A Comparative Study On Cost-Sharing Of Minban (Private) Higher Education In China And America

Minban higher education in China has developed rapidly over the last twenty years, and we can predict that it must be the main body of Chinese higher education in the following fifty years. Though it meets people's wants of higher education in China, the financial crisis which exists in its development is still a serious problem. In China, families share more than 80% of the cost of Minban higher education, which is equal to that of American private higher education for profit.The theory of cost-sharing of higher education appeared 1980s and was borrowed by many countries. So did the public higher education in China. The free-of-charge higher education has been a history, whereas families and individuals became a new member in cost-sharing. The study on the members of cost-sharing for public higher education begun twenty years ago, and people achieved somewhat agreement since then. But the discussion about cost-sharing of Minban higher education is just at the very beginning.America sets a good example to the world on the cost-sharing of higher education. One of its characteristics is a variety of members in cost-sharing. So it is very useful and necessary for us to study it and compare the differences between two countries.The whole paper falls into six parts. In the part of Introduction, the background of the study is analyzed, and meanwhile, the current situation and study methods are introduced; the first part is about the theory of cost-sharing of higher education; the second part make a clear explanation of the current situation, problems and tendency and members of sharing the cost of Minban higher education in China; the third part introduces the different situation in America; in the fourth part a brief comparison is made between China and America; then goes the conclusion.