The paper discusses how our universities are now at the critical juncture of facing global competition and confrontation, and that each university strives for some strategies to make significant transformation. In response to the needs of the new century, the author proposes the “Blue Ocean Strategy” for development of higher education to serve as a basis for the pursuit of academic excellence.The paper includes five parts. First, it explains the changing environment in higher education. Second, it discusses core values of the idea of a university and its functions. Third, it analyses the major conceptions and approaches of the “Blue Ocean Strategy.” Fourth, it proposes some concrete measures to classify the position of higher education. Finally, this paper pays an emphasis on taking effective governance in order to exercise the new functions and improve the overall quality and competitiveness of higher education.
