A Study on the Public Opinion on the Issue of Cost Sharing in Higher Education in Taiwan

摘要

Since the 90s, the numbers of schools and students in higher education have been surging in Taiwan. Net enrollment rate rate had exceeded 15% in the academic year of 1988 and later on exceeded 50% in the academic year of 2004. Ever since then, higher education in Taiwan entered the stage of what Trow (1974) called 'universal education.' However, the government budget was not able to increase at the same rate commensurate with the expansion of higher education. As a result, education resources were diluted and some schools even encountered financial difficulties. In order to maintain the quality of education, schools had to looked for other financial sources, one of which being tuition rise.