ABSTRACT
The context of higher education (HE) massification in China was distinctly different from that of Western countries such as the United States and United Kingdom. Independent colleges have experienced two stages of development, including the emergence and development of secondary colleges and the subsequent transformation of secondary colleges into independent colleges. Secondary colleges emerged when public universities encountered difficulties in their expansion process. In the context of HE massification, one of the most severe challenges faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) was to maintain quality while expanding capacity. Particularly, deficient public funding became a main impediment to the HE massification process. In this case, several universities introduced private funds to establish new colleges – i.e., secondary colleges. Unlike the regular colleges or faculties of the universities, which operate by public funding, secondary colleges rely exclusively on private funding. University-owned and privately operated secondary colleges contributed significantly to HE massification in China.
