The Committee for General Education was established to implement a comprehensive educational structure that aims to integrate department resources in order to best prepare students with the foundational knowledge for their academic endeavors. The earliest associate units under the Committee included the General Education Center, the Center for Physical Education and the Military Education Office. In 1998, in response to the launch of educational programs and local educational counseling, we incorporated the Center for Teacher Education, in charge of training secondary education teachers with a specific focus on the inclusion of environmental and multi-cultural perspectives in relation to education. Later in 2000, the Affiliated Kindergarten was included. Since 2002, in accordance with the “Program to Enhance Fundamental University Education” of the Ministry of Education, the Art Center was established in 2004, as part of the “Toward an Excelling General Education in the 21st-Century Program” of the University. In 2005, the Language Center, formerly a support unit for the Department of English, was incorporated in the Committee. After National Hualien University of Education merged with the NDHU in 2008, the Center for Teacher Education branched off from the Committee and is presently run independently. The NDHU Chinese Language Center (CLC), established in the summer of 2013 to promoting and supporting the study of Mandarin Chinese and appreciation of Taiwanese culture for international and exchange students at NDHU as well as the general public.

As such, currently there are five units under the Committee and their responsibilities are briefly described below:

• General Education Center:
  to plan and run general education courses.

• Arts Center:
  to cultivate a humanistic and artistic atmosphere and to provide art activities for both the University and the community.

• Physical Education Center:
  to plan and run physical education courses, to hold athletic events and competitions, and to train school teams.

• Language Center:
  to plan and run General English courses and to provide language supports to students, teachers and administrative staff of the University.

• Chinese Language Center:
  to offer credit/non-credit courses on Mandarin Chinese and Chinese teacher training to fit the needs of a diverse group of interested learners.