On November 12, 2015, West China Higher Education Evaluation Center was founded at Xi’an Jiaotong University. On April 12, 2016, flollwing the meeting of the Standing Committee of XJTU, the center merged with the Institute of Higher Education, XJTU,  which was established in 1984. Since then, the center and the institute, reserving their original names, have operated as one organization.

West China Higher Education Evaluation Center (i.e. Institute of Higher Education) is a research-focused organization, directly administrated by XJTU. The center is guided by the principles of ‘providing educational services while prioritizing academic studies; supporting local communities while having an international outlook; serving the country from Shaanxi’. The center’s main responsibilities include:

(1)conducting theoretical and empirical research on policies, regulations and laws related to reform and evaluation in higher education, so as to provide theoretical and methodological support to government decision-making and university governance;

(2)researching on and developing a national postgraduate education evaluation index system, and implementing a national postgraduate education evaluation;

(3)organizing the implementation of qualification assessment, auditing, evaluation and accreditation of disciplines at universities and other educational institutes in Shaanxi and other areas of West China;

(4)cooperating with the Shaanxi Province Higher Education Data Center and other organizations to establish a Shaanxi higher education evaluation information system; collecting, analyzing and releasing teaching statistics of colleges and universities in Shaanxi and other areas of China; providing information and consulting services for government decision-making, university governance and social evaluation;

(5)organizing symposiums and providing training to higher education institutes in Shaanxi and other areas of West China, and to members of the University Alliance of the Silk Road;

(6)promoting exchanges and cooperation with domestic and international higher education evaluation (accreditation) agencies;

(7)conducting theoretical and empirical research on higher education and cultivating excellent postgraduate students in the field of education.

West China Higher Education Evaluation Center (i.e. Institute of Higher Education) focuses on its core tasks of researching on and implementing higher education evaluation. The center is committed to studying and applying cutting-edge theories, novel methods and innovative techniques of evaluation in higher education. The center is characterized by its clear targets, professional faculty and open structure. It strives to become a well-known educational organization in China, offering consulting services, ranging from training of innovative talents to assessment of teaching quality and evaluation of disciplines in higher education.