Having broken down the old, closed, self-service pattern featuring "school running social welfare undertakings, and providing small but all-inclusive rear service" formed under the condition of the original planned economy, Chinese universities have changed the management system and operational mechanism, and instead, adopted the method of sharing resources and complementing each other in advantages, thus gradually forming a new pattern of relying on social forces to provide rear services.

From the beginning of the 1990s, rear service reform in universities has developed from the comprehensive contract method to the organization of service groups through structural reform, the transformation of mechanism and the introduction of enterprise management. Since it set up a catering service center in 1993, Tsinghua University has transformed its operational mechanism and introduced enterprise management method, these measures have notably improved the quality of service for students. Over the past six years, the number of the university's undergraduates and post-graduates has increased by 4,000 people, while the total number of catering service personnel on the regular payrolls, instead of increasing, has decreased by 135 people. The catering service center has also raised funds to the tune of 60.95 million yuan and successively put in more than 24 million yuan for improving canteens' infrastructure facilities and food subsidies.

To ensure the sustained development of the universities' reform of socializing the rear service, quite a few of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions are strengthening the leadership, improving laws and regulations and offering support and help in the form of manpower and financial resources. For example, by now, the government of Beijing has built a series of "Yuxin Garden" residential areas for teachers from 47 universities under the central authorities. The residential areas, which cover 500,000sq. meters, have solved the housing problem for 5,500 households of teachers.

The universities' reform of socializing the logistic service has sparked the initiative of the logistical personnel, increased the ability of rear service, improved the service quality and lightened the burden of the financial resources and the leaders of universities, so that they can focus their energy on the teaching and scientific research work, thus guaranteeing the normal operation of universities and the living order of the teachers.

Just as Education Minster Chen Zhili pointed out at the National Conference on University Rear Service Socialization Reform that this reform is an important part of the reform of higher education. Without the reform of and support for rear service, it would have been impossible for our higher education to score today's great achievement."