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Score of universities face big enrollment shortfalls

By Wu Po-hsuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer


Twenty-three universities are facing enrollment shortfalls this year, with six private schools seeing only half of their expected numbers, a trend some experts yesterday said was a direct result of the nation’s declining birthrate.
The College Entrance Examination Enrollment Distribution Committee yesterday released the placement list for those who passed the exam, which listed placements for just over 43,000 students.
The placements accounted for 97.11 percent of those who passed this year’s exam — a seven-year high — but a total of 203 departments at 23 schools are affected, the committee said.
The six private schools are Mingdao University, Huafan University, Hsuan Chuang University, the University of Kang Ning, Kainan University and Chung Hua University.
“Although some of these schools had similarly low enrollment numbers between 2008 and 2010, this year’s overall situation is historically the worst faced by the schools to date,” a committee member said.
The nation’s declining birth rate is one reason for the low numbers, but the departments experiencing an enrollment crisis might simply not be the first choice of the examinees, and those departments might need to make changes in the future, said National Cheng Kung University president Su Huey-jen (蘇慧貞), who serves as the committee’s director.
“If you look at the schools that are having trouble finding students, you might find similarities in their programs, such as those for electrical and mechanical machinery, which in general are having trouble attracting students. Schools might have to find ways to emphasize the uniqueness of their own programs,”committee school assignment team leader Wang Shih-hao (王士豪) said.
National schools are also experiencing lower than normal enrollment, such as National Taichung University of Education, National Pingtung University, National Dong Hwa University, National Hsinchu University of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University and National University of Kaohsiung, the committee said.
However, the majority of the programs in trouble at these schools are in music or other departments in which very specific skills are required.

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160813075956694