Securing External Resources to Enrich Program Quality in Higher Education - How One College Acts

Oct 15, 2026

This study examines how one higher education college in China secures external funding resources to enhance its educational programs. Using a case study approach, the researchers review relevant global literature and analyze documents from the college files. Five college administrators are interviewed to capture experiences in seeking external funding. Results show substantial staff and administrator effort supporting college goals, discussed in relation to prior research and implications for educational planning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Review of Literature

Program Quality in Higher Education

Pursuing for External Funding Resources

Types of External Resources to Support University Programs

City, Provincial and Central Government Funding

SECURING EXTERNAL RESOURCES TO ENRICH PROGRAM QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: HOW ONE COLLEGE ACTS ARVIN JOHNSON TAK CHEUNG CHAN Kennesaw State University, U.S.A. ABSTRACT This study examines the effort of one higher education college in China to see how it secures external funding resources to enhance its educational programs. The college is known for its success in getting external funding in addition to public revenue appropriations. The researchers took a case study approach by first reviewing the current literature to find out what has been done by other universities worldwide to secure external funding. Data in this study were retrieved by reviewing relevant documents in the college files. Additionally, five college administrators were interviewed to solicit their experiences in seeking external funding for the college. The findings of this study disclosed that the college administrators and staff have contributed tremendous effort to secure external resources to help achieve the college goals. The findings were also discussed relating to the current literature and the implications for educational planning. INTRODUCTION The funding in support of higher education usually comes from two sources: internal and external. Internal sources are mainly generated from academic fees paid by students. External sources of funding come from different channels. While the increase in academic fees could generate more revenue for a university, it would also decrease the degree of affordability of the university. On the other hand, the external funding sources are almost unlimited to the university. Therefore, intelligent higher education planners strongly encourage university administrators to develop plans and strategies to secure external funding in support of university programs. This paper is the report of a case study developed to explore the approaches and strategies employed by a higher education college in China to secure external resources for the university's long-range development. A literature review was first performed to examine effective ways and strategies for securing external financial resources in other higher education institutes. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Program Quality in Higher Education Assurance of quality in programs of higher education is the key element of program survival. Therefore, before an academic program is delivered to the public, in-house and/or external auditors are invited to check on the processes of production to assure program quality (Zhang & Su, 2016) . Beza (1984) claimed five essential elements to support the teacher education programs: entry screening, increased program competencies, mentoring student teachers, exit evaluation, and probation for beginning teachers. Beza was followed by many scholars who developed their approaches to improving teacher education programs. Meek and O’Neill (1997) proposed to improve teacher education programs from the perspective of policies and procedures. Sutherland (1997) also took a practical approach to assess the program quality of higher education by examining the quality of program graduates. Furthermore, Leong (2000) created six indicators to measure program quality: institutional mechanisms for course approval and monitoring, course design and delivery Educational Planning | Summer 2024 39 Vol. 31, No. 3 methods, staff qualifications and appointment procedures, student support services, assessment procedures and criteria, and course management. Daniel (2000) also recommended that these six indicators should be developed into criteria to assure program quality. Pursuing for External Funding Resources For public colleges, state and local fundings are generally not enough to support the daily operation of the colleges. Insufficient funding support will certainly deteriorate the quality of the educational programs (Kudła, Stachowiak-Kudła & Figurski, 2014) . Therefore, all public higher education institutes need external funding to

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

The study explores how a higher education college in China secures external funding resources to enhance its educational programs and support long-range development.

How did the researchers collect data?

They reviewed relevant literature, examined documents in college files, and interviewed five college administrators about their experiences in seeking external funding.

What key issue is discussed regarding program quality in higher education?

Program quality is treated as essential for program survival, supported through in-house and external auditing of production processes and through indicators for measuring quality.

Oct 15, 2026

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