Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends.
Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed.
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education and sports science.
Photo courtesy of National Taiwan Normal University
NTNU provost Liu Mei-hui (劉美慧) on Sunday said that most of the programs were designed decades ago for teachers to advance their education, due to the difficulty in being admitted to graduate schools at the time.
Given that most educators in the past few years already entered the workforce with a postgraduate degree, most of the part-time master’s degree programs are no longer necessary, she said, adding that a small number of them would continue and a degree thesis would be replaced with a professional practice report.
National University of Tainan ended six part-time graduate degree programs in music, visual arts and design, and applied mathematics.
Most students in the programs were teachers, university chief secretary Lee Yu-chih (李郁緻) said.
The credit hour fee was NT$3,000 due to the higher costs of having lecturers working at night or on weekends, she said, adding that in-service students can apply for regular master’s degree programs at a lower credit hour fee of NT$1,500.
National Chung Hsing University discontinued the part-time graduate degree program “CTSP,” named after the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區).
University president Chan Fu-chih (詹富智) said the program was a funded project that used to approve an additional 140 students to different department every year.
It was removed as the project has ended and all the students have graduated, he said.
Many universities set up part-time postgraduate degree programs when many workers needed a master’s degree to negotiate a promotion and higher wages, former Providence University president Michael Chen (陳振貴) said.
Such programs are often more expensive, with credit hour fees of up to NT$6,000, he said.
However, as the birthrate continues to fall and workers with a postgraduate degree become common, the cancelation of part-time programs was inevitable, Chen said.
Meanwhile, universities added 60 programs this year, mostly in fields related to what President William Lai (賴清德) called “five trusted industry sectors” — semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), the military, security and surveillance, and next-generation communications — as well as global issues such as climate change, health promotion and society resilience, Ministry of Education data showed.
For example, National Taiwan University and Da-Yeh University established undergraduate programs in semiconductors, while National Kaohsiung Normal University launched a part-time master’s degree program in chips.
In digital information and AI, National Tsing Hua University created a medical informatics master’s program, Taipei Medical University established the Graduate Institute of Data Science, National Changhua University of Education formed the Intelligence Vehicle Engineering Department and National Ilan University created a part-time master’s degree program in computer science.
After universities apply to add or remove programs or departments, the Ministry of Education discusses the matter with other agencies to ensure that universities’ education programs align with national policies and private sector needs, official from the ministry’s Department of Higher Education Chen Kuang-ying (陳冠穎) said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
RSS