China, with the world's largest number of students in private higher education, is reforming its governance system for this sector. This involves independent colleges, privately funded but affiliated with public universities. A 2008 Ministry of Education initiative urged these colleges to separate from their parent universities; however, by 2020, over half hadn't separated. This paper analyzes factors affecting separation from the perspectives of various stakeholders, including private funders, parent universities, and local governments, revealing complex interests and conflicts. The study's findings have implications for policymakers and university managers.

Xu Liu, Yanli Zhang, Xiantong Zhao, Stephen Hunt, Wuyin Yan, Yitao Wang