At this stage, it is a critical period for 25 years to choose a school for graduate school, and in addition to being a student who is trying to collect information to choose, many colleges and universities are also trying to improve themselves.
There are many two colleges and universities that have been upgraded from two to one, such as Harbin Normal University, Nanning Normal University, Xinyang Normal University, Anhui Jianzhu University, Chongqing University of Technology, Hefei University, Hunan University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Dalian University, etc.
Many students may be restricted because of their background, or they may be transferred to two colleges by mistake, if the school can be successfully upgraded to a university, this is of course great news for students!
In addition to the promotion of two books to one, there are also some independent colleges that are accelerating the transformation, merging, transferring, and terminating the school, and even some independent colleges are directly integrated into the development of the parent university campus, directly "upgraded" to become "985"!
What is the specific situation, let's take a look with the editor today!
The difference between a branch school and a branch school district
When choosing a school, many students see that some universities have branch campuses, and they make mistakes
- How come China University of Geosciences has two schools, Beijing and Wuhan?
- In addition to the main campus, why does Northeastern University also have Qinhuangdao Campus and Foshan Campus?
-Why are the main departments and branches recruiting graduate students in my target major?
When you talk about these colleges, you will think that they are branch schools of the school, and you are likely to immediately think of "three books" and "private schools", but in fact, this is a misunderstanding of partial generalization.
So if you see a branch campus when choosing a school, and at the same time you are recruiting graduate students in your target major?
To answer this question, we must first learn to distinguish between "branch campuses" and "branch campuses". In many cases, people are accustomed to referring to "branch campuses" and "branch campuses" as "branch campuses", but there are significant differences between the two.
Branch schools: most of them are independent of the "school" in terms of teaching management;
Branch Campus: Most of them refer to the "branch of the university" that is consistent with the "university" except for the geographical location, and is directly under the leadership of the "main campus" in all aspects.
So the question that we graduate students are most concerned about is, is the graduation certificate of the graduate school of the branch school the same as that of this school?
Taking Northeastern University Qinhuangdao as an example, we can see that the degree certificate and graduation certificate of Qinhuangdao branch are completely consistent with those of the main school, and are issued by the main school.
In addition to the same scholarship at the main campus, there is also a scholarship for new master's students.
It can be said that although Northeastern University Qinhuangdao Branch is affiliated with the "main university", it actually maintains an independent "branch school" and has great autonomy in terms of enrollment and administrative management.
Therefore, the editor suggests:
If the target institution you want to apply for has a branch campus and is recruiting graduate students in your target major at the same time, you should not blindly apply for the examination, but also go to the official website of the graduate school to check the admission brochure and confirm it before making a decision.
Because there are also some branch campuses, which are jointly established by the school headquarters, local governments, and private capital, and are affiliated to the "school" but basically operate independently, they are generally called "independent colleges".
Due to the need to improve the relevant policies, there are great differences in the nature of such "branch campuses", which can be said to be "the same branch campuses, but different fates".
So how do we tell the difference? This has to start with the origin of the "independent college".
Sources of Independent Colleges
At the end of the 90s, Chinese universities began to expand their enrollment, and the country hoped to train more college students and improve the quality of talents. However, at that time, the number of universities in the mainland was far less than now, and it was difficult to meet the requirements of university enrollment, and it was urgent to open some new universities.
However, at that time, the financial situation of the provincial governments on the mainland did not allow the opening of new schools, and they began to seek help from social forces.
As a result, with the support of national policies and the help of social forces, independent colleges sprung up in the late 90s and early 21st centuries.
The emergence of independent colleges fully demonstrates the perfect cooperation between the government, the university, and the social forces: the government provides land, the university provides teachers, and the social forces contribute money.
Students enrolled in independent colleges, in addition to different fees, have the same treatment and graduate employment policies as non-private universities, and are awarded independent college diplomas after graduation.
The editor will give an example to help you better understand↓↓↓
Jincheng College of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the ordinary university (applicant) is Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the social force (collaborator) is Nanjing Jincheng Group.
Tuition:
Because it is a private enterprise, the tuition fee of China Southern Airlines Jincheng is higher than that of China Southern Airlines, which is between 14,000 yuan ~ 15,000 yuan per academic year (15,000 yuan per academic year for engineering majors; 14,000 yuan per academic year for humanities and social sciences majors);
The tuition fee of China Southern Airlines, except for the majors of Sino-foreign cooperative education, the tuition fees of other non-Sino-foreign cooperative majors are more than 5000~6000 yuan per academic year.
Certificate:
Both the graduation certificate and the degree certificate are issued by Jincheng College of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, not Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
School Level:
A full-time undergraduate school, not a junior college.
In summary, the characteristics of almost all independent colleges in China are as follows:
1. The name of the school is named by XX University + XX College;
2. Private;
3. Tuition fees are not cheap, all of them reach five figures;
4. The graduation certificate and degree certificate are different from those of the "parent school";
5. Be a full-time undergraduate.
Independent colleges, in the 90s of the last century, in the special background of the expansion of colleges and universities, played an important role in promoting the popularization of higher education in the mainland, but also brought about the "school in the school", "three books" graduation directly into "one", management chaos and other drawbacks, the call for independent colleges to be set up for a long time.
The Ministry of Education issued the "Implementation Plan on Accelerating the Conversion of Independent Colleges", which clarified that by the end of 2020, all independent colleges need to formulate a work plan for the conversion, and at the same time promote the conversion of a number of independent colleges.
As a result, these independent colleges began to look for ways out one after another, and some of them directly "upgraded to 985".
These independent colleges upgrade "985"
At the beginning of April this year, members of the Standing Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Binhai New Area Party Committee investigated the Binhai College of Nankai University. In the near future, Binhai College of Nankai University will be merged into the parent school and become the new campus of Nankai University.
*Binhai College of Nankai University will be converted into Binhai Campus of Nankai University
The transfer path of independent colleges into the development of the parent university campus is not only a sample of Binhai College of Nankai University.
In April 2019, the Ministry of Education officially approved the construction of the Zhuhai campus of Beijing Normal University. The campus was transformed from the Zhuhai branch of Beijing Normal University (the school category was designated as an independent college).
*Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus was officially approved
According to the Ministry of Education's letter document, Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Branch has reduced its enrollment plan year by year since 2019, stopped recruiting students in 2021, and will terminate its operation in 2024. After the closure of the school, the rights and obligations of the graduated students will be fully undertaken by the parent school, Beijing Normal University Zhuhai Campus.
In addition, the independent colleges that have been converted into the 985 campus include Jinling College of Nanjing University and Zhuhai College of Beijing Institute of Technology.
In addition to these four "upgraded to 985", there are also some universities seeking mergers on their own, such as Beihai College of Beihang University and Beihai Campus of Guilin University of Electronic Science and Technology, which are planned to merge and transform into "Guangxi Ocean University".
The conversion of other "independent colleges" is relatively "miserable", and there are three main paths: turning into a private college, turning into a public school, or terminating the school.
*Image source network
Although in May 2020, the Ministry of Education clarified that by the end of 2020, all independent colleges need to formulate a transfer work plan, however, due to the impact of various practical factors such as the epidemic, the transfer of independent colleges has been stalled for nearly three years. As of June 2023, there are still more than 160 independent colleges in operation on the mainland.
It was not until November 2023 that the conversion of independent colleges was announced again, and the development of independent colleges returned to our field of vision.
Perhaps, merging, transferring or terminating the operation of the school means that the familiar alma mater in the memory of a group of people is becoming unfamiliar, or even gradually "disappearing". However, with more than 160 independent colleges finding their own way out, the connotative development of China's higher education will also reach a new level.
Finally, I would like to say:
Many of our students are going to graduate school in order to "go to the next level", not only to improve their academic qualifications, but also to go to the school level.
Then when you choose a school, you can also consider the branch of the institution as appropriate, the competitive pressure will be a little less than that of the school, and sharing resources with the school is actually a wise choice.
Come on, future graduate students!