To eliminate all forms of poverty, ensure the rights and interests of the poor and disadvantaged groups to be educated, and implement social protection measures, NCUE takes the following measures to assist domestic low-income students or other students who meet stricter standards:

1. NCUE has implemented the Higher Education Sprout Project and the The Soaring Eagles Project (aid for economically disadvantaged students) to help disadvantaged students receive a university education.

Through the promotion of the Higher Education Sprout Project, NCUE has progressively increased diverse admission opportunities for high school students. This includes encouraging departments to actively allocate quotas to expand admission opportunities for disadvantaged students, waiving application fees, providing transportation and accommodation subsidies, and conducting outreach for high school and vocational school admissions. To further the goals of the Sprout Project, NCUE has continued to organize "Caring for Regional High Schools and Vocational Schools" micro-course activities (Figures 1-2).

As of the end of July 2023, there were 347 students from families in the lowest 20% income group (low-income: 92 , middle-to-low-income: 31 , and disadvantaged levels 1-6: 199) studying at NCUE, accounting for 4.4 % of all students.

2. NCUE has introduced a variety of admission pathways for disadvantaged students and a better enrolling, learning, and counseling mechanism to increase social mobility.

NCUE is committed to providing opportunities for disadvantaged students (indigenous peoples, students with physical or mental disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students) to enroll. NCUE encourages its departments to allocate additional admission quotas through various channels and has devised a comprehensive set of educational, learning, and counseling mechanisms to enable students to unleash their full potential while studying at NCUE. The goal is to progressively increase the number of economically disadvantaged students enrolled each year. The details of the relevant admission measures are as follows:

(1) Priority Admission (Please refer to Annex 1.3.1A): In the 2018/2019 academic year, NCUE introduced a “Priority Admission” mechanism in the university application process, which lowered admission criteria and increases the chances of admission for economically disadvantaged students. Applicable Departments for the 2023/2024 Academic Year: Department of Mathematics, Department of Physics (Physics Group), Department of Physics (Optoelectronics Group), Department of Biology, Department of English, Department of Electronic Engineering, and Department of Fine Arts.

(2) The Soaring Eagles Admission Groups (Please refer to Annex 1.3.1A): In the 2019/2020 academic year, NCUE established the “The Soaring Eagles Admission Groups”. Some departments allocate a certain number of admission quotas to each group, allowing for adjustments in the General Scholastic Ability Test standards and exempting some applicants who passed written document reviews from interviews. The goal is to enhance the opportunities for economically disadvantaged students to enroll in NCUE.

(3) Additional admission quotas for indigenous peoples (Please refer to Annex 1.3.1A): Enrollment quotas are determined based on the principle of adding two percent to the admission quotas approved by the Ministry of Education for each college, institute, department, and degree program. The admission methods include written exams, interviews, written document reviews, skill tests, or implementations.

(4) Separate Admission for Students with Physical or Mental Disabilities (Please refer to Annex 1.3.1B): Each department can separately allocate admission quotas up to ten percent of the department’s annual approved admission quotas for students with disabilities. Admission methods may include written document reviews, interviews, skill tests, etc, at the discretion of each department. However, departments are encouraged to minimize the use of written exams.

In 2023, NCUE’s departments provided 220 admission quotas for disadvantaged students (low-income households, middle-to-low-income households, students in hardship, indigenous people, and students with physical and mental disabilities). 98 students were admitted. The related admission results are presented in Table 1 and Figure 3.

Table 1. Overview of Admission Results in 2022 and 2023