Center for Higher Education Development of Xiamen University is a Ministry of Education key research institute for humanities and social sciences. Founded in January 2000, the Center for Higher Education Development of Xiamen University is the only Ministry of Education key research institute focusing on higher education research. It is consisted of three research offices: research office in high education theory and policy, research office in higher education administration, and research office in higher education examination.

The Center aims to attract talents and leads a trend with the pioneering spirit to fulfill its ambition to be the “think tanks” of higher education research in China, facilitating national higher education reform and development as well as boosting China’s higher education in a sustainable and healthy way. The center mainly undertakes three missions: firstly, conducting research on cutting-edged topics in the field of higher education, consistently playing the leading role and promoting the disciplinary development of higher education in China; secondly, carrying out research on policies of national higher education reform and development, serving as the “think tanks” in the decision-making; thirdly, undertaking studies on strategies for development among all types of universities and colleges at all levels, offering the theoretical support and service for universities and colleges’ content-oriented developments and speeding up the process towards high-level universities.

Trying to be innovative and creative, the Center has organized domestic research forces to tackle hot issues and difficult problems. Since 2001, full-time researchers as the host of projects in the Center have undertaken three key projects (one cooperative project) of the Ministry of Education, seven key projects of National Social Sciences Foundation (the discipline of education) and twenty-three key projects of the Key research Institutes approved by the Ministry of Education. They have won eight prizes (three First Prizes) of the Humanities and Social Sciences of China’ s Higher Education Institutions, eight prizes (two First Prizes) of the National Outstanding Research Achievement on Educational Science and fifty-three prizes (seven First Prizes) of Provincial Outstanding Research Achievement.

The Center is dedicated to the reform and development of higher education, providing policy research and advices in the decision-making for national and local departments in charge of higher education as well as higher education institutions. Specialists in the Center have participated in the draft of National Medium and Long-term Educational Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020) and offer consultation and advice on policies to the Office of National Education System Reform Leading Group, the National Steering Committee on Educational Exams, Office of the Committee on Degrees of the State Council, and multiple departments of the Ministry of Education such as Department of Development and Planning, Department of Personnel, Department of Finance, Department of Higher Education, Department of Social Sciences, Department of Science and Technology, Department of College Student Affairs, Department of International Cooperation and Exchange of the Ministry of Education, and National Education Examination Authority, etc. They also provide consultations on strategic development of higher education institutions.

The Center has paid strong emphasis on international academic exchanges. Numerous stable academic relations with multiple famous domestic and foreign universities and institutes have been established, including Columbia University, Boston College, UCLA, Pennsylvania State University, UMass Boston, University of London, University of Southampton, Institute of Educational Science in Russia, Hiroshima University, Leiden University, Université libre de Bruxelles, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Hong Kong, and so on.