Number of students starting a degree

Number of students starting a FTE bachelor’s degree in 2024: 1,154; Master’s degree: 680; Doctoral degree: 79 (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Total number of students starting a FTE degree at NCUE in 2024

Number of first-generation students starting a degree

1. Number of first-generation college students starting a degree.

Among the new students enrolled in the day-time courses in 2024, 670 were first-generation students starting a degree, accounting for 35.02% of the 1,913 students in total. The statistics of first-generation students starting (Figure 2)

Figure 2. Total number of first-generation college students starting a degree at NCUE in 2024

2. Improving the education guidance and counselling mechanism for students who are the first to attend university in three generations.

For first-generation university students, their parents have received less education and cannot directly provide immediate learning assistance and resources to the next generation, which easily creates challenges in academic learning, interpersonal relationships, and cultural adaptation. To achieve the goal of the equality of educational opportunities, NCUE is committed to fulfilling its social responsibility as a national university in promoting social mobility, reducing inequitable treatment caused by economically or culturally disadvantaged backgrounds. In conjunction with the Higher Education Sprout Project, NCUE provides various guidance and counselling programs for students who are identified as the first students to attend university in three generations. Through comprehensive care covering all stages from admission pathways, academic assistance, to graduation preparation, we help first-generation university students focus on their learning and cultivate their employment competitiveness.

(1) Pre-admission Guarantees and Increased Admission Opportunities.

To assist students in pursuing their studies smoothly and demonstrating their potential, NCUE actively constructs diverse support mechanisms, such as encouraging various departments to provide additional or reserved quotas through different admission channels and offering admission opportunities for disadvantaged students. Additionally, we reduce admission-related fees and provide transportation subsidies for disadvantaged students to alleviate their economic pressure.

(a) University admission with reserved quotas: The university application admission channel provides certain quotas for priority admission of economically disadvantaged students, and has established the "Soaring Eagles Recruitment Group," which emphasizes students' learning motivation and their uplifting experiences during their academic growth journey, with comprehensive written evaluation processes. In the 2024 academic year, we admitted 1 and 17 students respectively.

(b) Fee reduction for entrance examinations and registration: To alleviate their economic burden and strengthen assistance mechanisms for disadvantaged students, we waive examination fees for economically disadvantaged students participating in admission tests and provide subsidies for transportation and accommodation costs. Since the 2024 academic year, we have provided approximately NT$28,000 in subsidies.

(2) Post-admission Learning Support at All Stages.

To ensure students can pursue their studies without financial worries, NCUE has implemented a guidance and counselling mechanism of "Replacing Work-study with Learning," enabling economically disadvantaged students to balance both their academic studies and living needs. From the first mile of enrollment to the last mile of graduation, NCUE has thoroughly implemented the "Comprehensive Care for Students' Learning Journey," helping students achieve the goal of "Soaring in Academic Careers and Realizing Eagles dreams." The learning journey includes secure academic life guidance, professional caring psychological counselling, enhanced self-directed learning guidance, and improved competency career counselling. Table 1 shows the number of students receiving guidance and counselling and the distribution of incentive funds under our university's Soaring Eagles Program in 2024. The number of guidance and counselling sessions provided to economically disadvantaged students has reached 2,505. Among these, first-generation students received 640 guidance and counselling sessions and obtained incentive grants totaling NT$3,687,600.

Table 1. Distribution of Incentive Grants under NCUE's Soaring Eagles Program in 2024

2024	Life Guidance and Counselling	Psychological Counselling	Learning Guidance and Counselling	Career Guidance and Counselling	Total
Number of Guidance and Counselling Sessions	329	798	1,343	35	2,505
Student Incentive Grants	3,944,000	-	8,636,400	110,000	12,690,400
Number of First-generation Students	122	149	360	9	640
First-generation Student Incentive Grants	1,317,600	-	2,340,000	30,000	3,687,600

(a) Life guidance and counselling for a secure academic life: Through measures such as tuition and miscellaneous fee reductions, accommodation guarantees, and resources provided after counselling including emergency relief, campus meal coupons, and scholarships, NCUE helps students overcome short-term living and financial difficulties. Figures 3-4 show the implementation of Soaring Eagles incentive grants and freshman financial aid briefings, as well as sharing sessions of Soaring Eagles students' growth experiences.

Figure 3. Soaring Eagles Incentive Grants Briefings

Figure 4. Freshman Scholarship Financial Aid Briefings

(b) Psychological counselling and supportive accompaniment: For students who require psychological counselling, NCUE provides individualized counselling services, group counselling services, diverse mental health promotion activities (including lectures and workshops), and establish case management tracking for students who need counselling. This provides students with comprehensive psychological support and assistance, deepening "precision counselling" to build student resilience.

(c) Learning guidance and counselling for excellence and capability enhancement: Oriented by student needs, teachers personally lead and guide students to set learning goals and strategies, planning diverse empowerment learning programs to expand the depth and breadth of learning and adaptive development. This is complemented by various capacity-building lectures and workshops such as micro-program to expand students' knowledge and competency learning.

(d) Library and digital resources for expanded learning support: NCUE currently has approximately 440,000 volumes in its collection (including Chinese and English books), with an annual investment of approximately NT$29 million to enrich our library resources. We actively participate in various electronic resource consortiums, such as the Taiwan Academic E-book and Database Consortium (TAEBDC), the Consortium on Core Electronic Resources in Taiwan (CONCERT), the University Library E-book Procurement Consortium, and the Chemistry and Physics Promotion Center Consortiums. NCUE has purchased approximately 30 types of electronic resources, including Elsevier ScienceDirect, Springer, Wiley, IEEE, and other electronic resources to meet students' learning and research needs. Students can actively utilize the university's libraries, computer labs, laboratories, and other resources, providing students with a high-quality learning environment.

(e) Student emergency aid funds: To support students from economically-disadvantaged families and those who face emergencies (including students who are the first to attend university in three generations of their families) through hardship, NCUE provides emergency aid funds of approximately NTD$100,000 per student.
https://alumni.ncue.edu.tw/p/405-1017-4685,c1366.php

(3) Comprehensive Career Guidance Before Graduation for Employment Transition.

(a) Establishment of the "Precision Career Development Center" in February 2025: A dedicated unit has been established to integrate campus career guidance resources and create an integrated platform, establishing cross-departmental cooperation mechanisms and working closely with various departments and institutes to provide students with diverse and precise career guidance.

(b) To enhance the diversity and stability of students' future development, our university applied for the "2024 Subsidy Program for Universities and Colleges Implementing Employment Service " from the Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor, Taichung-Changhua-Nantou Regional Branch. NCUE hired professional consultants to provide career counselling services, with a total of 48 participants, including 8 first-generation college students. We aim to help students clarify their self-understanding and enhance their self-worth affirmation from an objective perspective, while simultaneously expanding their horizons to understand future market development trends.

Figure 5. Practicing Social Participation: Community Development Leadership Training

Figure 6. Job Fair: Career Development Center Offering Advisory Services

(4) Encouraging Students to Engage in Rural School Service to Demonstrate Self-Worth.

NCUE encourage students to step out of campus and engage in rural education services. During the service process, students not only put their professional knowledge and skills into practice, but also experience the demonstration of their self-worth, and find confidence and a sense of achievement through feedback from students. The Baisha Summer School, the Schweitzer Educational Service Program, and the USR Baisha x Collaborative Good Program serve as practical venues for these values, demonstrating the power and significance of first-generation college students in educational service.

(a) Baisha Summer School: Since 2011, the Baisha Summer School has been held annually. It is organized by a team of pre-service teachers who take on various roles such as principal, directors of academic affairs, student affairs, general affairs, as well as homeroom teachers. Through this immersive experience, they simulate the operations of a school and lead newly admitted elementary and junior high school students to adapt to campus life while engaging in creative and enthusiastic bridging courses. In the summer of 2024, a total of 39 pre-service teachers were stationed at Sijhou Junior High School and Hsinyi Public Junior High and Elementary School of Changhua County. They guided 113 incoming seventh graders to experience the joy of learning and to embrace their new life in junior high school. (Figures 7-10)

Figure 7. Baisha Summer School – Closing Ceremony at Hsinyi Public Junior High and Elementary School	Figure 8. Baisha Summer School – Curriculum Expo at Hsinyi Public Junior High and Elementary School
Figure 9. Baisha Summer School – Sports Day at Sijhou Junior High School	Figure 10. Baisha Summer School – Opening Ceremony at Sijhou Junior High School

(b) Schweitzer Educational Service Program: Since 2006, the Schweitzer Educational Service Program has embodied the spirit of Dr. Schweitzer by caring for the underprivileged and providing professional services. The participants will be sent to rural schools to conduct academic tutoring and character education activities. In the summer of 2024, 19 pre-service teachers (involving two first-generation college students) served 27 students transitioning from seventh to eighth grade at Hsienhsi Junior High School in Changhua County (Figures 11-12).

Figure 11. Schweitzer Program – Academic Challenge Stations

Figure 12. Schweitzer Program – Sports Day

(c) USR NCUE x Common Good Project: Launched in 2020, this project aims to fulfill the university's social responsibility, enhance pre-service teachers’ professional teaching knowledge, and strengthen their practical teaching skills. It also promotes the integration of regional resources to provide disadvantaged rural students with better learning opportunities and educational resources. In 2024, the summer camps were co-organized with six schools across Changhua, Yunlin, and Nantou counties. These camps incorporated localized curricula and interdisciplinary courses. For example, the "Magical Journey" bilingual support course at Tianjhong Senior High School's junior high division used immersive English activities and role-playing to build students' confidence and improve their English communication skills. A total of 61 volunteer (involving twelve first-generation college students) engagements by pre-service teachers served 231 junior high school students (Figures 13-14).

Figure 13. Enhancing Students’ English Communication Skills Through Immersive English Activities

Figure 14. Group Photo from the Course