Nanhua University SPROUT Project
2020 Progress Report
In 2013-2014, under the central theme “A New Hope: Leave No Student Behind”, the University received NT$60 million in government grants over two years (ranked 33rd nationwide); in 2015-2016, under the central theme “Soaring to New Heights: Taking Flight with Self-confidence”, the University received NT$100 million in government grants (ranked 9th nationwide); in 2017, under the central theme “The Nanhua Brand: Vitality and Vibrancy”, the University received NT$80 million in government grants (ranked 3rd nationwide). In 2018-2019, the University received NT60 million per year in grants for the SPROUT Project “Sprouting Stage”, which is one of the highest amounts received by a private university with 6000 students or less; for the “Blooming Stage” of the SPROUT Project, the University is promoting “A Vibrant Learning Environment through International Exchange” and “Life Education and Environmental Sustainability” as the central theme for 2020-2022.
With the support of the SPROUT Project and the Teaching Excellence Project, for six consecutive years from 2015-2020, the University was selected by the Ministry of Education to establish and manage the National Life Education Center. From 2015 to 2020, the University received the Life Education Excellence Award four times, making Nanhua University the only university to receive this award four times. From 2016 to 2020, for five consecutive years the University was ranked in the top 100 of the Green University Worldwide rankings. In 2020, the University was ranked 400-600 worldwide by The Times’ University Social Impact Rankings, received the National Corporate Environmental Protection Award – Gold Award and the Green Action Award from the Environmental Protection Administration. The University also received official certification as an Environmental Education Organization and Environmental Education Facility Provider, becoming the only university in southern Taiwan and the second university nationwide to receive a double certification.
The outstanding performance of Nanhua University has resulted in the freshman enrollment rate to reach 94.39%, 95.43% and 97.23% from 2018-2020, respectively. This achievement makes Nanhua University the top-ranked private university for three consecutive years in terms of enrollment rates. With the support of the SPROUT Project, the University has received widespread acclaim from students and parents. The University will continue to strive toward the goal of becoming a world class university specializing in Life Education and Environmental Sustainability. Our progress and accomplishments for 2020 are as follows:
Improvements in student learning: The University has established four student learning outcome assessment indicators: basic ability, interdisciplinary ability, employability, and innovation ability. Assessment results showed that 79% of students have achieved the required rubric scores for all four assessment indicators. In 2017, 30% of undergraduate students completed a programming design course. This percentage increased to 81% in 2020. In the past three years, 100% of students have taken an interdisciplinary course and completed an internship. In 2017, the University offered 22 innovation and entrepreneurship courses. The number of these courses increased to 89 in 2020, which is a four-fold increase over four years. The number of students who took these courses increased 1.75 times from 1,827 in 2017 to 3,195 in 2020. Since receiving support from the SPROUT Project, the average score for the students’ six core competencies increased from 3.26 in 2017 to 3.62 in 2020. From the 2018-2020 employment survey, increases were recorded across the board: the employment satisfaction index increased from 80.15% to 82.58%, the employer satisfaction index increased from 88.02% to 88.85%, and the employment rate increased from 90.33% to 93.17%. With regard to the improvement of teaching quality, the percentage of lecturers using innovative teaching methods increased from 40% in 2017 to 72% in 2020.
Development of the University’s defining characteristics: The University has continued to actively expand life education and environmental sustainability as its two defining characteristics. For six consecutive years between 2015-2020, the University was selected by the Ministry of Education to establish the National Life Education Center and received the Life Education University Excellence Award four times. With the promotion of Life Education and the Three Acts of Goodness initiative, the percentage of faculty members and students that attained assessment standards for vitality in 2020 reached 86% and 83% respectively. In addition, the University provided life education courses for 35 high schools, in which 9,049 participants enrolled with 86% reporting an improvement in their vitality scores. The University also established the Asia Life Education Alliance, and formed partnerships with The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s The Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism, Guang Ming College (The Philippines), and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) (India). The establishment of the Sustainability Center became the focal point of the University’s environmental sustainability drive. From 2016 to 2020, the University was ranked in the top 100 of the Green University Worldwide rankings. In 2020, the University was ranked 400-600 worldwide by The Times’ University Social Impact rankings, received the Management Quality Excellence Award - Three-Star Award from the Chinese Society for Quality, received the National Corporate Environmental Protection Award – Gold Award and the Green Action Award from the Environmental Protection Administration. The University also received official certification as an Environmental Education Organization and Environmental Education Facility Provider, becoming the only university in southern Taiwan and the second university nationwide to receive a double certification.
Improvements in public accessibility of higher education: In the past few years, the University has lowered its tuition fees to that of public universities for all four years. In 2020, a Learning Center was established to assist underprivileged students with their academic performance, employment options, career planning, on-the-job training, student recruitment, promotion of vegetarianism, and other related topics. In 2020, every student received on average 2.1 professional certificates and completed an internship program. In terms of improving the quality of faculty members, the University has been actively expanding the multi-track promotion process. Faculty members with an associate professor or assistant professor ranking have reached 60.4% and 99%, respectively. The University has been able to maintain an instructor to student ratio of 17.97, which is significantly lower than the national average of 22.3. In order to provide a high level of transparency for matters related to the management of the University, regular information updates on the public platform have been provided periodically. In addition, accountability reports and student learning assessment reports have been published regularly. Feedbacks from surveys on the overall management of the University are available for maximum transparency.
Obligation to social responsibility: The University and Buddha’s Light International Association R.O.C. have been promoting ten life education courses in which over 130,000 participated over the course of the year. The University also hosted health workshops over the course of three years with a total of 2,080 participants. Food and agriculture workshops were also held over a three-year period, in which 282 new instructors were trained. In 2020, the University established the “Social Responsibility Center” to carry out the following projects to connect with the local community: USR International Connection Sprout Project - Integrating Slow City Lifestyle with Small-Town Charm; USR-hub Project – Life Education with AR and VR Technology; Traditional Bamboo Art Work of Xi-Kou Village, Chiayi County: The Past, Present, and Future; Promotion of a Low-Carbon Economy – A Response to Climate Change. Work stations in neighboring Min-Xiong, Xi-Kou, Liu-Jiao and Dalin have been set up to provide support and assist in overcoming problems in these areas. The University has also been actively pursuing opportunities to establish a local industry-academia alliance with neighboring businesses. Cooperation between academic departments and local enterprises increased from 11 to 137 between 2017 and 2020, a twelve-fold increase with an average of 6.85 enterprises per academic department.
2020 Project Highlights
▌ Expanding Life Education and Enhancing the Value of One’s Life
For six consecutive years between 2015-2020, the University was selected by the Ministry of Education to establish and manage the National Life Education Center. The University also received the Life Education University Excellence Award four times, making Nanhua University the only university to receive this award four times. Furthermore, President Tsong-Ming Lin, Vice-President Chen-Chang Lin, Vice-President Hui-Kai, Dean of Academic Affairs Prof. Chuan-Hsiung Chou, and Executive Director Chi-Yun Lin all have been awarded the Life Education Excellence Award. In order to improve the vitality scores of faculty members and students, the University hosts the annual Coming-of-Age Ceremony, and offers Mindfulness and Life Education courses. Moreover, the University also assisted various schools to develop their life education curricula through official and non-official coursework as a means to introduce life education into school campuses. The University and Buddha’s Light International Association R.O.C. have been promoting ten life education courses at all school levels across the country. Over 130,000 participated in these courses throughout the year. The percentage of faculty members and students that attained assessment standards for vitality in 2020 reached 86% and 83% respectively. In addition, with regard to the promotion and expansion of life education, in 2020 the University assisted 35 high schools in strengthening their life education coursework, which had a total of 9,049 participants, from which 86% reported an improvement in their vitality scores. The University also established the Asia Life Education Alliance and signed partnership agreements with three universities. Our goal of promoting and expanding life education from campus to nationwide to the Asia region is gradually taking shape.
▌ The Pearl Project – Realizing Your Dreams
The Pearl Project is aimed at cultivating positive attributes in students by improving their problem-solving abilities, increasing their self-confidence, and realizing their potential through their own accomplishments. In 2020, there were 14 Pearl Projects that were completed, some of which involved students that had experienced major difficulties and challenges in their lives. Under the guidance of their project advisors, participating in these projects became a turning point in the lives of these students where they were able to turn a new leaf and start anew. The experiences of these students will be compiled into Letters of a Pearl Student and be made available in the National Central Library collection.
＊Example: A case study of a Nanhua Pearl Project student
A blind student from the Department of Applied Sociology, whose parents passed away when he was still young and was raised by his uncle, joined the Pearl Project after enrolling at the University. With the support of his advisor, the student was able to obtain a street art certification. The student’s incredible outlook on life and unlimited vitality led him to be awarded the President’s Education Award. In 2020, the student received the Loving Life Award from the Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation The student said: “A thank you to the University’s teachers for giving me the opportunity to participate in this project, I have learned a lot from this experience. What left the biggest impact on me is that as long as I don’t give up and keep trying, I will succeed one day. Even though I don’t know much, but as long as I share the skills that I have learned with those that need them or want to learn, it is the opportunity for me to light the candle of life for others, which is an act I can do that has an effect on others”.
▌ From Concept to Action: The I/WE CAN Projects and Other Support Programs
With the goal of training students to develop the ability to solve problems independently, the University initiated the I/WE CAN project in 2015. The initiative centers on the following focus points: ‘passion’, ‘imagination’, ‘practice’, and ‘share’. We encourage students to be innovative in their thinking and keep an “I Can Do It” mindset to pursue and act on their ideas. In 2020, all ten I/WE CAN projects that were initiated were completed - a 100% accomplishment rate. In addition, the University promoted an action plan called “Serving Others”, which encouraged students to go into the local community to serve others through the Three Acts of Goodness initiative. In 2020, a student from the Department of Life-and-Death Studies received First Prize for the Serving Without Borders – Creating a New World project. Two other projects received Second Prize, while three others were also nominated.
＊Example: A Team Effort: A Clean Environment for a Better Future
This cleanup team entered the Hua-Shan Mountains in Yunlin county and attended a cleanup event that included feeding stray dogs organized by Tao-Shan Temple. The team cleaned the environment while interacting with the local community. As the team picked up trash left by tourists, they also provided environmental protection information to locals and promoted their anti-littering campaign, which received widespread support from the local community. What the team achieved was not only a clean environment, the I/WE CAN project also changed their perspectives and the way they looked at situations. They also realized that they are no longer bystanders, in fact, what they could achieve far exceeded their imagination.
▌Environmental Education: Establishing a Sustainable Campus
In the past few years, the University has been promoting environmental sustainability initiatives, which has yielded exceptional results in our pursuit to attain a carbon-neutral campus. We have also hosted numerous national and international conferences on topics related to sustainability with the aim of sharing our thoughts and ideas on climate change. In 2020, the University was ranked 400-600 worldwide and 21st in Taiwan by The Times’ University Social Impact rankings, received the Management Quality Excellence Award - Three-Star Award, which is the country’s highest award, from the Chinese Society for Quality, received the National Corporate Environmental Protection Award – Gold Award and the Green Action Award from the Environmental Protection Administration. From 2016 to 2020, for five consecutive years the University was ranked in the top 100 of the Green University Worldwide rankings, which included being ranked first in the country for waste management. Furthermore, The University’s Sustainability Center in collaboration with the sustainability volunteer team have been hosting various environmental education training courses. The University received double certification as an Environmental Education Organization and Environmental Education Facility Provider, becoming the only university in southern Taiwan and the second university nationwide to receive a double certification. The pursuit for a sustainable environment has become a common goal for all members of the University. The University will continue to promote environmental sustainability on campus and strive toward a carbon-neutral, green university.