Faced with increasingly competitive landscape of the knowledge society, governments worldwide are growingly placing a high value on the quality guarantee of higher education. How to assess and promote the quality of higher education has been a major concern for institutions and governments. The formulation and implementation of the Double World-Class Initiative (DWCI) in China is the process of accreditation where a batch of universities and disciplines are granted with the priority to develop into world-class ones and enjoy privileged subsidize. Despite certain breakthroughs, this evaluation also exhibits problems deep-rooted in the Chinese high education quality assessment system including the governmental monopoly control through the progress, the lack of social and students’ participation, and non-transparent public information. After conducting an analysis on the text of the DWCI, enlighten by the principal-agent theory, the article put forwards the administrative entrustment model and student-oriented evaluation model for future higher education assessment systems in China.

Wan Xiaohua. The problem and future of the higher education quality assessment system in China-Reflection on the Double World-Class Initiative. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2021) Vol. 4, Issue 10: 54-60. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2021.041012.

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