To understand how a student would move through Taiwan’s education system, please click on: Taiwan Education Structure
Taiwan is currently undergoing rapid changes in its current system. A phased implementation of a 12 year compulsory education will be in effect beginning in the academic year 2014. The extension of compulsory education from 9 years to 12 years can be seen as movement to “Westernize” the current structure as many East Asian countries do not have such an extensive period of compulsory education.
In 2002, the Ministry of Education announced the Multiple Examination Program. Senior high school students now have two ways to enter a university:
1) Via application or recommendation screening, or
2) Via examination and placement.
This program relieves students of taking a single examination in July as the sole way of entering into a university. (Chen, 2012, pg. 141).
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance is maintained by the Ministry of Education throughout primary school to upper secondary school. Higher education is accredited by an external organization, Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT). The agency was established in 2005 and is endowed by both the government and 157 institutions. HEEACTÂ model of accreditation and quality assurance features peer review and on-site visit evaluation. It offers program and institutional accreditation. There are 5 accreditation standards:
1) Goals and features of the institute. Also, the mechanisms for self-improvement in that institute.
2) Instruction and curriculum time and quality
3) Student learning and student affairs
4) Research output & professional development performance of graduates
Medical and nursing programs have their separate accreditation council: Taiwan medical accreditation council and Taiwan nursing accreditation council, respectively. They are both under HEEACT, but are a specialized committee.
Institutions can be either accredited, conditionally accredited (Accredited partially and will have to be reviewed again by the HEEACT in 1 year), or not accredited.
Other than the HEEACT, Taiwan also has other localized non-governmental accreditors, such as: Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET), and the Taiwan Assessment Association.
