NSYSU BEST Program Implementation Synopsis

In response to the increasing demand for global talent, National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) organized the Level-1 and Level-2 Administrative Director Consensus Camp in 2019 where the goal of being listed in the Top 200 of the Academic Ranking of World Universities by 2030 was established. With the aim of becoming a leading university in the world, NSYSU implemented an internationalization policy, targeting a 15% increase in the number of international faculty members by 2025, and over 20% by 2030. Additionally, the aim is to have 20% of the student population be international students. NSYSU also established the English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) Teaching Enhancement Program to support the bilingual policy for 2030. This program encourages and supports departments in developing EMI courses and provides a support system for EMI faculty members, thus gradually and systematically helping the various departments establish EMI programs and courses. Our goal is to have each department offer EMI programs at the undergraduate level and all graduate courses to be taught in English within the next decade. We hope these can enhance students' international mobility. This "bilingual university" strategy is implemented through both top-down leadership and bottom-up communication to achieve a school-wide consensus. The program implementation covers well-rounded aspects, including organization, teachers, curriculum, students, quality assurance, and the campus.

(1)Administrative Organization Adjustment

To promote the bilingual education program, we have established the Office of BEST Program and the “Bilingual University Advisory Board.”. In August 2021, Si Wan College inaugurated the Center for EMI Teaching Excellence, responsible for enhancing students' English proficiency. In addition, the NSYSU Resource Center for Bilingual Education* was established to offer training for university teachers. By reforming the organizational structure and strategically integrating resources both vertically and horizontally, NSYSU has advanced towards becoming an international bilingual university.

(2)Promotion ofEMI Teaching Enhancement Program

The University established a comprehensive mechanism for English talent development in various academic fields through various supports, including providing departments with funds to recruit faculty members with international teaching experiences, offering subsidies to establish EMI programs, and allocating budget to support English-taught courses.

To date, NSYSU has established 20 EMI degree programs, including 11 undergraduate, 6 master's, and 3 doctoral programs. In the 2024/2025 academic year, the Department of Marine Environment and Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Science and Technology will launch new EMI programs. With these additions, a total of 13 departments will offer EMI programs, accounting for 50% of all undergraduate programs at the University.

The number of English-taught courses at NSYSU has seen a significant increase, rising from 488 courses (12% of the total courses offered) in the 2020/2021 academic year to 920 courses (22.2% of the total courses offered) in the 2022/2023 academic year. This growth has resulted in a higher proportion of local sophomore students taking at least 20% of their courses as EMI courses, reaching 32.5%. The proportion of first-year graduate students taking at least 20% of their courses as EMI courses has also reached 48.9%. Both have reached the expected targets.

(3)Enhancement of Faculty EMI Professional Skills

NSYSU has developed a comprehensive EMI Professional Development Program (PD Program), which is divided into Entry, Junior, and Senior levels. This well-established system helps teachers enhance their teaching capacity gradually and even become seed instructors who help peers, to reach the goal of sustainable development. The PD Program consists of EMI seminars or workshops, online EMI training courses, EMI teacher community, and EMI classroom observation. To increase faculty members’ sense of honor and participation, teachers who complete the requirements of the PD Program will be issued certificates and awarded with bonus.

It is worth to mention that based on the PD Program, the University has also collaborated with international organizations, including American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, Fulbright Taiwan, (FSE), British Council (BC), and Open Society University Network (OSUN), to expand its training capacity.

The PD Program attracts not only newly recruited or junior teachers but also senior faculty members (i.e., 20% professors, 23% associate professors, and 57% assistant professors). As of now, 40.9% of teachers have participated in the PD Program, and 35 teachers have received a total of 73 certifications. These teachers also offer EMI courses with excellent quality. In the 2022/2023 academic year, a total of 317 NSYSU faculty members offered EMI courses, amounting to 51.5% of the total faculty.

(4)Enhancement of Student English Proficiency

Starting from the 2021/2022 academic year, the University has implemented significant reforms in the general education English courses of the undergraduate program. We incorporate the CEFR standard into freshman English courses to enhance students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. From the 2022/2023 academic year onward, the University has promoted the integration of general education English courses of the undergraduate program with EAP/ESP courses. Additionally, NSYSU administers an on-campus TOEIC test for freshmen to comprehensively assess and track English learning outcomes. In the 2021/2022 academic year, 27.75% of freshmen achieved a CEFR level of B2 or higher, and in the 2022/2023 academic year, the proportion was 25.25%.

The University also provides a variety of extracurricular English activities to strengthen students’ English communicative skills. These include the English Table, English Club, and English speaking and writing contests. Through this comprehensive curriculum design, diverse student learning activities, and systematic English ability assessment measures, students will make systematic progress in their learning.

To enhance student global mobility, NSYSU provides multiple international exchange channels, including exchange programs, dual degrees, short-term studies, international volunteer programs. The University currently has partnerships with 304 sister schools in 45 countries around the world. Among these, 226 sister schools have signed 224 student exchange agreements (including those with OSUN), and 29 have signed contracts for 40 dual-degree contracts, achieving a substantial exchange ratio of over 80%.

(5)Quality Assurance Mechanism for EMI Courses

The University tracks the learning outcomes of students in EMI programs and regular programs, as well as those in English-taught courses and Mandarin-taught courses, by conducting surveys on student learning outcomes and teaching evaluation every semester. The results from the 2021/2022 to 2022/2023 academic year show high satisfaction rates with both EMI and Mandarin-taught courses among students. Furthermore, self-assessed learning outcomes indicate that students perceive their learning effectiveness positively. We will continue to collect data and conduct statistical analyses on student academic performance to establish a long-term tracking model, which will provide feedback for teachers to refine their teaching methods and ensure student effective learning in EMI contexts.

(6)Building a Bilingual Campus

The University aims to establish a bilingual campus through various measures, including bilingual web pages, bilingualization of important meetings, internationalization of administrative staff, and the establishment of English window in each unit. The University actively promotes the internationalization of university affairs to ensure smooth administrative operations and communication. As of now, 87 (i.e., 19%) NSYSU administrative staff have reached high-intermediate or higher level of English proficiency.

(7)Bilingual Education Resource Sharing

NSYSU received funding from the Ministry of Education in 2021 to establish the first “Taiwan-US Education Initiative - Bilingual Education and Training Base," along with the “NSYSU Resource Center for Bilingual Education.” The Center aims to support regional universities in establishing EMI teaching support systems, facilitating the sharing of EMI teaching experiences and resources. To date, the number of regional university teachers participating in EMI enhancement activities has reached 471 individuals (or 1,974 head counts) in the 2022/2023 academic year. To enhance resource sharing further, the University develops five EMI teaching video modules every year. These modules undergo a rigorous three-stage expert review process to ensure their quality. Once produced, these modules and materials will be opened to teachers and students of partner universities. The resources allow regional teachers to observe exemplary EMI teaching best practices and learn pedagogy and strategies. To enhance the participation of teachers from other regions, the University began designing domestic and international teacher training programs in 2022. Regarding the international EMI training programs, our focus has been on collaborating with Arizona State University (ASU). In August 2023, we selected 19 regional university teachers to participate in the overseas upskilling training, which also includes subject-domain class observation. Upon their return to Taiwan, these educators were invited to share their insights and experiences with their peers.

Note: The Center, originally named the Southern Regional Resource Center for Bilingual Education, was renamed as the NSYSU Resource Center for Bilingual Education in January 2024.