so, have made up for the inadequacy of public resources and the limitations in opportunities for public higher education. As a result, the level achieved by these institutions is increasing and their educational quality is improving. Therefore, adding the term �“commercial�” to �“civil society�” in the Chinese context may not necessarily be viewed as something negative. It simply expresses more precisely the existing conditions surrounding China�’s current private higher education system.

A Re-Interpretation of Commercial Civil Society and the Characteristics of China�’s Private Colleges

The three private colleges chosen for Hayhoe�’s book belong to the top tier of China�’s private colleges. They have currently reached the highest possible level of development due to the fact that they have been authorized by the government to issue bachelor degrees independently. As a whole, China�’s private higher education system is more diverse and complex than can be represented by these three colleges. The concept of commercial civil society probably better reflects the overall situation of China�’s private higher education, although it can also be used to analyze the three elite colleges included in Hayhoe�’s book. We will now take the term commercial civil society as a starting point to provide a interpretation for some of the topics in Hayhoe�’s book that we see as supplementary to the material in the three chapters on private institutions. �“Commercial civil society�” is a compound term. We will first discuss the meaning of �“civil society�” in terms of the three private colleges in her book. Next, we will explain the meaning of the term �“commercial�” in this context.

Compared to the period of time before China�’s economic reform and opening- up, the background to the rise of China�’s civil society and its influence on private higher education is mainly reflected in the following areas. First, the reform and opening-up provided a relatively free social space for China. Such educational reforms as decentralization and diversification not only stimulated the initial emergence of China�’s private higher education, but also allowed it to develop into the size and scale it is today. The second point worthy of mention is the increased demand for education. Throughout China�’s history, the system of


imperial examinations resulted in a high correlation between education and social status. Individuals could achieve a dramatic level of social mobility through forms of education that enabled them to pass the imperial examinations. This has caused Chinese people to value education highly. The implementation of a leftist line during the Cultural Revolution weakened education�’s social mobility function and replaced academic criteria for enrollment, associated with the meritocratic national university entrance examinations, by those of �“red�” family background and �“correct�” political beliefs. The economic reforms of 1978, in turn, called for more talent to serve economic development, and education again become the engine for social mobility. This led to a huge increase in the social demand for education, including higher education. Without this social mobility mechanism, private higher education would not have developed into what it is today.

Third, the appearance of the private higher education subsystem has, to some extent, addressed the issue of constraints on the government�’s financial capacity and increased the supply of higher education. Some private colleges actively seek to develop a market �“niche,�” which can effectively respond to both the social demand for education and market demands for employment. Fourth, in an open society, founders and administrators of private schools are more ready to be innovative and initiate change when they have more decision-making power. This allows charismatic individuals to demonstrate their initiative and entrepreneurship. Fifth, with the accumulation of individual wealth, founders and leaders began to use donations to demonstrate their commitment to the public welfare.

On the other hand, for the reasons mentioned above, the three private colleges in Hayhoe�’s portraits also show a �“commercial�” side in their development experience. This so-called commercial side indicates that there is a market supply and demand relationship between private college founders/administrators and their students. In this relationship, founders and administrators seek to minimize costs and maximize their profits. Similarly, in order to accomplish their profit goals, the management style tends to be centralized. Based largely on the survey data from the three private colleges discussed in Hayhoe�’s book, the commercial characteristics of private colleges can be analyzed along the following three lines: the institutional governance model, sources of financial resources and their use, and internal management.

The first case discussed in the book is the Yellow River University of Sciences and Technology.4 It is a pioneer among China�’s private colleges and was the first 4 Although the Ministry of Education only allows these institutions to call themselves colleges, most are recognized at the provincial level as universities and so the term university has been used in Hayhoe�’s book for all three private institutions.


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private college authorized by the government to independently issue associate degrees and bachelor degrees respectively. The development of this college started from scratch. It then grew from small to large, despite the fact that the initial investment of the founder was under one hundred Chinese yuan. With its increasing size, assets began accumulating and the educational level began to improve. As a result, the quality of education also improved. This institution now has over 20 000 students, including undergraduate and associate-degree students, and also students enrolled in programs to prepare themselves for the national self-study examinations in higher education. The developmental characteristic of focusing on enrollment size and a diversified student composition is determined by the fact that the college�’s educational resources come mainly from tuition. The income and expenditure statistics for the college are listed in Table 4. As indicated in the income column, the major income source for this college is tuition, which accounts for 90 % of the total revenue. As shown in the expenditure column, the costs associated with construction account for 37�–42 % of expenses. This has inevitably reduced the funds available for teaching and thus had a negative effect on the quality of education during a specific time period at least. Of course, with the completion of the infrastructure, the market mechanism will force private colleges to increase their investment in education and the quality of teaching in order to increase their competitiveness. Another important expense is student recruitment, which accounts for 5 % of total expenditures. This indicates the intensity of competition to attract students. Lastly, we look at the college�’s management style. According to the data provided in the book, several family members of the college�’s founder are involved in its management and so it might be described as typifying a family-style management ethos.

Table 4 Income and expenditure composition of Yellow River University of Science and Technology

Income Percentage (%) Expenditure Percentage (%)

Tuition 90 Faculty salaries 20

Companies owned by the institution 10 Teaching 18

Total 100 Logistical service 10

Student recruitment 5

Scholarships 5�–10

Buildings 37�–42

Total 100

Source: Hayhoe, Lin, & Tang, �“Yellow River University of Science and TechnologyúPioneer of private higher education.�”

The second portrait in the book is of Xi�’an International University. This


college focuses on providing higher education opportunities for students who do not have the chance to attend public colleges or universities. Reflecting a traditional Chinese understanding of the power of education, the mission of the college is to �“transform fish into dragons.�” The founder of this college has an entrepreneurial spirit and chose a path that incorporates the market mechanism into its administration. He not only runs schools in the city of Xi�’an, but has also purchased schools in other areas, including northeastern and southern China. The use of entrepreneurship to find new solutions for the employment of its graduates is another characteristic of this college. In addition, this college collaborates with the Australian organization for Technical and Further Education (TAFE), which means some programs are run jointly, a relationship that helps it to take a path of internationalization.

With over 40 000 students, Xi�’an International University is a large college. Its founder claims that his style of operation has changed with the development of the university. His original goal was to establish an elite, small-scale private college. He feared that if enrollment grew too high, the quality of the student body would inevitably decrease, thereby preventing the quality of education from reaching its potential. The market was chaotic, however, and quality was difficult to measure and not easily recognized. As a result, he eventually chose to dramatically expand the scale of the college. From the perspective of income and expenditures (Table 5), Xi�’an International University is similar to the case of Yellow River; tuition accounts for over 90 % of the total revenue. In the annual expenditure, the cost of infrastructure construction accounted for 36.6 %. Because the college tends towards a centralized management style, the founder makes the most important decisions by himself.

Table 5 Income and Expenditure Composition of Xi�’an International University in 2005

Income Percentage (%) Expense Percentage (%)

Tuition 93.4 Recurrent 63.4

School-based enterprises 6.2 Capital 36.6

Donations 0.4 Total 100

Total 100

Source: A talk given by the President of the college at the �“China-Japan Higher Education Funding Symposium,�” Peking University, September 17�–18, 2006.

The third college portrayed in Hayhoe�’s book is Blue Sky University. Of the

three colleges, Blue Sky is the largest one among the three cases in the book, with 50 000 students currently enrolled. Much like the two previous colleges, Blue Sky�’s funding is mainly dependent on tuition, and a large portion of the expenditures goes to infrastructure (Table 6).


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Table 6 Income and Expenditure Composition of Blue Sky University

Income Percentage (%) Expenditure Percentage (%)

Tuition 98�–99 Faculty salaries 15�–22

Service 1�–2 Teaching + students financial aid + administration + saving 18

Total 100 Repayment to loans 20

Buildings 35�–40

Total 100

Source: Lin, & Zha, �“Blue Sky: A university for the socially marginalized.�” A look at the creation and development of these three colleges shows clearly

that they should be seen in relation to the rise of China�’s civil society. They reflect the changes in China�’s social environment that have accompanied the formation of civil society and they have also contributed to its development. On the other hand, the colleges�’ commercial nature is also obvious from their patterns of expansion, the composition of income and expense in their budgetary overviews and the management style. Seeing them as civil society organizations with these marked features of commercialism, we are able to obtain a relatively complete and realistic picture of China�’s private higher education system.

The General Meaning of Commercial Civil Society

Are the market behavior and profit making characteristics of China�’s private higher education system unique? Since the 1990s, private higher education has expanded rapidly throughout the world, demonstrating several noteworthy trends, some of which are similar to the developments we have noted in private higher education in China.

What is the driving force behind the development of private higher education? Because public funding cannot satisfy the social demand in terms of both the amount and type of education available, private education has expanded rapidly.This expansion can thus be seen as a response to the contradiction between the social demand for education and the supply of publicly sponsored education. Furthermore, the global driving force for internationalization and marketization has caused the market to play an even larger role in educational development than ever before. Only the United States and a few other countries rely on donations as the funding source for private colleges. For most countries, private higher education relies mainly on income from tuition.

A number of features of private higher education around the world have been identified (Altbach & Levy, 2005). The first is diversity. From the point of view of the private higher education system, there are a few �“elite type�” and


�“semi-elite type�” private universities. There are also �“mass type�” private universities that probably account for the majority of private institutions. Finally, there are education and training institutions known as pseudo-universities. In terms of educational values, institutional goals and management styles, many private universities have obvious differences from traditional �“elite type�” universities. The latter are academically oriented and characterized by academic freedom and an autonomous management system. �“Elite type�” and �“semi-elite type�” private universities are only present in a few countries, including the United States, Japan, Korea, and Brazil. Even in the United States, with its long history of private higher education, only a few private universities belong to the elite type. Most private universities are still average mass-type universities.

The second feature might be defined as spontaneity. The diversity of private higher education development has mainly come about spontaneously. It is the result of the free development of individual private higher education institutions and, in many ways, it exceeds any governmental expectations. In other words, the basic developmental pattern of private higher education has not come about through the plan or predesign of governments, but has resulted from a �“bottom up�” developmental path in most countries.

The third feature might be described as being unsystematic or even disorderly. Private higher institutions have developed spontaneously, each with their own rationale. From the perspective of the traditional public higher education system, however, they may be evaluated differently. The result of the spontaneous creation of private higher education institutions has been an increase in enrollment and educational opportunities. At the same time, many private colleges are profit-oriented, and have highly centralized and even family-style management systems. They may focus on enrollment and overlook educational quality. They are likely to employ a large number of part-time teachers and some use tricky marketing techniques and exaggerated advertisements to attract students. The most serious cases even involve illegal management practices or other forms of cheating and result in having to be shut down.

It seems clear that profit-making is not a phenomenon unique to China�’s private higher education system but is one of the products of the development of the market economy. It is universal. Under the current global privatization trends, this profit making orientation not only influences private higher education institutions, but also public higher education institutions. In the United States, for example, public universities have also participated in a certain level of profit-making activities in recent years. Some have collaborated with for-profit organizations, causing them to lose some of their privileges as non-profit institutions. For example, according to a 1991 survey of 395 universities conducted by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, universities put 89 % of their donations into financial investment


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instruments (Goul & Borowki, 1993, p. 80). In addition, universities collaborated with enterprises on research projects, and the products of these projects were treated as private property rather than being available as a public good. Another highly debated activity is the commercial nature of university sporting events (Goul & Borowki, 1993, p. 88).

Summary

China�’s economic reform and opening-up and the social transformation accompanying it, have changed China�’s patterns of social mobility. Whereas social mobility was closely connected to family background, political standing and other given factors in the early decades after 1949, it now relies on an individual�’s education level, work performance and other qualities that can be acquired through effort. This change has restored a longstanding Chinese tradition of relying on education to change one�’s fate. These developments, along with government decentralization and the expansion of civil society participation (which had been interrupted for 30 years), allowed China�’s private higher education system to resume in the 1980s. The system has continued to grow and increase higher education opportunities, thereby supporting the move to mass higher education in China.

Under the country�’s current social conditions, the emerging civil society is still under the influence of market forces. On the spectrum from public organizations, to non-profit organizations and then for-profit organizations, China�’s private colleges are closest to for-profit organizations. Therefore, the concept of commercial civil society can, to a certain degree, more accurately reflect the characteristics of the current private higher education system in the context of contemporary Chinese society. Of course, not all private colleges are the same and thus specific issues need to be dealt through analysis of individual cases. For certain private colleges, the conclusions drawn here may be inaccurate.

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Commercial Civil Society: A Perspective on Chinese Private Higher Education

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