# Chinese Academic Paper Example (IMRaD Format)

A complete Traditional Chinese academic paper example demonstrating Chinese APA 7.0 citation format. This example showcases the skill's **bilingual capability** — it can produce papers in Chinese, English, or both. For English-only paper examples, see `imrad_hei_example.md` and `literature_review_example.md`.

## User Input

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Write a Chinese academic paper on the impact of declining birth rates on private university enrollment strategies (IMRaD format, APA 7.0 citations)
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## Output

The following is a complete Chinese academic paper example produced by `full mode`.

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# A Study on the Transformation of Enrollment Strategies in Taiwan's Private Universities Amid Declining Birth Rates

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**Authors**: Chia-Hui Lin ¹, Chih-Ming Chen ²

¹ Department of Education, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan
² Graduate Institute of Higher Education, Tamkang University, New Taipei, Taiwan

**Corresponding Author**: Chia-Hui Lin (jiahuei.lin@nccu.edu.tw)

**AI Disclosure Statement**: This study used generative AI tools (Claude, Anthropic, 2024) during the literature search and initial classification stages. All AI-assisted outputs were manually reviewed and revised by the authors. The final manuscript writing, data analysis, and academic judgments were completed entirely and independently by the authors.

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## Chinese Abstract

Taiwan is facing a severe demographic crisis, with the number of first-year college students declining from 273,000 in 2012 to 198,000 in 2024, with private universities bearing the brunt of the impact. This study aims to explore how Taiwan's private universities are transforming their enrollment strategies in response to the shock of declining birth rates. The study employs a mixed-methods design: Phase 1 uses content analysis to analyze the institutional development plans and enrollment materials of 42 private universities from 2020-2024, while Phase 2 involves in-depth interviews with enrollment directors at 12 universities. The findings reveal three major enrollment strategy transformation patterns: (1) differentiation positioning strategy -- emphasizing specialized programs and industry linkages, at 64.3%; (2) internationalization expansion strategy -- developing overseas student recruitment, at 47.6%; and (3) lifelong learning transformation strategy -- developing continuing education and in-service executive programs, at 38.1%. Notably, universities that successfully transformed tended to adopt a "portfolio approach" (implementing two or more strategies simultaneously) and shared two common characteristics: executive-level administrative support and data-driven decision-making. This study recommends that private universities establish systematic environmental scanning mechanisms and select strategy portfolios based on their own positioning, rather than relying on single-strategy reactive responses. Research limitations include the sample focusing on comprehensive universities without covering universities of science and technology, and potential social desirability bias in interview data.

**Keywords**: declining birth rate, private university, enrollment strategy, strategic transformation, Taiwan higher education

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## Abstract

Taiwan is facing a severe demographic crisis, with the number of first-year college students declining from 273,000 in 2012 to 198,000 in 2024. Private universities are disproportionately affected by this trend. This study investigates how Taiwan's private universities are transforming their enrollment strategies in response to declining birth rates. A mixed-methods design was employed: Phase 1 involved content analysis of institutional development plans and recruitment materials from 42 private universities (2020-2024), while Phase 2 comprised in-depth interviews with enrollment directors at 12 institutions. The findings reveal three dominant transformation patterns: (a) differentiation strategy, emphasizing specialized programs and industry partnerships (64.3%); (b) internationalization strategy, expanding overseas student recruitment (47.6%); and (c) lifelong learning strategy, developing continuing education and executive programs (38.1%). Notably, universities that successfully navigated the enrollment decline tended to adopt a "portfolio approach" (implementing two or more strategies simultaneously) and shared two common characteristics: executive-level administrative support and data-driven decision-making. This study recommends that private universities establish systematic environmental scanning mechanisms and select strategy portfolios aligned with their institutional positioning, rather than relying on single-strategy reactive responses. Limitations include the focus on comprehensive universities (excluding universities of science and technology) and potential social desirability bias in interview data.

**Keywords**: declining birth rate, private university, enrollment strategy, strategic transformation, Taiwan higher education

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## I. Introduction

### 1. Research Background

Taiwan's annual births plummeted from 305,000 in 2000 to 135,000 in 2023, and the tsunami of declining birth rates is impacting the higher education system with a force that is predictable yet difficult to resist (National Development Council, 2024). According to MOE statistics, the number of first-year postsecondary students in the 2024 academic year was 198,000, a decrease of approximately 27.5% from a decade earlier, and this trend is projected to continue until the mid-2030s before reaching bottom (MOE, 2024). Among all institutions, private universities bear the greatest pressure. As of 2024, 12 private postsecondary institutions have ceased operations or undergone exit transitions (MOE, 2024), with many more facing enrollment shortfalls and financial difficulties threatening their survival.

The impact of declining birth rates on private universities is not uniform. Resource-rich, highly reputed private universities (such as Chang Gung University and Fu Jen Catholic University) have maintained stable enrollment, but mid-to-lower-tier regional private universities face cliff-like losses in student sources (Huang, 2023). This polarization means that enrollment strategy transformation is not merely a management issue but a strategic decision with existential implications.

### 2. Research Questions

While declining birth rates are not a new topic in Taiwan's higher education policy discussions, existing research focuses primarily on macroscopic demographic trend forecasting (Chen, 2022), legal analysis of exit mechanisms (Tai, 2023), or comparisons of international experiences (Wu, 2022). However, empirical research on what private universities "actually did" and "which strategies truly worked" remains insufficient. In particular, the existing literature lacks systematic classification of enrollment strategy transformation "patterns" and in-depth exploration of the "common characteristics" of successful transformation.

Based on these gaps, this study poses the following research questions:
1. What enrollment strategy transformation patterns did Taiwan's private universities adopt during 2020-2024?
2. What common characteristics do private universities that successfully maintained enrollment performance share?
3. How should different types of private universities select appropriate strategy portfolios for their situations?

### 3. Research Purpose and Chapter Organization

This study aims to systematically analyze enrollment strategy transformation at Taiwan's private universities through a mixed-methods design, providing evidence-based strategic recommendations for universities still seeking direction. The following sections sequentially review relevant literature (Section II), describe the research methodology (Section III), present research results (Section IV), discuss findings and recommendations (Section V), and conclude (Section VI).

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## II. Literature Review

### 1. Global Context of Declining Birth Rates and Higher Education

Declining birth rates are not unique to Taiwan. Japan, South Korea, and multiple European countries face similar challenges (OECD, 2023). Shin and Harman (2009) pointed out that East Asian countries experience particularly severe impacts due to the rapid expansion of higher education. Japan's experience shows that private universities began facing enrollment shortfalls as early as the 1990s, and by 2023 more than 50% of private universities were unable to fill their enrollment quotas (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, 2023). South Korea's situation is similar, with 40% of universities facing enrollment gaps in 2024 (Korean Educational Development Institute, 2024).

Taiwan's distinctiveness lies in the extremely rapid pace of its birth rate decline — the total fertility rate dropped from 1.68 in 2000 to 0.87 in 2023, among the lowest globally (National Development Council, 2024). This means that Taiwanese universities face not a gradual adaptation but a sudden structural shock.

### 2. Theoretical Framework for Private University Enrollment Strategies

From a strategic management perspective, enrollment strategy transformation at private universities can be understood through Porter's (1985) competitive strategy theory and Kotler and Fox's (1995) educational marketing theory. Porter's three generic strategies — cost leadership, differentiation, and focus — manifest differently in the higher education arena (Chen, 2021).

In recent years, scholars have further proposed the concept of "strategic portfolio," arguing that universities should not choose a single strategy but rather combine multiple strategies based on their own conditions (Fumasoli & Huisman, 2013). Wang (2023) further noted that strategic choices at Taiwan's private universities are influenced by factors at three levels: the macro environment (demographics, policy, economy), the meso-level competition (regional university distribution, industry structure), and micro-level resources (faculty, facilities, finances, alumni networks).

### 3. Existing Research on Private University Enrollment Strategies in Taiwan

Domestic research can be organized along three dimensions. First, differentiation strategy research: Chang and Lin (2022) found that successful private universities tend to develop 2-3 "flagship programs" as recruitment highlights, rather than pursuing comprehensive disciplinary development. Second, internationalization strategy research: Liu (2023) analyzed 15 private universities actively recruiting international students and found that Southeast Asian student sources had become the primary growth driver, though language barriers and cultural adaptation remained major challenges. Third, lifelong learning strategy research: Yang and Hu (2022) noted that in-service executive programs and continuing education had become significant revenue sources for some private universities, though quality control mechanisms had yet to be established.

However, the above studies are mostly single-strategy analyses lacking an integrated cross-strategy perspective. This study attempts to fill this gap while extracting generalizable lessons from successful cases.

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## III. Research Methodology

### 1. Research Design

This study employed an explanatory sequential design (Creswell & Creswell, 2023), with Phase 1 using primarily quantitative content analysis to establish an overall picture of strategy transformation, and Phase 2 using qualitative in-depth interviews to supplement interpretation and context. The integration point between the two phases is that Phase 1 findings guided Phase 2 participant selection and interview question design.

### 2. Phase 1: Content Analysis

**Sample**: 42 private comprehensive universities (excluding universities of science and technology and junior colleges), covering four regions: North (18), Central (10), South (10), and East (4).

**Analyzed Materials**:
1. Institutional development plans (public versions) from 2020-2024
2. Recruitment materials from 2022-2024 (including websites, social media, and admissions brochures)
3. Data from the MOE's institutional transparency platform (enrollment rates, international student ratios, continuing education revenue)

**Analytical Framework**: Based on the theories of Porter (1985) and Kotler and Fox (1995), a coding scheme with three main categories (differentiation, internationalization, lifelong learning) and 12 subcategories was constructed. Two researchers coded independently, with inter-coder reliability (Cohen's Kappa) of .82, indicating a satisfactory level.

### 3. Phase 2: In-Depth Interviews

**Participants**: Enrollment directors (provosts or directors of admissions) at 12 universities, of which 6 were "successfully transformed" universities (enrollment rates maintained above 80% over the past five years) and 6 were "challenged" universities (enrollment rates below 70%).

**Interview Method**: Semi-structured interviews, each lasting 60-90 minutes, conducted via video conferencing or in person.

**Interview Protocol** (core questions):
1. What major adjustments has your university made to its enrollment strategy?
2. What was the decision-making process behind these adjustments?
3. What difficulties were encountered during implementation?
4. What factors do you consider key to success or failure?

**Analysis Method**: Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), following a six-step data analysis process.

### 4. Research Ethics

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of National Chengchi University (Approval No.: NCCU-IRB-2024-0123). All participants signed informed consent forms, and interview data use coded identifiers (U1-U12) in place of institution names to protect anonymity.

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## IV. Research Results

### 1. Enrollment Strategy Transformation Patterns

Content analysis results show that the enrollment strategy transformation of 42 private universities during 2020-2024 exhibited three major patterns, as shown in Table 1.

**Table 1. Distribution of Private University Enrollment Strategy Transformation Patterns**

| Strategy Pattern | No. of Universities | Percentage | Typical Practices |
|---------|---------|--------|---------|
| Differentiation positioning | 27 | 64.3% | Flagship programs, industry-academia partnerships, employment guarantees |
| Internationalization expansion | 20 | 47.6% | Overseas programs, bilingual environments, international recruitment offices |
| Lifelong learning transformation | 16 | 38.1% | Continuing education, in-service executive programs, micro-credentials |

Notably, 27 universities (64.3%) simultaneously adopted two or more strategies, while only 15 (35.7%) adopted a single strategy. Nine universities (21.4%) adopted all three strategies.

### 2. Common Characteristics of Successfully Transformed Universities

Comparing universities with enrollment rates above 80% against those below 70%, the differences between the two groups in strategy content were not as pronounced as expected (both groups employed differentiation and internationalization strategies), but two key differences emerged at the "implementation level."

**Characteristic 1: Executive-Level Administrative Support**

In interviews, all 6 respondents from the successful group mentioned direct involvement of the president or board of directors:

> "Strategy transformation is not the admissions office's job — it's a presidential initiative. Our president personally chairs the monthly enrollment strategy meeting and is willing to reallocate resources from departments that can't attract students to departments with potential." (U3 Provost)

In contrast, 4 of the respondents from the challenged group indicated that their presidents had limited involvement in enrollment issues.

**Characteristic 2: Data-Driven Decision-Making**

Successfully transformed universities generally established systematic data analysis mechanisms:

> "Every year we conduct a senior high school student preference survey, tracking the past five years of application trends, and then use this data to decide which departments should expand and which should transform. It's not based on intuition — it's based on data." (U7 Director of Admissions)

### 3. Detailed Analysis of the Differentiation Positioning Strategy

Within the differentiation strategy, "flagship programs" were the most common practice (22 out of 27 universities). Successful flagship programs shared three common characteristics: (1) deep partnership with specific industries, (2) clear employment commitments or internship guarantees, and (3) interdisciplinary integration (e.g., AI + healthcare, design + marketing).

> "Our Smart Healthcare Program was co-designed with three hospitals and two tech companies. Students begin corporate internships in their third year, and 85% receive job offers upon graduation. That number is our best recruitment advertisement." (U1 Provost)

### 4. Relationship Between Strategy Portfolios and Performance

Figure 1 presents the relationship between the number of strategies adopted and the average enrollment rate over the past five years. Universities adopting two strategies had a significantly higher average enrollment rate (M = 79.2%, SD = 8.3) than those adopting a single strategy (M = 68.5%, SD = 12.1), t(40) = 3.24, p = .002, d = 0.98. However, universities adopting three strategies (M = 80.1%, SD = 7.5) did not differ significantly from those adopting two, t(33) = 0.32, p = .75.

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## V. Discussion

### 1. Interpretation of Key Findings

The most important finding of this study is the significance of the "strategy portfolio." The effect of a single strategy is limited, but combining two or more strategies can significantly improve enrollment performance. This finding echoes Fumasoli and Huisman's (2013) strategic portfolio theory while also providing a new insight: the benefit of strategy portfolios reaches saturation at two strategies, with limited marginal returns from a third.

One possible explanation is that resource-constrained private universities risk diluting attention and resources across too many fronts when pursuing three strategies simultaneously, reducing the execution quality of each. As respondent U5 noted: "Doing everything means doing nothing well. We eventually decided to focus on two tracks — differentiation and internationalization — and let go of continuing education."

### 2. Dialogue with Existing Literature

The finding that "executive-level administrative support" is a key success factor aligns with Kezar and Eckel's (2002) findings on institutional transformation in American universities. However, Taiwan's private universities have a distinctive feature in their board of directors structure — some private university boards are highly involved in administrative decisions, which in certain contexts can actually facilitate rather than hinder strategic transformation. Chang and Lin (2022) had noted that board conservatism may limit innovation, but this study found that under survival pressure, board attitudes can rapidly shift toward supporting change.

The "data-driven decision-making" finding aligns with Wang's (2023) recommendations. However, interview data revealed an aspect less discussed in the literature: an "asymmetry" in data capabilities. Successfully transformed universities typically had dedicated institutional research (IR) teams, while challenged universities mostly housed this function within the academic affairs or research development offices, lacking independent analytical capacity.

### 3. Practical Recommendations

Based on the research findings, this study offers the following recommendations:

**For University Administrators**:
1. Adopt a "strategy portfolio" mindset — focus deeply on 2 (not 1 or 3+) core strategies
2. Ensure direct presidential-level involvement and cross-departmental integration
3. Invest in an institutional research team and build data-driven enrollment forecasting models

**For Education Regulatory Authorities**:
1. Provide strategic transformation guidance resources, not just exit mechanisms
2. Establish cross-institutional data-sharing platforms to reduce analytical costs for individual universities
3. Relax enrollment quota regulations to give successfully transformed institutions more room

### 4. Research Limitations

This study has three main limitations. First, the sample focuses on comprehensive universities and does not include universities of science and technology (which may face different challenges and strategies). Second, interview data relies on respondent self-reports, which may be subject to social desirability bias — particularly respondents from the "challenged" group who may tend to understate their strategic missteps. Third, the study's timeframe (2020-2024) coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implementation of some strategies (such as internationalization) may have been disrupted by the pandemic, affecting the generalizability of findings.

### 5. Future Research Directions

Future research could extend in the following directions: (1) include universities of science and technology in the analysis to compare strategy differences between comprehensive and technical universities; (2) track long-term effects of strategic transformation (5-10 year longitudinal study); (3) investigate implementation details and effectiveness metrics of individual strategies in depth; (4) compare response strategies between private universities in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

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## VI. Conclusion

Taiwan's private universities face unprecedented survival challenges. This study found that the key to successfully responding to declining birth rates lies not in which strategy is chosen, but in the ability to build "portfolio strategy" execution capacity — simultaneously pursuing differentiation positioning and internationalization (or lifelong learning) on two main tracks, with executive-level support and data-driven decision-making as foundational infrastructure.

More fundamentally, this study reveals an easily overlooked reality: declining birth rates are not merely an "enrollment problem" but a "strategic problem" requiring comprehensive institutional transformation across governance structures, resource allocation, and organizational culture. Simply relying on the admissions office to intensify marketing efforts without changing the university's core competitiveness will ultimately prove insufficient against structural student source decline.

Taiwan's private universities still have a window of opportunity — the period before 2030 is the critical transformation window. Universities that can complete their strategic transformation within this window will have the opportunity to find their place in a smaller but more refined higher education market.

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## References

### Chinese References

Wang, R.-Z. (2023). An analytical framework for strategic positioning of Taiwan's private universities. Bulletin of Educational Research, 69(4), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.3966/102887082023126904001

Wu, M.-L. (2022). University transformation in the era of declining birth rates: Lessons from Japan and South Korea. Comparative Education Research, 45(3), 67-92. https://doi.org/10.6152/jce.2022.0303.04

Ministry of Education. (2024). Academic Year 113 higher education institution transparency platform statistics. https://udb.moe.edu.tw/

National Development Council. (2024). Population projections of the Republic of China (2024 to 2070). https://pop-proj.ndc.gov.tw/

Chang, T.-F., & Lin, H.-F. (2022). A case study of differentiation strategies at Taiwan's private universities. Higher Education Research, 13(2), 33-58. https://doi.org/10.6152/jhe.2022.1302.02

Chen, Y.-K. (2021). Competitive strategies in higher education: Theory and practice. Wu-Nan Books.

Chen, L.-C. (2022). Analysis of structural changes in Taiwan's higher education supply and demand. Educational Policy Forum, 25(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.3966/156082982022032501001

Huang, C.-J. (2023). Polarized development of private universities under the impact of declining birth rates. Taiwan Education Review Monthly, 12(5), 1-6.

Yang, K.-S., & Hu, M.-C. (2022). Development trends of continuing education and lifelong learning in Taiwan. Journal of Adult and Lifelong Education, 38, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.6773/JALE.202206_(38).0001

Liu, H.-H. (2023). Analysis of internationalization strategies at Taiwan's private universities: Focusing on overseas student recruitment. Taiwan Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(2), 45-78. https://doi.org/10.6542/TERSS.202312_23(2).0002

Tai, H.-H. (2023). Legal analysis and policy recommendations for university exit mechanisms. Monthly Review of Education Research, 349, 4-19.

### English References

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. *Qualitative Research in Psychology*, *3*(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). *Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches* (6th ed.). SAGE.

Fumasoli, T., & Huisman, J. (2013). Strategic agency and system diversity: Conceptualizing institutional positioning in higher education. *Minerva*, *51*(2), 155-169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-013-9225-y

Kezar, A., & Eckel, P. D. (2002). The effect of institutional culture on change strategies in higher education: Universal principles or culturally responsive concepts? *The Journal of Higher Education*, *73*(4), 435-460. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2002.11777159

Korean Educational Development Institute. (2024). *2024 Brief statistics on Korean education*. KEDI.

Kotler, P., & Fox, K. F. A. (1995). *Strategic marketing for educational institutions* (2nd ed.). Prentice-Hall.

OECD. (2023). *Education at a glance 2023: OECD indicators*. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/e13bef63-en

Porter, M. E. (1985). *Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance*. Free Press.

Shin, J. C., & Harman, G. (2009). New challenges for higher education: Global and Asia-Pacific perspectives. *Asia Pacific Education Review*, *10*(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-009-9011-6

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. (2023). Basic School Survey, Fiscal Year 2023. https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/chousa01/kihon/1267995.htm
