China Tightens Rules on Naming Higher Education Institutions

China’s Ministry of Education Monday issued an interim regulation on the naming of higher education institutions.

According to the regulation, institutions in principle should not be titled with words such as “China,” “national,” “international” or other terms that represent China or the world. What’s more, words of regions such as “North China,” “East China,” “Northeast China” and “Southwest China”, are also not allowed in the naming. 

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In principle, institutions should not be named other than the city where the school is located; schools established by the provincial governments can be titled with the province’s name. 

Without authorization, the names should not include trademarks or names legally owned by other organizations or individuals. Moreover, translated or simplified Chinese names of foreign colleges are also not allowed to be used.

The word count of titles should be no more than 12 words. And in principle, schools should not be named after an individual, except with the approval of the education administration department of the State Council, the name of donors who have made special contributions to the development of the school can be used in the title.

The new regulation will apply to the naming of full-time universities, independent colleges, and advanced vocational and technical schools established after the issuance of the interim regulation, according to the ministry.