Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Promotion of Higher Education

（Adopted at the 42nd Session of the 14th Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on December 28, 2018）

Contents

Chapter I  General Provisions

Chapter II  Planning and Evaluation

Chapter III  School Running Independently According to Law

Chapter IV  Participation of Social Forces

Chapter V  Overall Planning and Guarantee

Chapter VI  Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I  General Provisions

Article 1 With a view to deepening the education reform, accelerating the building of first-class universities and disciplines, realizing the connotative development of higher education, improving the all-round quality of higher education, enhancing comprehensive strength of higher education and international competitiveness, better serving the "four centers" and the construction of the science and technology innovation center, serving the construction of the outstanding global city of Shanghai and serving the national strategy, these Regulations are formulated according to the Education Law of the People's Republic of China, the Higher Education Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and administrative regulations, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2 These Regulations shall be applicable to activities of the promotion of the development of higher education and related guarantee, services and management in the administrative area of this Municipality.

Article 3 The promotion of the development of higher education shall grasp the correct political direction, follow the rule of higher education and adhere to the principles of integrated government management, school running independently and social participation.

The higher education shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, implement the national education policy, adhere to the socialist orientation, serve the people, the rule and administration of the China Communist Party, serve the consolidation and development of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and serve the reform and opening up and socialist modernization construction.

Article 4 The higher education shall take morality education as the fundamental task, strengthen the ideal faith education, cultivate and practice the socialist core values, make the ideological value throughout the whole process of education and teaching, cultivate socialist builders and successors with the sense of social responsibility, innovation spirit and practice ability that shall develop in an all-round way, morally, intellectually, physically and aesthetically.

Article 5 The Municipal People's Government shall strengthen the overall management of the higher education in this Municipality, bring the development of higher education into the plan for national economic social development, deepen the comprehensive reform of higher education, guarantee the financial investment in higher education, establish the classification development system of higher education institutions, optimize the layout of higher education structure and the allocation of resources and realize the sustained and healthy development of the higher education undertaking.

This Municipality shall set up a coordinating mechanism for the reform and development of higher education, deliberate major guidelines and policies on the reform and development of higher education, coordinate and solve major problems and issues in the development of higher education.

Article 6 The municipal educational administration shall be in charge of the higher education work in this Municipality, promote and implement the reform and development of higher education.

The municipal departments of development and reform, finance, human resources and social security, compilation, planning and land resources, housing and urban and rural construction, technology, state assets supervision, economic information and taxation shall, according to their respective duties and functions, do a good job in the relevant work of the reform and development of higher education.

Article 7 The institutions of higher learning are qualified as legal persons according to law, run schools independently according to law and accept government administration and social supervision. Non-governmental institutions of higher learning have the same legal status as public institutions of higher learning.

The institutions of higher learning shall take the talent cultivation as the center, carry out teaching, scientific research, social services, innovation in cultural heritage and international exchanges and cooperation, establish the internal management system and operation mechanism with self-restraint and self-development, and take measures to improve the level and quality of education in an all-round way according to the school-running orientation and the needs of society.

Article 8 Enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, industry associations and other social organizations shall take the initiative to shoulder social responsibilities and participate in and support the development of higher education understanding in this Municipality.

Chapter II  Planning and Evaluation

Article 9 The municipal educational administration shall, jointly with the other relevant departments, prepare the development planning for higher education of this Municipality, determine the scale, level and structure of the talent training of higher education of this Municipality, the classification development system of higher education institutions and the layout of colleges and universities and disciplines, and the contents of development objectives, tasks and measures of higher education of this Municipality.

The development plan of higher education in this Municipality shall be implemented after the approval of the Municipal People's Government.

The relevant departments of the Municipal People's Government shall strictly carry out the development plan of higher education in this Municipality, and take the higher education development plan of this Municipality as a basis for adjustment of higher education institution setting up and, allocation of resources, capital construction and guarantee of conditions.

Article 10 To set up a higher education institution in this Municipality, it is imperative to have the conditions prescribed by laws and regulations, and conform to the national strategy, the city’s urban function orientation and the higher education development plan of this Municipality.

The Municipal People's Government shall formulate standards for the implementation of establishment of ordinary institutions of higher learning in this Municipality according to the standards set by the State for ordinary higher education institutions.

Article 11 This Municipality shall, according to the subject function of talent training, undertake the set-up and construction of scientific research types and disciplines and specialties, establish and improve the classification development system of higher education institutions, guide colleges and universities to clear school-running orientation and cultivate special talent suitable to the economic and social development.

The municipal departments of education, development and reform, human resources and social security, establishment and finance shall, in accordance with the position of higher education institutions run by the Municipal People's Government (hereinafter referred to as the local public universities) in the classification development system, determine the size of the school running, staffing standards, financial investment and other matters, and make dynamic adjustment according to the classification performance evaluation results of the school-running level.

Article 12 The Municipal People's Government shall, through such measures as key investment, policy support and resource guarantee, promote the construction of first-class universities and first-class disciplines in this Municipality.

This Municipality shall implement the construction plan of high-level local colleges and universities, promote the development of local colleges and universities, and improve the overall level of running local colleges and universities.

This Municipality shall implement the discipline construction plan, focusing on supporting the development of basic disciplines, frontier disciplines, characteristic disciplines, emerging disciplines, interdisciplinary disciplines, and disciplines urgently needed for national and regional economic and social development.

Article 13 Higher education institutions shall establish a scientific discipline and specialty setup mechanism based on the school-running orientation, the needs of economic and social development, enrollment, talent training and employment status of graduates, optimize the layout structure of disciplines and specialties, and improve the level of discipline construction.

The municipal educational administration shall guide and support the setting up and construction of new majors outside the undergraduate major catalogue issued by the State, and support the timely adjustment of majors and subjects of the higher education self-taught examination.

The municipal academic degrees committee shall, within the scope of authorization of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee, take the dynamic adjustment of degree authorization spots in overall co-ordination, and support higher education institutions to take the initiative to carry out the construction of degree authorized units and the construction and adjustment of degree authorization spots according to the school-running orientation and characteristics and in combination with the social needs.

Article 14 The municipal departments of education, development and reform, human resources and social security, and economic information shall take measures to promote the school-enterprise cooperation, the integration of production and education, guide colleges and higher occupation schools to make characteristic development, promote the construction of application-oriented universities, deepen comprehensive reforms of professional degree graduate education, and establish and improve the cultivation system of application-type talent linking education of colleges, higher vocational schools, application-oriented undergraduates and professional degree postgraduates.

Article 15 Higher education institutions shall establish and improve the systems of teachers' occupation training and development, teaching post duties, teaching standards and awards, and professor-teaching-undergraduate, strengthen the teaching incentive mechanism, and improve the education and teaching quality by strengthening the teaching investment and innovating the cultivation mode and mechanism and improving the teaching quality guarantee system and other measures.

Article 16 Higher education institutions shall establish an evaluation system of school running level and educational quality, improve the internal quality assurance system and mechanism, publish relevant information in time, issue annual quality reports and receive social supervision.

The municipal educational administration shall organize the evaluation of the school-running level, efficiency and education quality of local higher education institutions, and publish the evaluation results to the public.

The municipal educational supervision department shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations, exercise supervision and guidance on the standardized school-running of local colleges and universities in this Municipality, and conduct evaluation and monitoring of the development of higher education and the quality of higher education.

Article 17 Higher education institutions shall take the implementation of the fundamental task of morality education as the main content of higher education quality evaluation.

Higher education institutions shall take the performance of teacher ethics as the primary condition for the job appointment and evaluation, and improve the proportion of teaching performance in the job appointment and evaluation.

Higher education institutions shall carry out good faith education and strengthen the assessment of students' ideological and moral character.

Chapter III  School Running Independently According to Law

Article 18 Higher education institutions shall adhere to morality education and talent cultivation as the center of work, follow the rules of teaching and students' growth, play the main role of classroom teaching, strengthen the building of the school style, teaching style and study style, and improve students' ideological level, political consciousness, moral quality, cultural quality and professional skills to cultivate talent with both ability and political integrity and all-round development.

Article 19 The institutions of higher learning shall establish and improve the mechanism for running schools independently according to law, formulate the internal management system, implement school running activities and carry out independent management matters.

The institutions of higher learning shall formulate articles of association according to the law, and implement them after the approval of the approval organs as required, and designate specialized agencies to supervise the implementation of the articles of association.

Article 20 The institutions of higher learning shall improve the corporate governance structure and the internal management system according to the relevant regulations of the State and this Municipality.

Public colleges and universities shall adhere to and improve the president responsibility system under the leadership of the Party committee, and shall set up a school administration or a council according to the school charter to consult, deliberate and supervise major matters in schools.

Non-governmental colleges and universities shall strengthen the Party building, establish and perfect the mechanism of Party organization's participation in school decision-making and supervision, and shall establish the school council, board of directors or other form of decision-making body, and establish corresponding supervision mechanisms.

Higher learning institutions shall establish and improve organizational forms such as the teachers' congress, and establish and improve effective mechanisms for students to participate in school management and supervision.

Article 21 The institutions of higher learning shall independently set up the internal organization of teaching and scientific research according to the regulations. The establishment procedure, authority and governance structure of the internal organization shall be prescribed in the articles of association of the institutions of higher learning.

The teaching and scientific research institutions belonging to key support of the Municipal People's Government, and established by relying on the institutions of higher learning shall be given by the institutions of higher learning the relatively independent autonomy in the aspect of foreign business activities, financial management, personnel management, recruitment and talent training, in accordance with the provisions of the State and this Municipality.

The administrative officer in charge of the teaching and scientific research institution of a local public university may not be managed in accordance with the administrative rank. The relevant department and school of the Municipal People's Government shall guarantee his or her corresponding promotion, exchange, employment, remuneration and related treatment.

Article 22 A local public university shall independently formulate post setting programs and management methods in its personnel establishment, file them with the departments of education and human resources social security, and recruit employees independently, and conclude or terminate the employment contract according to law.

The municipal departments of establishment, education, human resources and social security shall listen to the opinions of colleges and universities when scientifically approving and dynamically adjusting the staffing of local public universities.

Article 23 Local public universities shall independently set up the evaluation methods and operation plans of professional titles of their teachers and related professional and technical personnel. After filing them with the departments of education and human resources and social security, they shall independently carry out the evaluation and appointment work in the approved proportion of post structure.

The municipal departments of education and human resources and social security shall determine and dynamically adjust the proportion of professional and technical post structure in local public universities according to the situation of school construction and development.

Article 24 Colleges and universities shall, according to the orientation of school running and the characteristics of the discipline field, research type and post type, independently set up a classification evaluation system for teachers and other professional and technical personnel.

Colleges and universities that exercise the classified evaluation system for teachers and other professional and technical personnel, shall formulate a scientific and reasonable classified evaluation standard so as to promote the classified development of talented people.

Article 25 Local public colleges and universities shall, on the principle of combination of incentives and constraints, independently determine the distribution scheme of performance-related pay in the total amount of performance-related pay.

The Municipal People's Government shall set up the income distribution system that is suitable for the characteristics of the higher education industry, scientifically ratify the total performance-related pay of local public universities, and establish a normal growth mechanism, so as to ensure the gradual increase of teachers' income. The awards for translation benefits of scientific and technological achievements, rewards above the provincial level for teaching and science and technology, expenses for personnel in competitive research projects and for the introduction of high-level personnel and personnel needed by teams, and funds derived from donations specified for personnel awards and other expenses shall not be included in the total amount of performance-related pay.

Article 26 Higher education institutions shall, according to the orientation and characteristics of school-running, establish and improve the system for teachers' access, training, assessment and flow; and improve the teachers’ occupation development mechanisms of fair competition, reasonable echelon and diversified development; and take independent and flexible employment according to needs of the education and teaching work.

Teachers of higher education institutions shall take the teaching and talent cultivation as the center, do well their job, impart knowledge and educate people, instruct and influence people by their word and deed; and shall abide by the code of occupational ethics, strengthen the building of teacher morality and style, behave themselves, make research and teaching by virtue.

Article 27 Higher education institutions shall maintain the school teaching and living order, guarantee students’ normal life and learning, guide students to consciously abide by the citizens’ moral norms and the school management system, improve their personal accomplishment and cultivate aesthetic sentiments; respect and protect the legitimate rights and interests of students, educate and guide students to undertake their due duty and responsibility.

Article 28 Higher education institutions shall improve the occupation guidance and service system, strengthen the teaching and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship, enhance the ability of students' employment and entrepreneurship; and through financial support and policy support, support the students to carry out innovation and career-starting activities; the flexible educational system or the relaxed length of schooling may be exercised for entrepreneurship students; and innovative and career-starting archives can be established, and credit of innovation and entrepreneurship set up.

This Municipality shall encourage colleges and universities to authorize students to use scientific and technological achievements through unpaid patents licensing and guide students to make innovation and start their own business.

The municipal departments of education, development and reform, science and technology, economic information, finance, human resources and social security shall co-ordinate the university science park, industrial park, business incubation base, venture capital fund and social intermediary agency, and create conditions for students to start businesses.

Article 29 Colleges and universities can arrange special funds in the department budget, and support teaching and scientific research personnel to carry out scientific research activities directed to the basic field and interdisciplinary field.

This Municipality shall encourage, support and guide colleges and universities to enhance cooperation and synergy innovation in production, study and research, promote transfer and translation of scientific and technological achievements, and improve the contribution of universities to industrial transformation and upgrading.

This Municipality shall encourage, support and guide colleges and universities to promote knowledge innovation, theoretical innovation and method innovation in the field of humanities and social sciences, and promote the construction of new think-tank with Chinese characteristics and improve the ability of decision-making and consulting services.

Article 30 The municipal departments of finance, education and state-owned assets supervision shall, according to the relevant provisions and demands of higher education development, improve the government procurement and the state-owned assets management system, optimize the government procurement approval process, expand and standardize higher education institutions’ power of independent disposal of state-owned assets.

Chapter IV  Participation of Social Forces

Article 31 This Municipality shall exercise the classified management of non-profit and profit-run non-governmental colleges and universities, and support and guide the development of non-governmental higher education. A special fund for non-governmental education development shall be set up to support the development of non-profit non-governmental colleges and universities. Non-profit non-governmental colleges and universities shall enjoy equal treatment with public colleges and universities in terms of utility prices, land and tax preferences.

Article 32 This Municipality shall encourage social forces to independently or jointly run non-profit non-governmental colleges and universities with high level and characteristic according to law.

This Municipality shall encourage and support social forces such as enterprises, public institutions, social organizations and individuals to work together with colleges and universities to jointly build teaching and scientific research institutions, and make donations to colleges and universities, with tax preferences according to relevant state regulations.

Article 33 This Municipality shall encourage professional agencies to conduct the higher education evaluation by their own or with entrustment. The evaluation of higher education conducted by the professional agencies shall follow the principles of openness, fairness, no interference with normal teaching and scientific research, and shall accept the management and supervision of the education and other related departments.

Article 34 This Municipality shall encourage industry organizations to participate in the formulation of programs and standards for discipline and major building and talent cultivation, and regularly publish the prediction of talent demand and participate in the evaluation of disciplines and majors.

Article 35 This Municipality shall encourage enterprises, scientific research institutions and social organizations to carry out cooperation in production, study and research with colleges and universities, to carry out two-way flexible flow of teachers and researchers, and jointly carry out talent cultivation and scientific research.

This Municipality shall encourage and support enterprises, public institutions and social organizations to set up internship and practice bases, participate in the training of practical ability of college students, and give them proper financial subsidies.

Article 36 This Municipality shall encourage communities and science and technology parks to share and cooperate with institutions of higher education in culture, sports, scientific research and other facilities.

This Municipality shall encourage social forces to participate in the construction of infrastructure and operation and management of higher education and provide professional services.

Chapter V  Overall Planning and Guarantee

Article 37 The municipal departments of planning and land resources, and development and reform shall scientifically arrange the land for the development of higher education according to the higher education plan of the State and this Municipality, and guarantee the resources of higher education school buildings.

The municipal departments of development and reform, education, housing and urban and rural construction, and planning and land resources shall, in line with the actual situation of this Municipality, formulate the construction planning area standard of local public colleges and universities, and timely adjust the cost standard of construction projects of colleges and universities.

The district people's government shall take measures to ensure the construction of the public service facilities such as the land and the surrounding traffic and medical care in the region, and strengthen the comprehensive management of the environment and public security on the campus and the surrounding areas, so as to create a good school-running environment.

Article 38 The Municipal People's Government shall, according to the State’s and this Municipality’s planning of higher education, optimize higher education funding structure, establish mechanisms of higher education investment mainly with regular funding for local public colleges and universities, improve the student average comprehensive quota standard system and establish scientific and reasonable mechanisms of growth to ensure the sustained and stable growth of financial investment in higher education.

The organizers of non-governmental colleges and universities shall ensure the basic funds for school running, and implement the legal person's property rights according to law. No organization or individual can secretly remove funds or misappropriate school funds.

Article 39 The charging of public higher education institutions shall be managed by the government guidance price. The municipal departments of price, finance and education shall, according to the cultivation cost of students, school type and level, subject type and other matters, and in line with the level of economic development of this Municipality and other factors, establish the reasonable sharing mechanism of public higher education institutions’ cultivation cost, and set the public higher education institutions’ education charging standard.

The charging of non-governmental higher education institutions shall be under the management of market price, and may, according to the teaching quality, school-running cost, social needs, affordability and other factors, independently determine the standard for education charge according to law, and make publication to society through the school website, recruitment brochures and advertisements.

The charge standards for academic education of Chinese and foreign cooperation in school running shall be determined according to the principles of classified management, quality guidance, cost compensation and so on. The specific measures shall be separately prescribed by the municipal departments of price, finance and education.

Article 40 This Municipality shall encourage colleges and universities to raise school-running funds through diversified channels such as social donations, government competitive project funds, entrusted project funds of enterprises, institutions and other social organizations, and translation benefits of scientific and technological achievements.

Article 41 This Municipality shall set up the evaluation advisory committee for higher education investment to make consultation and evaluation of the major policy of investment in higher education, and to supervise and inspect the use of funds.

The specific matters of the personnel composition, functions and rule of procedure of the evaluation advisory committee of investment in higher education shall be prescribed separately by the municipal education and finance departments.

Article 42 The institutions of higher learning shall establish and improve the financial management system according to law, rationally use and strictly manage the educational funds, and accept supervision according to law.

The Municipal People's Government shall establish the supervision and inspection system for the use of higher education funds to strengthen the performance evaluation of the use of higher education funds. Audit and performance evaluation shall be carried out regularly on the use of investment funds and the implementation of the audit rectification supervised and inspected. The evaluation result shall be the reference basis for the financial investment in higher education institutions.

Local public colleges and universities shall exercise the system of general accountant appointing to supervise the use of funds for local public colleges and universities.

Article 43 The Municipal People's Government shall strengthen cooperation with the State Council education administration and other central departments, and through regular consultation mechanisms and the ministry-city joint agreement, support the reform and development of higher education institutions under the central departments (hereinafter referred to as higher education institutions affiliated to central department) and promote local colleges and universities to improve the school-running level.

The Municipal People's Government shall guide, supervise and participate in the development planning, enrollment and talent cultivation, discipline layout and campus construction of higher education institutions affiliated to central department according to the ministry-city joint agreement, and shall encourage the higher education institutions affiliated to central department to cooperate with local colleges and universities, so as to support the development of local colleges and universities.

The higher education institutions affiliated to central department shall, under the ministry-city joint agreement, submit the use performance report on this Municipality’s financial investment to the Municipal People's Government on a regular basis.

Article 44 The municipal educational administration shall establish a co-ordination working mechanism to promote cooperation between different types and levels of higher education institutions in the talent cultivation, discipline major building, scientific research, school-running resource sharing and other aspects, to promote teacher exchanges, student flow and credit transfer.

This Municipality shall encourage the scientific research institutes that undertake the tasks of postgraduate education to jointly recruit and cultivate postgraduates through resource integration, cooperation and co-construction with colleges and universities. The municipal educational administration shall give policy support to the recruitment number, talent cultivation and other aspects.

Article 45 This Municipality shall actively build a platform for cooperation and exchanges with higher education institutions in Taiwan area, support educators to exchange ideas on the education development, strengthen student exchanges and interaction, and do well the recruitment of students from Taiwan to learn and get jobs in this Municipality.

This Municipality shall establish and improve the cooperation and communication mechanism with higher education in Hong Kong and Macao, and improve the level of exchanges and cooperation with higher education in Hong Kong and Macao, so as to promote the common development of higher education in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao.

Article 46 This Municipality shall encourage higher education institutions to independently run schools in cooperation with overseas high-level higher education institutions and scientific research institutes according to relevant state regulations, establish joint laboratories and joint research centers to carry out cooperation in talent cultivation, scientific research, academic exchanges and achievement spread. The Municipal People's Government shall provide resources and policy support according to relevant provisions to the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institutions that meet this Municipality’s needs of economic and social development and higher education planning.

This Municipality shall encourage colleges and universities to take measures to support students to study and practice abroad, to expand the scale of foreign students coming to China, and to improve the quality of education for foreign students.

This Municipality shall encourage and support colleges and universities to go abroad to run schools, and to participate in international education and teaching assessment, certification and standard system construction.

Article 47 This Municipality shall encourage institutions of higher learning to take measures to introduce high-level talents to promote the construction of highlands for international talents.

The departments of public security, human resources and social security, education, health and family planning, housing and urban and rural construction shall provide higher education institutions’ talent introduction with convenience policies and services of residence, entry and exit, settlement, social security, medical health, housing and other aspects.

Article 48 Institutions of higher learning shall support the development of young teachers, improve the reserve of teachers resources of higher education institutions and the pre-career ability inspection mechanism, and through measures of new teachers appointing and qualifications training, and young teacher acting as teaching assistant to support young teachers to carry out teaching, scientific research and academic exchange activities.

This Municipality shall encourage and support the district people's government and higher education institutions to provide public rental housing and other measures of safeguard for eligible young teachers.

Article 49 The municipal departments of education and economic information shall take measures to promote the informatization construction of higher education in this Municipality, and establish an educational teaching and management service system supported by modern information network technology.

This Municipality shall encourage and support colleges and universities to actively promote smart campus and intelligent education, explore new models of networked education, promote online learning models such as large-scale online open courses, and provide high-quality open and distance learning services for the vast number of learners.

This Municipality shall encourage and support the sharing of high quality education resources among colleges and universities, and the opening of network courses and other educational resources to the general public.

Chapter VI  Supplementary Provisions

Article 50 Where the laws and administrative regulations have provisions on punishment for violations of provisions of these Regulations, such provisions shall apply.

Article 51 The provisions of these Regulations concerning higher education institutions are applicable to other higher education agencies and scientific research institutes that undertake postgraduate education tasks with authorization, but except for provisions that exclusively apply to higher education institutions.

Article 52 These Regulations shall be effective as of March 15, 2018.