National Chung Hsing University

History

The university began as the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan Advanced Academy of Agronomy and Forestry (Japanese: 臺灣總督府農林專門學校), founded by the Japanese in Taihoku (modern-day Taipei) in 1919 during Japanese rule. After 1928, the academy became a special department affiliated to Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University). The department became an independent school again in 1943 and was moved to Taichū (modern-day Taichung).

After the Kuomintang took over Taiwan in 1945, the school was reorganized and renamed "Taiwan Provincial Taichung Agricultural Junior College". In 1946, the Junior College evolved into a higher institution, the "Taiwan Provincial College of Agriculture".

In 1961, it combined with the newly established College of Science and Engineering on the same Taichung campus and the College of Law and Business founded in Taipei in 1949, to become "Taiwan Provincial Chung Hsing University". The name "Chung Hsing" (Chinese: 中興; pinyin: zhōngxīng; Wade–Giles: chung-hsing; literally: "to reestablish") refers to "Chinese national revival".

In 1964, an evening school was set up on the Taipei campus. In 1968 another evening school and the College of Liberal Arts were added to the Taichung campus.

The University continued to grow in size, but it was not until 1971 that it became a national university and assumed its present name: National Chung Hsing University.

The College of Veterinary Medicine was established in September 1999. In February 2000, the Taipei campus including the College of Law & Business and the Taipei evening school was combined into the newly established National Taipei University. The College of Social Sciences & Management was established on the Taichung campus at the same time. In August 2002, the Extension Division and the Extension Education Center was combined into the Extension Division for Inservice and Continuing Education.

Campus

The Taichung Campus contains the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Life Sciences, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Social Sciences and Management, and the Extension Division for Inservice and Continuing Education. It is located in the south of Taichung City with an area of approximately 53 hectares. The university owns four experimental forests located in New Taipei City, Nantou County, Taichung City, and Tainan City, respectively. It also owns two experimental farms located at Wufeng and Wuri Districts in Taichung City.

Organization

Present Status

The university now has six colleges plus two evening schools on two campuses, and it is noted for various fields of study. At present, the University has more than 17 thousand students, of which over 2,000 are graduate students.

In addition the University has more than a thousand people of staff and faculty members. For administration, the University has three main offices and five subsidiary offices. The three main offices are the Office of Academic Affairs, the Office of Student Affairs, and the Office of General Affairs. The five subsidiary offices are the Secretariat Office, the Personnel Office, the Accounting Office, the Office of Military Training, and The Office of Physical Education. The University also has several service centers, a library, and other sub-units. The service centers include the Computer Center and Art Center.

Student life

Following closely the guidelines set forth in Life Handbook with Etiquette Illustrations and Plan for Implementation of Life Education (promulgated by the Ministry of Education), National Chung Hsing University makes every effort to offer students assistance, guidance, service, and encouragement to help them solve problems related to their daily life at the university. In addition, the university keeps in close contact with each student's family to help cultivate high moral character. Thus the university sees to it that all students are provided with a wide range of services, no matter whether they are living on or off campus.

Counseling and guidance

To help students better understand themselves and solve their personal problems, the university established a Student Counseling and Guidance Center. The center conducts testing programs related to students' personality, general ability, career aptitudes and interests, and provides students consultation services through telephone calls, correspondence, interviews, home visits, and public lectures. The center also provides related books and periodicals.

Extracurricular activities

The university has 101 student clubs and societies, which are joined mostly by undergraduate students. Every student has to be affiliated with his or her department association and the General Students Association.

The aim of the extracurricular activities is to make the students understand the importance of self-determination under university regulations. Each student is expected to learn the essence of ethical, intellectual, physical, social as well as aesthetic training from a variety of activities. Above all, the university puts forth their best efforts to enhance the students' sense of morality.

Health care services

The Health Clinic at National Chung Hsing University is open to all students, faculty, and staff. It aims to take care of both physical and mental health of all members of the university community. It offers the following services:

Student labor education

The Student Labor Education Office provides financial support and work-study opportunities for students. This office is responsible for student labor education and work-study management. In addition, this office deals with the administration of scholarships, student loans, and tuition reduction and waivers.

Counseling Services for Overseas Chinese and International Students

The Counseling Office for Overseas Chinese and International Students aims to help those students regarding their visa and scholarship applications, and other matters concerning them. The office also issues work permits and medical insurance permits for overseas Chinese and international students.

Official Journal

Notable alumni