Chapter 2 Establishment
Section 2 Establishment of branch campuses and divisions of junior colleges and institutions of higher education
Article 8
A university applying to establish a branch campus or division shall take into due consideration its resources and regional needs and shall submit a branch establishment plan or division establishment plan respectively. A public university shall submit its establishment plan to the MOE for ratification after it has been approved by the university council; a private university shall submit its establishment plan to the MOE for ratification after it has been approved by its university affairs committee and by its board of directors.
The establishment plan to establish a university branch campus or division referred to in the previous paragraph shall give explicit details of the following:
1. The origin of the establishment plan
2. The overall development strategy and its features; and for a division, the nature of its establishment.
3. The planned teaching units and administrative units.
4. Current teaching staff situation and planned future teaching staff appointments.
5. The planned books, apparatus and instruments, and other teaching equipment and facilities.
6. An inventory of all land, location map(s), and a description of the environment.
7. Documentary evidence of land ownership or consent for its use.
8. Financial plan, and funding sources, and supporting documentary evidence.
9. Building layout of the branch campus or division.
10.Plan regarding the relationship with the parent university
A university that is setting up a branch campus overseas shall lodge an application to do so with the overseas government after the establishment plan referred to in the previous paragraph has been approved by the MOE. The university shall then apply to the MOE to be registered after obtaining permission in writing from the government of the country or district where the branch campus is being set up.
An academia-industry cooperation division set up by a university is not permitted to set up any college, institute, department, subject, or degree program structure, or any teaching or recruitment units subordinate to any academic program. But in-service professional programs which have been set up to cater to regional demand are not subject to this restriction.
Article 9
The establishment of a branch campus by a university shall be in compliance with the following provisions:
1. Application criteria:
(1) The establishment of the branch campus will facilitate the university's future development, and meet national social and regional needs; establishing a branch campus is not permitted to adversely affect the existing rights and interests of the current teachers and students.
(2) A university applying to establish an overseas branch campus shall have been evaluated by the MOE as running its operations well, with an outstanding performance, and have had no shortfalls in its final accounts in the most recent three years.
(3) The site of the parent institution or the site of any of its MOE approved division(s) or branch campus(es) that was required to be developed has already been completely developed.
2. Branch campus establishment criteria:
(1) Any branch campus established in the Republic of China (hereunder abbreviated to “the ROC”) shall be in compliance with the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph 2, and Article 6.
(2) Any branch campus that is established overseas shall be in compliance with principles of equality and the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located, and evidence that it is complying with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located shall be provided.
3. Branch campus establishment fund:
(1) The branch campus establishment fund shall be provided from the university’s self-generated income and accumulated surplus. The total amount invested into a division establishment fund by a private university or tertiary college is not permitted to exceed half of the surplus earnings that it has accumulated over the years, and it is not permitted to affect the operations of the parent university or college.
(2) A university is not permitted to extend its credit limit or borrow money from a domestic bank in the name of raising funds to establish a branch campus overseas, and it is also not permitted to use any of the university’s property or assets in the ROC as collateral to extend its credit limit or borrow money from an overseas bank.
(3) A university’s donation income derived within the ROC is not permitted to be used to establish a branch campus overseas. This restriction does not apply, however, if at the time of the donation the donor specifically indicated that the donation was for the university to use for setting up a branch campus overseas.
4. Organization of branch campuses:
(1) The establishment of the teaching units shall be undertaken applying, mutatis mutandis, the relevant provisions of the ordinances governing the establishment of the parent institution; the establishment of administrative units shall be undertaken in accordance with the provisions governing the establishment of the parent institution’s second tier administrative units. Any unit established overseas shall operate in accordance with the related ordinances in the country or district where it is located.
(2) The organizational structure of any branch campus shall be explicitly set out in the parent institution’s organizational charter and regulations or shall be separately formulated as authorized there, and be submitted to the MOE for ratification.
5. Employment of branch campus personnel:
(1) Branch campus president: one person shall be appointed to oversee the affairs of the branch campus. For a branch campus set up in the ROC, the president of the parent institution shall assign the vice president of the parent institution to take a concurrent post in accordance with the provisions of the University Act and related ordinances; for any branch campus set up overseas, the president of the parent institution shall assign a teaching staff member from the ROC to fill the post, and the term of the appointment and eligibility qualifications shall be determined by each university in accordance with its organizational charter and regulations. Employment of local people shall be undertaken in accordance with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located.
(2) Branch campus teaching staff: A branch campus set up overseas that appoints teaching staff members in the ROC shall do so acting in compliance with the related provisions of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators and relevant ordinances; Employment of local people shall be undertaken in accordance with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located.
6. Branch campus names: The name of a branch campus shall clearly indicate the parent institution that the branch campus belongs to and shall begin with the name of the administrative district where it is located.
Article 10
The establishment of a division by a university shall be in compliance with the following provisions:
1. Application criteria:
(1) The establishment of the division would facilitate the university's future development, and meet national social and regional needs; establishing a division is not permitted to adversely affect the existing rights and interests of the current teachers and students.
(2) A university applying to establish a division overseas shall have been evaluated by the MOE as running its operations well, with an outstanding performance, and have had no shortfalls in its final accounts in the most recent three years.
(3) The site of the parent institution or the site of any of its MOE approved division(s) or branch campus(es) that was required to be developed has already been completely developed.
2. Criteria for establishing a division:
(1) A division established in the ROC shall be in compliance with the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph 2; the site of a division for teaching purposes shall have an area of at least two hectares. The site shall have an area of at least four hectares available for development and use; the required per student floor area of the buildings shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Standards for Student Admission Quotas and Resources at Institutions of Higher Education.
(2) A division established overseas shall be in compliance with principles of equality and with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located, and evidence that it is complying with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located shall be provided.
3. Division establishment fund:
(1) The division establishment fund shall be provided from the university’s self-generated income and accumulated surplus. The total amount invested into a division establishment fund by a private university or tertiary college is not permitted to exceed half of the surplus earnings that it has accumulated over the years, and it is not permitted to affect the operations of the parent university or college.
(2) A university is not permitted to extend its credit limit or borrow money from a domestic bank in the name of raising funds to establish a division overseas, and it is also not permitted to use any of the university’s property or assets in the ROC as collateral to extend its credit limit or borrow money from an overseas bank.
(3) A university’s income derived from donations in the ROC is not permitted to be used to establish an overseas division. This restriction does not apply if, at the time the donation was made, the donor designated that their donation to the university was to be used for setting up an overseas division.
4. Division organization: The organizational structure of divisions shall be explicitly set out in the parent institution’s organizational charter and regulations and be reported to and ratified by the MOE. When necessary, branch units may be set up; the setting up of the teaching and/or administrative units of a division established overseas may be undertaken in accordance with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located.
5. Appointment of division personnel:
(1) Division director: One person shall be appointed to assist running the division. For a division set up in the ROC, the president of the parent institution shall appoint a teacher at the parent institution at the professor rank to the post; for a division set up overseas, the president of the parent institution shall assign a teaching staff member from the ROC to fill the post, and the term of the appointment and eligibility qualifications shall be determined by each university in accordance with its organizational charter and regulations. Employment of local people shall be undertaken in accordance with the related ordinances of the country or district where it is located.
(2) Division teaching staff: A division set up overseas employing teaching staff in the ROC shall do so acting in compliance with the pertinent provisions of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators and relevant ordinances; the employment of teaching staff locally shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the related ordinances in the country or district where it is located.
6. Division names: A division’s name shall clearly indicate the parent institution that the division belongs to and shall begin with the name of the administrative district where the division is located; a division that is an academia-industry cooperation division shall clearly indicate that it is in its name after the name of the administrative district.
Article 11
The operations of a university's overseas branch campus or division shall be supervised by its parent university, and its finances shall be clearly partitioned from those of its parent university. Each overseas branch campus or division shall set up and maintain independent account books, under the supervision of its parent university.
Article 12
If a branch campus or division that a university has established overseas operates in violation of the provisions of relevant ordinances, or if there are specific facts sufficient to prove that the branch campus or division is detrimentally affecting the operations of its parent university in the ROC, and the MOE has ordered that the situation be improved within a prescribed period, and this has not been done by the deadline, the MOE may reduce the university's awards and/or subsidies, and, when necessary, may revoke the approval given to the university to establish an overseas branch campus or division.
Article 13
If a junior college applies to establish a branch campus or division, apart from the site of any teaching division having an area of at least two hectares available for development and use, the provisions of each article from Article 8 to the previous article are applicable, mutatis mutandis, to any other related establishment plan, establishment criteria, application procedure, and establishment procedures and specifications.