versity, National Dong Hwa University, National Taiwan University, Shih
Chien University, Shu-Te University, and Taipei Medical University.
About five hundred people, including American students and their parents, were drawn to the event held on
October 3, 2015 at the Houston Chinese Culture Center. The universities which participated in the forum
have unique characteristics which set
them apart from other institutions
around the world. Located in the
southern Taiwan, National Cheng
Kung University features the world’s
first subtropical green building research center. Ming Chuan University, situated in the north part of
Taiwan, neighbors the biggest night
market on the island. This makes for
an attractive destination, but it is not
only about entertainment and shopping convenience. The institution
was also the first university in Asia
to be accredited in the US education
system, receiving accreditation from
the Middle States Commission on
Higher Education in 2010. National
Taiwan University claims four elected Presidents of Taiwan as alumni.
In conjunction with the education
fair, the Taiwan and Texas Higher
Education Forum took place on October 2, 2015. Representatives from
both Taiwanese and US universities
attended the forum to share their
24 iF Magazine | NOVEMBER 2016
wan. Among them, 3,278 students
are from the US which makes the
United States the 9th most represented group following Malaysia, Japan,
Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, South
Korea and Indonesia. Taiwan’s higher
education is internationally recognized for a number of reasons:
• Taiwan is home to the first university in Asia to be accredited in
the US education system (Middle
States Commission on Higher Education, MSCHE)
• Taiwanese business schools are accredited by AACSB International
(Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business International) and
are known for assisting business programs and schools with continuous
improvement and advancement
thoughts and ideas related to international exchanges and collaborations, • The English taught programs are
reviewed by HEEACT (Higher
short-term programs, and the topic
Education Evaluation and Accreditaof student mobility in the hopes of
tion Council of Taiwan) a member
deepening the collaboration and exof APQN (Asia-Pacific Quality
change of faculty, staff and students
Network) and INQAAHE (Internabetween Taiwan and Texas. About
tional Network for Quality Assurance
sixty scholars, professors, and univerAgencies in Higher Education)
sity faculty and staff members partici• Taiwanese degree programs are
pated in the meeting.
accredited by the IEET (Institute
of Engineering Education Taiwan) for
As of 2015, the Taiwan MOE’s statisgraduation requirements and edutics shows that there are more than
cational quality assurance
92,000 international students taking
on degree programs, exchange pro- • Taiwan is home to prestigious universities such as the National Taigrams, Mandarin Chinese training,
wan University which is ranked
and short-term programs, etc. in Tai-