Problems in the Establishment of Majors at Private Undergraduate Institutions, Contributing Factors, and Countermeasures: Based on a Survey of 129 Private Undergraduate Institutions

Abstract In this key period for the transformation and development of private undergraduate institutions, problems in the establishment of majors have been more pronounced. The survey shows that the current process for the establishment of majors at private undergraduate institutions still exhibits issues such as homogenization, a bias toward low-cost majors, disconnection from society’s needs, undiversified quantitative expansion, and so on. Conceptual deficiencies, a high degree of arbitrariness in decisions for the establishment of majors, a lack of procedures for execution, and suppression of needs on the front lines of teaching are among the fundamental causes for the problems which have emerged in the establishment of majors. The authors seek to provide relevant countermeasures from the perspective of restructuring the internal systems for the establishment of majors at private institutions of higher education.