On Attached Independent College

Attached Independent College (AIC), a new form of educational organization, came into being only recently as a result of China's higher educational reform. AIC is neither the same with the college in the traditional University-College-Department construction, or privately-owned universities. Instead, AIC refers to secondary college providing four-year undergraduate program as guided by general universities, which is a new educational system. As an educational organization, AIC is therefore a corporate body that can conduct undergraduate educational activities independently. With its distinctiveness and originality, AIC manages to achieve optimal combination of educational resources of state-owned universities and social fund and resources according to market economy rules. Owned privately, AIC enhances the phenomenal development of higher education through the reform of educational system as well as educational modes. As a new form of education, AIC inevitably faces difficulties in its development. A scientific research into AIC's history and development can be of great importance to the healthy development of AIC, even the higher education system as a whole.Based on a review of AIC's history and development, the present paper aims at introducing its social background and motive as well as its official framework and outlining. The author will further analyze the norm, features, merits, nature and goal of AIC. Moreover, this paper will focus on a thorough analysis of major problems in AIC's development and organizing, with the purpose of providing possible solution for AIC's optimization and theoretical base as well as operational guideline of its healthy development.