Chung Hua University (CHU), amid declining enrollment, has agreed to merge with National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) and would cease enrolling students as early as next year.
Officials from the universities, both located in Hsinchu City, have reached a preliminary consensus on the merger, but have yet to go through the administrative procedures, CHU president Victor Liu (劉維琪) said on Friday.
Founded in 1990, privately run CHU had a total of 3,898 students enrolled during the 2023 academic year. Its student enrollment numbers have been declining steadily since the 2017 academic year, when it had 6,722 students enrolled.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
The merger and subsequent closure of the university follows a string of private university closures during the past decade, the most recent being TransWorld University, Tatung Institute of Technology and Mingdao University in July.
Liu said that CHU would prioritize the rights of its students and faculty in carrying out the merger.
Current students would be able to take courses that NTHU opens on the CHU campus, Liu said.
Regarding faculty, the school would look to the example set by the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) and Hwa Hsia University of Technology when they merged last year, which allowed the faculty to continue working at the school for six years.
CHU’s financial operations were sound, and the board would continue carrying out the mission of the university, which is to cultivate technological talent for the country, Liu said.
The university agreed to donate its campus and assets to NTHU, Liu added.
The merger would be similar to the NTUST and Hwa Hsia University of Technology merger last year, the first between a public and a private university in Taiwan, NTHU president John Kao (高為元) said
Under that model, CHU would stop enrolling new students as early as the next academic year, with its existing students studying as usual until graduating and receiving diplomas. After the CHU students graduate, NTHU would take over CHU’s campus and equipment, Kao said.
However, NTHU has yet to internally discuss the issue, he added.
NTHU’s College of Semiconductor Research has expressed an interest in setting up courses and equipment on the CHU campus and establish a “Tsing Hua Square Technology Park.” Other departments of the university have also expressed similar interests, which need to be thoroughly discussed, Kao said.
NTHU said in a statement on Thursday that CHU is near the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which provides a geological advantage for cultivating semiconductor talent and developing the industry.
The Ministry of Education on Friday said that it had not received merger plans from the two schools.
It said that after the plan is submitted, it would ensure the rights of existing students and faculty and provide assistance.
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