An examination of the implementation of community universities in Taiwan : lifelong learning for a changing society

In Taiwan, the “community universities” are a relatively new form of educational institution. They came into existence as a result of an education reform movement initiated by non-governmental groups. The community universities have broken the boundaries of traditional education and integrated the functions of higher education, civic education, adult education, community education, and lifelong education, and created their own unique characteristics. On September 28, 1998, the first community university in Taiwan, Wenshan Community University, was born. Now there are over one hundred community universities in the country. The curriculum, quality of the teachers, management, and the school system of the community universities have been planned and developed as “alternative universities.” They provide citizens with opportunities for continuous learning. Although the community universities are still lacking in terms of legal protection, they have brought out many new experiments and attempts. Therefore, the community universities as a whole and their achievements are worth further examination.