Improving Quality and Expanding Capacity: The Strategic Focus of Higher Education during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

The Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Proposal"), adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, states: "Promote the improvement of quality and expansion of capacity in higher education, and expand the enrollment scale of high-quality undergraduate education." [1]1 The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in July 2025, focused on formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) for national economic and social development. The Outline for Building a Strong Education Country (2024–2035) (hereinafter referred to as the "Outline") proposes to orderly expand the enrollment scale of high-quality undergraduate education. Improving quality and expanding capacity is one of the strategic focuses of higher education development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. It is a concrete manifestation of "investing in people" to "form rich talent resource advantages," and it is an essential requirement for serving economic and social development and Chinese-path modernization through high-quality development of higher education.

党的二十届四中全会通过的《中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划的建议》（以下简称《建议》）提出：“推动高等教育提质扩容，扩大优质本科教育招生规模。”《教育强国建设规划纲要（2024—2035年）》（以下简称《纲要》）提出，有序扩大优质本科教育招生规模。提质扩容是“十五五”时期高等教育发展的战略重点之一，是“投资于人”以“形成丰富人才资源优势”的具体体现，是以高等教育高质量发展服务经济社会发展和中国式现代化建设的本质要求。

Improving quality and expanding capacity is an inevitable requirement for the development of higher education during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

提质扩容是“十五五”时期高等教育发展的必然要求

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed that the next five years should take promoting high-quality development as the theme. To promote high-quality development, the most important thing is to accelerate high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening. From seizing the commanding heights of science and technology to developing new quality productive forces, and then to promoting high-quality development, whoever can cultivate and gather more outstanding talents will be able to dominate in competition. To build a strong education country, the leading role is played by higher education. Looking globally, any educationally strong country is a strong country in higher education. Higher education is the intersection point for the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent; it is an important connecting point for science and technology as the primary productive force, talent as the primary resource, and innovation as the primary driving force; and it is the best combination point for education, science and technology, and talent. Higher education holds an important and special position and role in building a strong country in education, science and technology, and talent.

党的二十届四中全会提出，未来五年以推动高质量发展为主题。推动高质量发展，最重要的是加快高水平科技自立自强。从抢占科技制高点到发展新质生产力，再到推动高质量发展，谁能培养和集聚更多优秀人才，谁就能在竞争中占据主导。建设教育强国，龙头是高等教育。放眼全球，任何一个教育强国都是高等教育强国。高等教育是教育科技人才一体发展的交汇点，是科技第一生产力、人才第一资源、创新第一动力的重要连接点，是教育、科技、人才的最佳结合点。高等教育在建设教育强国、科技强国、人才强国中具有重要而特殊的地位与作用。

Currently, China has built the world's largest higher education system, but compared with the needs of the national strategy, economic and social development, and the expectations of the people for high-quality higher education, there is still considerable room for improving quality and expanding capacity in terms of overall development level. There is also a certain gap compared with higher education in developed countries. In particular, during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the school-age population for higher education in China will continue to grow, and the peak of enrollment has not yet arrived. Facing the national strategic needs during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's higher education needs to continue to grow. However, this growth is by no means a simple quantitative increase or expansion of scale; its core lies in taking the opportunity of improving quality and expanding capacity to promote and realize the connotative development of higher education, achieving equal emphasis on "quality" and "quantity" and a coordinated leap forward. This requires a deep grasp of the internal logic of the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent. While orderly expanding the coverage of high-quality resources, we must also focus on optimizing the structure of academic disciplines and specialties, deepening innovation in talent cultivation models, strengthening the cultivation of top-notch innovative talents, and effectively transforming the "strength of education" into a surging driving force for "national strength," providing talent and intellectual support for comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

当前，我国已经建成世界上规模最大的高等教育体系，但整体发展水平与国家战略、经济社会发展需求及人民大众对于优质高等教育的期待相比，还有很大的提质扩容空间，与发达国家高等教育相比还有一定差距。特别是“十五五”时期我国高等教育学龄人口将持续增长，入学高峰还没有到来。面对“十五五”时期国家战略需求，我国高等教育需要持续增长，但这种增长绝非简单的数量增长和外延扩张，其核心在于以提质扩容为契机，促进和实现高等教育内涵式发展，实现“质”“量”并重、协同跃升。这要求深刻把握教育、科技、人才一体发展的内在逻辑，在有序扩大优质资源覆盖面的同时，更要着力优化学科专业结构，深化人才培养模式创新，强化拔尖创新人才培养，切实将“教育之强”转化为驱动“国家之强”的澎湃动能，为全面建成社会主义现代化强国提供人才与智力支撑。

Improving quality and expanding capacity is a strategic manifestation of "investing in people" during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

提质扩容是“十五五”时期“投资于人”的战略体现

The 15th Five-Year Plan period holds an important position of linking the past and the future in the process of China's basic realization of socialist modernization. It is a key stage for China to move towards the level of moderately developed countries. The economic development model is undergoing a profound transformation from factor-driven to innovation-driven. Improving total factor productivity has become key, and the effective supply of high-quality talents and workers has become the focus. Particular attention needs to be paid to the fact that although China's school-age population for higher education will still increase during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the country will face huge challenges from a declining birthrate and an aging population in the future. Facing the profound changes in the population structure, how to promote the transformation of the demographic dividend into a talent dividend has become a focus of social attention.

“十五五”时期在我国基本实现社会主义现代化进程中具有承前启后的重要地位，是我国迈向中等发达国家水平的关键阶段，经济发展模式正经历从要素驱动向创新驱动的深刻转型，提高全要素劳动生产率成为关键，高素质人才和劳动者有效供给成为焦点。需要特别重视的是，虽然我国在“十五五”时期高等教育学龄人口还在增加，但未来我国面临少子化、老龄化的巨大挑战。面对人口结构的深刻变化，怎样推动人口红利向人才红利转变，成为社会关注的焦点。

To cope with the impacts of the technological revolution and demographic changes, it is required to shift from "investing in things" to "investing in people," accelerate "striving for strength through quality," expand high-quality higher education resources through improving quality and expanding capacity, so that China's human resources can be effectively enhanced and fully utilized, and effectively offset the impact of population aging through the improvement of the national education level and health level.

应对科技革命和人口变化带来的冲击，要求实现由“投资于物”转变为“投资于人”，加快“以质图强”，通过提质扩容，扩大优质高等教育资源，使得我国的人力资源得到有效提升和充分利用，通过国民受教育水平和健康水平的提升来有效抵消人口老龄化的冲击。

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period and for some time to come, we should take improving quality and expanding capacity as the starting point, accelerate the building of a high-quality education system, promote the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent, achieve effective reserves of talent dividends, thereby forming rich talent resource advantages, providing effective supply of high-quality talents for sustained and healthy economic development and comprehensive social progress, and better serving Chinese-path modernization.

“十五五”时期和未来一段时间，要以提质扩容为抓手，加快建成高质量教育体系，一体推进教育科技人才发展，实现人才红利的有效储备，从而形成丰富人才资源优势，为经济持续健康发展和社会全面进步提供有效高质量人才供给，更好地服务于中国式现代化建设。

Improving quality and expanding capacity should be combined with the optimization of the talent cultivation structure.

提质扩容要与人才培养结构优化相结合

The talent cultivation structure of China's higher education presents a significant "pyramid shape," that is, the proportion of higher vocational colleges is relatively high, while the proportion of graduate education and "Double First-Class" universities is relatively low. [2]2 "Double First-Class" is a Chinese government initiative launched in 2017 to develop a group of world-class universities and first-class disciplines. As of 2024, among the enrollment numbers in China's higher education, the enrollment proportion of higher vocational colleges was over 50%, exceeding the number of undergraduate enrollments. The total number of students enrolled in various forms of higher education nationwide was 48.46 million, with 4.0954 million graduate students, accounting for less than 10% of the total. In developed countries, graduate education generally accounts for more than 20% of the talent cultivation structure in higher education, undergraduate education accounts for over 60%, and vocational education accounts for between 20% and 30%. Furthermore, there are only 147 "Double First-Class" universities in China, and their undergraduate enrollment accounts for less than 6% of the total college entrance examination enrollment. These data indicate that currently, "going to university" is no longer a problem, but the dilemma of "it is very difficult to get into a good university" urgently needs to be broken. In recent years, although the enrollment numbers of high-quality higher education institutions represented by "Double First-Class" universities have been increasing, compared with the aspirations of the people, especially the vast number of college entrance examination candidates and their parents, to receive high-quality education, compared with the demand for high-quality higher education from economic and social development and technological progress, and compared with the development of higher education in developed countries, there is still a considerable gap in the development of China's high-quality higher education.

我国高等教育人才培养结构呈现显著的“金字塔型”，即高职高专占比较高，研究生教育和“双一流”建设高校占比偏低。截至2024年，我国的高等教育招生数量中，高职高专招生占比在50%以上，超过了本科招生数量，全国各种形式的高等教育在学总规模4846万人，在学研究生409.54万人，在学研究生占比不足10%。而发达国家一般研究生教育在高等教育人才培养结构中占比为20%以上，本科占比超过60%，专科占比为20%~30%之间。再者，我国“双一流”高校仅有147所，其本科招生在高考招生中的占比不到6%。这些数据表明，目前“上大学”已经不再是难题，但“上好大学很难”的困境亟须突破。近年来，我国以“双一流”高校为代表的优质高等学校招生数量虽然一直在提高，但与人民群众特别是广大高考考生和家长对于接受优质教育的渴望相比，与经济社会发展和科技进步对于高质量高等教育的需求相比，与发达国家高等教育发展相比，我国优质高等教育发展还存在较大差距。

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, facing the peak of school-age population enrollment in higher education and the demands of the technological revolution and industrial upgrading, it is necessary to adjust and optimize China's talent cultivation structure in higher education, transforming it from the current "pyramid shape" to an "olive shape." [3]3 An "olive shape" refers to a structure with a smaller top (graduate education) and bottom (vocational education) and a larger middle (undergraduate education), as opposed to the current "pyramid" with a large base. The Proposal states: "Deeply promote the construction of 'Double First-Class' universities." The Outline states: "Orderly expand the enrollment scale of high-quality undergraduate education, expand the scale of graduate student cultivation, steadily increase the proportion of doctoral students, and vigorously develop professional degree graduate education." During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, by accelerating the construction of "Double First-Class" universities, expanding the enrollment scale of "Double First-Class" universities, achieving the expansion of high-quality undergraduate enrollment, actively developing graduate education, developing vocational undergraduate education, and other measures, we should optimize the talent cultivation structure, achieve improvement of quality and expansion of capacity, and build a high-quality education system.

“十五五”时期，面对高等教育学龄人口入学高峰，面对科技革命和产业升级需求，必须调整优化我国的高等教育人才培养结构，由目前的“金字塔形”转变为“橄榄型”。《建议》提出，深入推进“双一流”高校建设。《纲要》提出：“有序扩大优质本科教育招生规模，扩大研究生培养规模，稳步提高博士研究生占比，大力发展专业学位研究生教育。”“十五五”时期，要通过加快“双一流”高校建设，扩大“双一流”高校招生规模，实现优质本科招生扩张，积极发展研究生教育，发展职教本科等举措，优化人才培养结构，实现提质扩容，建设高质量教育体系。

Improving quality and expanding capacity should be combined with adjusting the setup of academic disciplines and specialties.

提质扩容要与调整学科专业设置相结合

The Proposal states: "Coordinate the setup of academic disciplines." At present, the setup of academic disciplines and specialties in China's higher education cannot fully meet the needs of the national strategy, economic and social development, technological progress, and industrial upgrading. In the process of improving quality and expanding capacity, it is necessary to adjust and optimize the mechanism for setting up academic disciplines, establish and improve a mechanism for adjusting the setup of academic disciplines and specialties and a talent cultivation model driven by the needs of scientific and technological development and national strategy, and continuously enhance the support and contribution of higher education to high-quality development.

《建议》提出，统筹学科设置。目前看，我国高等教育的学科专业设置还不能完全适应国家战略、经济社会发展和科技进步及产业升级的需求。在提质扩容过程中，要调整优化学科设置机制，建立健全科技发展、国家战略需求牵引的学科专业设置调整机制和人才培养模式，不断提升高等教育对高质量发展的支撑力和贡献力。

Improving quality and expanding capacity in higher education does not mean blindly expanding any discipline or specialty; rather, it means expanding disciplines and specialties oriented toward national strategy, scientific and technological progress, and economic and social development needs, disciplines and specialties in which universities have educational advantages and distinctive features, and disciplines and specialties needed by future industries and strategic emerging industries, while simultaneously achieving quality improvement through expansion. In the process of improving quality and expanding capacity, it is necessary to correctly handle the relationships between basic disciplines and applied disciplines, traditional disciplines and emerging and interdisciplinary disciplines, cutting-edge disciplines, advantageous disciplines and disadvantaged disciplines, urgently needed disciplines and general disciplines, and to handle the relationships between strengths and weaknesses, stock and increment, and the current situation and the future. Early warnings and rectification requirements should be issued for discipline and specialty points with clearly insufficient social demand, declining training quality, and inadequate educational conditions. Efforts should focus on developing disciplines and specialties needed for national strategy, targeting strategic emerging industries and future industries, and rapidly laying out a batch of discipline and specialty points. An incubation initiative for emerging and interdisciplinary disciplines should be implemented, and a batch of demonstration interdisciplinary centers should be established. Universities should be granted a certain degree of autonomy in discipline setting, supporting them in independently establishing emerging and interdisciplinary disciplines based on economic and industrial needs, and strengthening the linkage and responsiveness between disciplines and specialties and regional industries and economic and social development. Through improving quality and expanding capacity, discipline and specialty optimization should be achieved, with efforts focused on developing advantageous and distinctive disciplines needed for national strategy and economic and social development, realizing differentiated and distinctive development, and running schools with distinctive features and high standards.

高等教育提质扩容不是盲目扩容任何学科专业，而是面向国家战略、科技进步和经济社会发展需求的学科专业，面向高校具有办学优势的学科专业和特色学科专业，面向未来产业、战略性新兴产业所需要的学科专业进行扩容，在扩容的同时实现提质。在提质扩容过程中，要正确处理好基础学科与应用学科，传统学科与新兴学科、交叉学科，前沿学科、优势学科与弱势学科，急需学科与一般学科的关系，处理好长板与短板、存量与增量、现状与未来的关系，对社会需求明显不足、培养质量下滑、办学条件不足的学科专业点进行预警并提出整改要求，着力发展国家战略所需学科专业，瞄准战略性新兴产业和未来产业等，快速布局一批学科专业点。实施新兴学科和交叉学科孵化行动，布局建设一批示范性学科交叉中心。要赋予高校一定的学科设置自主权，支持高校根据经济产业需求自主设置新兴学科、交叉学科，强化学科专业与区域产业、经济社会发展的联动响应。在提质扩容中实现学科专业优化，着力发展国家战略及经济社会发展需要的优势学科、特色学科，实现差异化、特色化发展，办出特色、办出水平。

Improving quality and expanding capacity should be combined with optimizing the layout of universities

提质扩容要与优化高校布局相结合

China has a vast territory and a large population, making the scientific layout of higher education extremely important. The Proposal [4]4 The "Proposal" refers to the Central Committee of the CPC's Proposal for Formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, adopted at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee in October 2020. states: optimize the layout of universities. Optimizing the layout of universities involves optimizing universities under central ministries and local universities, "Double First-Class" [5]5 "Double First-Class" is a Chinese government initiative launched in 2017 to develop a group of world-class universities and first-class disciplines by the end of 2050. universities and non-"Double First-Class" universities, universities in different regions such as the east, central, and west, and different types of universities such as research-oriented, application-oriented, and skills-oriented. Through improving quality and expanding capacity, coordinated development of various types of universities should be achieved, and a high-quality higher education system should be built.

我国地域辽阔，人口众多，高等教育的科学布局极为重要。《建议》提出，优化高校布局。优化高校布局涉及优化部属高校和地方高校、“双一流”高校与非“双一流”高校、东中西等不同区域高校、研究型应用型技能型等不同类型高校，要通过提质扩容实现各类高校协同发展，建设高质量高等教育体系。

In China's current higher education system, universities under central ministries and commissions account for less than 5%, while local universities account for 95%. Universities under ministries and commissions have relatively high educational levels, most of which are "Double First-Class" universities. Higher education development in the east, central, and west is unbalanced, with faster development in the eastern region. Improving quality and expanding capacity in higher education must balance fairness and efficiency. On the one hand, existing high-quality higher education resources should be developed, with autonomous and scientific determination of "Double First-Class" evaluation standards, while also promoting the classified development of universities and encouraging universities to strive for first-class status in different fields. Research-oriented universities mainly operate oriented toward the world's scientific and technological frontiers and major national and regional strategic needs, cultivating theoretical and innovative talents; application-oriented universities mainly operate oriented toward regional economic development and industrial transformation and upgrading needs, focusing on cultivating applied talents needed by regional industries and society; skills-oriented universities mainly operate oriented toward local industries and social needs, focusing on cultivating skilled, operational, and post-oriented talents. On the other hand, high-quality higher education resources should be tilted toward universities in the central and western regions and local universities, improving their overall quality and educational level, and enhancing their ability to serve national strategy and regional economic and social development.

我国目前的高等教育体系中，中央部委所属高校占比不到5%，地方高校占比达到95%，部委所属高校办学水平较高，其中大部分为“双一流”高校。东中西部高等教育发展不均衡，东部高等教育发展较快。高等教育提质扩容要兼顾公平与效率，一方面，要发展现有的优质高等教育资源，自主科学确定“双一流”评价标准，又要推进高校分类发展，鼓励高校在不同领域争创一流。研究型大学主要面向世界科技前沿及国家、区域重大战略需求办学，培养理论人才与创新人才；应用型高校主要面向区域经济发展及产业转型升级等需求办学，着力培养区域产业和社会需要的应用型人才；技能型高校主要面向地方产业及社会需要，着力培养技能型、操作型、岗位型人才。另一方面，优质高等教育资源又要向中西部地区高校和地方高校倾斜，提高其整体质量和办学水平，增强其服务国家战略和区域经济社会发展的能力。

(Author: Li Liguo, Professor at the School of Education, Tsinghua University, Distinguished Professor of the Changjiang Scholars Program of the Ministry of Education, Director of the Ministry of Education-Tsinghua University Center for Educational Strategy and National Planning Research)

（作者：李立国，系清华大学教育学院教授、教育部长江学者特聘教授，教育部－清华大学教育战略决策与国家规划研究中心主任）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧