In the past, some graduate students would complain about poor accommodation, but now many of them have to "wander" off-campus. With the preliminary examination for graduate students approaching, recently, the topic of "many colleges and universities no longer provide dormitories for some graduate students" has rushed to the hot search.
Judging from the published data, the number of graduate students enrolled in China will reach 124 in 2022250,000 people, a year-on-year increase of 561 percent, which is double the number of ten years ago. If the timeline is extended, the number of graduate students in China has increased 16-fold in the past 24 years.
With the "national postgraduate examination fever" and the expansion of graduate students, the student dormitory resources of colleges and universities are also becoming increasingly tight. From part-time graduate students to full-time professional degree graduate students, the situation of "not arranging dormitories" is becoming more and more common, and some schools have even launched a lottery and lottery model.
For students, the absence of on-campus housing means an increase in the cost of studying. In addition, university life will also be "incomplete". However, some school administrators believe that on-campus dormitories are fundamentally a kind of welfare.
In the view of Xiong Bingqi, dean of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, to solve this problem, we should not simply ask professional masters to rent their own houses, but should start from the actual situation of students and provide them with corresponding convenience for renting off-campus.
Drying scenery in the university. Photo by Yang Yu from China News Service.
In principle, students are required to arrange their own accommodation
The first thing I did after going ashore was to find myself a place to live. If it is in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, the annual rent alone is enough for many students to "smash pots and sell iron".
Some students "can't sit still" and complain on social **, but they are helpless. The shortage of dormitories is closely related to the expansion of graduate students. As the number of students increases, the existing dormitories can no longer meet the demand, so some schools choose not to provide dormitories to some graduate students to solve the problem of tight accommodation.
China News Weekly noted that this year, many colleges and universities have also made it clear that some graduate students will not be allowed to arrange accommodation, which mainly involves part-time graduate students and full-time professional and master's students.
According to the "Peking University 2024 Master's Degree Enrollment Guide (University Headquarters)", for the 2024 master's degree students, Peking University implements a accommodation application system, and the accommodation expenses are borne by themselves.
Among them, only full-time academic graduate students whose personnel files are transferred to the university, such as the "Strong Army Program" and the "High-level Backbone Talent Program for Ethnic Minorities", are eligible to apply for school accommodation. The university does not arrange accommodation for professional degree graduates, part-time graduate students, graduate students whose personnel files are not transferred to the university, and graduate students who have been clearly arranged or assisted in arranging accommodation by the department.
Tsinghua University's 2024 Master's Degree Enrollment Guide mentions that the upper limit of the accommodation fee for master's students admitted in 2023 is 600 yuan per semester per person, and the accommodation fee standard for 2024 will be stated when the admission notice is issued. Due to the shortage of student dormitory resources in the school, the dormitory accommodation will not be arranged for master's students in the targeted employment category (no file transfer).
In addition, Nankai University states that it does not provide accommodation for full-time and part-time professional degree master's students. Nanjing University's 2024 professional degree master's students are also required to arrange their own accommodation, and the university will provide appropriate transportation subsidies to full-time professional degree master's students.
According to incomplete statistics, at least 14 colleges and universities have adjusted their application conditions for on-campus accommodation in recent years. In fact, as early as 2018, Peking University's adjustment of the accommodation for new students caused heated discussions. According to the school's plan at that time, due to the large difference in beds, at least 45% of the new students will not be able to live in the school's Wanliu apartment, and the remaining 55% of the "lucky ones" will be determined by lottery.
There is also an increasing number of adjustments to accommodation arrangements for new students. In 2019, Fudan University officially announced that, except for a few categories, it will not arrange on-campus accommodation for professional degree master's students, and students need to arrange their own accommodation in principle.
In addition to the "lottery" and "lottery", there are also students with local household registration who are limited to the school to apply for dormitories. For the "aftermath" of master's students, the practice varies from school to school. Some said that they would actively coordinate the expansion of off-campus accommodation resources, while others emphasized "self-solution" or did not clearly state.
Figure Worm Creative.
Not providing accommodation is likely to become a trend
Some commentators have pointed out that since most of China's universities are public universities, the society has expectations for them to be public-welfare.
Obviously, the pace at which colleges and universities are building new buildings is not keeping pace with the expansion of enrollment. Wang Yingmi, an associate researcher at the Institute of Higher Education of South China University of Technology, once analyzed that from 2000 to 2019, the average increase in the construction area of university buildings was only 335%, which is lower than the average annual growth rate of 1260%。
If it is necessary to solve the problem of accommodation for students who have graduated according to the prescribed academic system, the expansion of enrollment will be blocked, and allowing professional masters to rent off-campus is also a realistic choice for colleges and universities to cope with the expansion of graduate students. Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said.
Some supporters believe that for schools, the allocation of financial pools should focus on teaching and scientific research and the development of educational reform. In this way, students can develop autonomy and independence, and also help to alleviate the financial pressure on the school.
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, said that as adults, the risk of universities not providing accommodation for master's students is relatively low, so they will choose to let master's students arrange their own accommodation. In the public perception, graduate students are usually already equipped with the ability to live independently and manage themselves.
Chu Zhaohui introduced that from an international point of view, universities in most countries do not provide accommodation for master's students, and even universities in some countries do not provide accommodation for undergraduates. In his view, the provision of accommodation is an auxiliary function of universities, and from the perspective of the long-term development of universities, non-accommodation should be a norm.
Since the 90s of the last century, China has been promoting the socialization and reform of university logistics services, and the main measures include providing student apartment services for students by off-campus enterprises and institutions, and students live in off-campus apartments, or rent off-campus apartments by themselves, so that schools can focus on education and teaching. However, this reform has since been met with resistance, which has been questioned about affecting boarding education for students and increasing their financial burden. Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said.
There are many reasons for the resistance mentioned by Xiong Bingqi. Some argue that not providing on-campus housing may lead to financial stress and social problems for some students. First of all, accommodation is necessary for some students as they may not be able to afford additional costs such as renting a house. Secondly, the provision of accommodation also facilitates communication and interaction between students, helping to build a close social network.
In addition, with the extension of the length of study and the increase in tuition fees of many universities, the cost of completing a master's degree can be said to have increased dramatically.
In Xiong Bingqi's view, from the perspective of modern university construction, it is the general trend for universities not to provide accommodation services and to promote the socialization of logistics services. However, at the same time, it is also necessary for the society to have corresponding supporting services to ensure the public welfare of socialized logistics services.
He said that the focus should be on how to implement a socialized accommodation method, which is not only conducive to school management, but also gives students the right to make their own choices. However, he stressed that the school still has a basic responsibility to protect students.
Xiong Bingqi mentioned that he is also a master's degree, why can an academic master live in a dormitory on campus?He believes that students should be based on the actual situation and provide corresponding convenience for them to rent off-campus.
Author: Chen Weijing.