Journal: Journal of Higher Education Research DOI: 10.32629/jher.v7i4.5482
Abstract
Structural alignment between undergraduate programmes and industrial development affects the capacity of higher education to support regional transformation. This article examines 37 regular undergraduate institutions in one Chinese province, using administrative statistics on undergraduate programmes supplied by the provincial education authority and industrial and employment statistics supplied by the provincial statistical authority. It analyses programme distribution, graduate composition, and their relationship with industrial development. Percentage-point differences, total variation distance, and cosine similarity are used to compare graduate and employment structures, with a boundary sensitivity test for the allocation of science. Results indicate broad initial alignment: most graduates are concentrated in fields associated with the secondary and tertiary sectors. However, agriculture-related provision and graduate output remain limited; established engineering programmes require substantial renewal; some service-related programmes are widely provided but lack sufficient differentiation; university geography is uneven; and routine coordination among government, universities, and enterprises remains underdeveloped. The article recommends that government strengthen strategic planning, dynamic adjustment, differentiated evaluation, demand monitoring, and regional coordination; that universities develop new agriculture-related fields, renew established engineering and service-related programmes, translate research strengths into undergraduate education, and improve modern industry colleges; and that enterprises participate in curriculum design, practical training, programme review, and collaborative innovation. Programme adjustment should move from simple expansion and contraction towards structural optimisation, educational quality, and sustained government-university-enterprise coordination.
Keywords
undergraduate programme adjustment; modern industrial development; structural alignment; policy coordination; provincial undergraduate education; industry-education integration
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[29]Zhang, W. (2023). The achievements and paths of building a leading country in higher education: The evolution from connotative development to high-quality development. China Higher Education Research, 39(10), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.16298/j.cnki.1004-3667.2023.10.01
[2]Addessi, W., Biagi, B., Ciucci, L., Detotto, C., & Pulina, M. (2025). Exploring the misalignment between HEIs’ educational offerings and the local economy in low(er) income regions. Regional Studies, 59(1), Article 2358827. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2024.2358827
[3]Ankrah, S., & Al-Tabbaa, O. (2015). Universities–industry collaboration: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(3), 387–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2015.02.003
[4]Geng, M., & Tian, H. (2023). Coordination between higher education and industrial structure and its economic effects: An empirical analysis based on provincial panel data and a spatial Durbin model. Chongqing Higher Education Research, 11(3), 64–78.
[5]Gibbs, A. L., & Su, F. E. (2002). On choosing and bounding probability metrics. International Statistical Review, 70(3), 419–435. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-5823.2002.tb00178.x
[6]He, Z., & Zhou, J. (2023). Strengthening the adjustment and optimisation of disciplines and majors to advance higher education modernisation. China Higher Education, (15/16), 20–23.
[7]Jackson, D. (2015). Employability skill development in work-integrated learning: Barriers and best practice. Studies in Higher Education, 40(2), 350–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.842221
[8]Jiang, L., Li, Y., & Dong, W. (2018). Interaction and co-evolution between higher education structure and industrial structure in China: A systems-coupling perspective. Education Science, 34(3), 59–66.
[9]Li, H., Cao, F., & Dai, W. (2024). Major-based undergraduate curriculum as an obstacle to graduate employability development. Higher Education Research & Development, 43(3), 705–719. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2023.2258844
[10]Li, J., & Li, L. (2025). Optimising university disciplines and majors in the context of new quality productive forces: Values, practical constraints, and pathways. University Education Science, (3), 52–60.
[11]Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2024, March 19). Catalogue of undergraduate programmes in regular higher education institutions (2024). Available from: https://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A08/moe_1034/s4930/202403/t20240319_1121111.html
[12]National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2018, March 27). Notice on revising the Regulations on the Classification of the Three Industries (2012). Available from: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/tjbz/gjtjbz/202302/t20230213_1902764.html
[13]Nie, F., Jiang, H., Lin, K., & Lin, J. (2025). Dynamic adjustment mechanisms and key pathways for university disciplines and majors under new quality productive forces. Yanjiusheng Jiaoyu Yanjiu, (5), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.19834/j.cnki.yjsjy2011.2025.05.11
[14]Nordin, M., Persson, I., & Rooth, D.-O. (2010). Education–occupation mismatch: Is there an income penalty? Economics of Education Review, 29(6), 1047–1059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.05.005
[15]Pominova, M., & Gabe, T. (2023). Population size and the job matching of college graduates. Applied Economics Letters, 30(20), 2994–2997. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2022.2117774
[16]Robst, J. (2007). Education and job match: The relatedness of college major and work. Economics of Education Review, 26(4), 397–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2006.08.003
[17]Salton, G., Wong, A., & Yang, C. S. (1975). A vector space model for automatic indexing. Communications of the ACM, 18(11), 613–620. https://doi.org/10.1145/361219.361220
[18]Saltelli, A., Ratto, M., Andres, T., Campolongo, F., Cariboni, J., Gatelli, D., Saisana, M., & Tarantola, S. (2008). Global sensitivity analysis: The primer. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470725184
[19]Tian, X. (2018). The dynamic adjustment of disciplines and majors in colleges and universities: Models, problems, and integration improvement. Journal of Higher Education Management, 12(6), 44–50. https://doi.org/10.13316/j.cnki.jhem.20181109.001
[20]UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2014). ISCED fields of education and training 2013 (ISCED-F 2013): Manual to accompany the International Standard Classification of Education 2011.
[21]United Nations. (2008). International standard industrial classification of all economic activities (ISIC), Rev. 4 (Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 4/Rev. 4).
[22]Wu, Z., & Guo, H. (2025). The current state, practical logic, and optimisation pathways of undergraduate programme-structure adjustment in China: An analysis of university programme-adjustment actions from 2014 to 2024. Journal of Higher Education Management, 19(2), 101–112. https://doi.org/10.13316/j.cnki.jhem.20250122.009
[23]Xu, X., & Wang, Z. (2021). An empirical study of coordination between professional master’s degrees and industrial structure. Journal of Graduate Education, (6), 68–76. https://doi.org/10.19834/j.cnki.yjsjy2011.2021.06.10
[24]Xue, X., & Zhao, Y. (2022). Coordinated development of higher education structure and industrial structure in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region: An empirical analysis based on panel data from 2008 to 2017. Journal of Changsha University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition), 37(1), 74–84.
[25]Yang, S. (2022). Dynamic coupling mechanisms between undergraduate programme adjustment and industrial-structure evolution. Changsha: Hunan Science & Technology Press .
[26]Yang, S., & Wang, L. (2022). Coordinated development of undergraduate programme adjustment and industrial-structure evolution under high-quality development: Evidence from Hunan Province. University Education Science, (2), 64–74.
[27]Yang, S., Wang, M., & Wang, L. (2022). Undergraduate programme adjustment, industrial-structure evolution, and regional economic growth. Education & Economy, 38(6), 12–23.
[28]Yang, Y., & Song, D. (2016). Current conditions and future aspirations: Field-of-study matching among university graduates — A review of CNKI literature from the previous fifteen years. Journal of Higher Education Research, 39(4), 20–26.
[29]Zhang, W. (2023). The achievements and paths of building a leading country in higher education: The evolution from connotative development to high-quality development. China Higher Education Research, 39(10), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.16298/j.cnki.1004-3667.2023.10.01
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