| The project-based governance model of higher education in China has gone through four stages of development since the reform and opening up: germination and embryonic form, exploration and formation, development and strengthening, maturity and optimization. Based on the analysis framework of historical institutionalism, it is found that macro structural elements such as national financial and tax system reform, national strategic needs, and economic system reform, non-political factors such as economic factors and the development concept of "giving priority to efficiency with due consideration to fairness", as well as the interactive influence between the project-based governance model itself and higher education actors, collectively constitute important driving forces for the transformation of the project-based governance model in higher education. Overall, the project-based governance model is a "double-edged sword": on the one hand, it plays a role in concentrating resources and solving urgent problems in the development of higher education, stimulating vitality and injecting strong impetus into the rapid development of higher education, and regulating governance and ensuring the effective realization of national interests; on the other hand, it is also easy to constrain the overall governance of higher education due to fragmentation issues, neglect the rational value of higher education due to emphasizing the characteristics of technological governance, and exacerbate the suppression of university autonomy due to the dual-track operation with the hierarchical system. Therefore, we need to maintain a clear understanding of the limitations of the project-based governance model in higher education and take effective measures to avoid its negative effects as much as possible, in order to effectively enhance the efficiency of the project-based governance model in higher education and promote the high-quality development of higher education. |
