Although Taiwan's universities are most commonly positioned in terms of academics, students from several Kaohsiung colleges created a new ranking system in which National Taiwan University only placed thirteenth.

Based on an investigation of student rights at 65 different schools, this evaluation reflects the issues that students are most concerned with.

A new student-conducted assessment of 65 universities included criteria for issues such as student government, accommodation requirements, gender equality and school regulations. The new ranking based on these issues placed Chiayi's National Chung Cheng University at number one, followed by Nan Hua University, then National Chi Nan University.

All of the top five schools were national universities, while many private schools, such as Tatung University, I-Shou University and Huafan University, were at the bottom of the list. Common traits among these schools were rules prohibiting student parades, punishments for student protests, and regulations on clothing and appearance.

National Taiwan University, which is recognized as one of the top 100 universities in the world and consistently named as the top university in Taiwan, was only ranked thirteenth in terms of student rights.

According to the survey, 60 percent of the universities surveyed require school publications to be submitted for review before being published. Forty-two percent of the schools hold compulsory military training, continuing with Taiwan's military traditions, despite the fact that it has been over 20 years since Taiwan was under martial law.

Scholars say that although Taiwan's universities are dedicated in their pursuit of excellence, sometimes the rights of the students are neglected. They believe that the results of this research will cause university officials to reflect on their own schools' policies. The survey will be presented to the Ministry of Education with a request for intervention to improve the conditions for students.