In 2003, an Executive Yuan committee on planning the expansion of higher education recommended that Taiwan's institutions of higher learning be divided into several types: research-oriented universities, teaching-oriented colleges and universities, vocationally-oriented colleges and universities, and community colleges.
2003 年行政院「高等教育宏觀規劃委員會」提出的報告書中，便建議將國內高等教育學府分成「研究型大學」、「教學型大學」、「專業型大學」和「社區型大學」。