| The theory of higher education massification is a theory of higher education development, which was advanced in 1973 by Professor Martin Trow, a famous American scholar on his observation of the development of higher education in USA and Europe. Since the 60s of the 20th century, the trend of higher education massification has become world-wide. However, China did not follow the trend until the 90s of the last century though people in many places took higher education massification as their aims for higher education development. In 1999, the Central Committee and the State Council declared clearly in the "Resolution to Deepen the Reform of Education so as to Push Forward Quality-Oriented Education" and the "Program of Action to Vitalize Education in the 21st Century" that the country's higher education enrollment rate for suitable age group would reach 15% by the year 2005, meaning that "China has sounded the bugle to advance for higher education massification." Along with the nation wide "enrollment expansion" of colleges and universities in 1999, the higher education scale of Shaanxi province expanded rapidly and the enrollment rate for suitable age group reached 15% in 2002. Nevertheless, while the higher education enrollment kept on growing, there appeared inside the higher education system many difficulties and problems, which had touched off great concern and attention to. This dissertation has based itself on a practical case study to push forward the course of higher education massification in Shaanxi, aiming to frame a theory structure for its course. It has also the purpose to outline scientifically the objectives and tasks for its course and to put forward proper ways for implementation of higher education massification in the province.By tracing back to the origin of Martin Trow's theory of higher education massification, the author of this dissertation explains in detail the relations between quantity and quality changes during the course of higher education massification. And then, the author puts forward that a real understanding of the meaning of higher education massification and its key point lies only on the consideration of higher education massification from the angle of a combination of quantities with qualities. The essence of Martin Trow's theory is a theory of development interdependent of changes between quantity and quality. The figures of 15% and 50% have added quality connotations to the dull numbers indicating the growth of student numbers at colleges and universities. Martin Trow's theory is not only helpful for a multi-comparison between quantity growth and quality shift during the development of higher education in a region or a country so as to provide with a new angle to the studies of problems founded in the course of higher education massification, but it may also be able to provide with theoretical guidance for a region or country to work out policies for its higher education system reform or enrollment expansion.Looking back to the course of higher education development in Shaanxi "yesterday" and summing up the present conditions of higher education in Shaanxi "today," the author of this dissertation takes into consideration Martin Trow's theory of higher education massification as well as experiences or lessons of US, UK, Japan and South Korea in their courses of higher education massification. Then, the author analyses in an all round way the differences between international standard and Shaanxi's higher education enrollment rate for suitable age group, higher education investment, higher education functions, system of higher education management, etc, suggesting that the minimum mass higher education enrollment rate for suitable age group in Shaanxi should be 20%. At the same time, the author probes into a new theory for higher education massification in Shaanxi and considers the following three principles as elements for the new theory which he thinks it is suitable for the province: "appropriate excess of higher education over economic deve...
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