Shandong University’s rumored relocation plans are facing staunch opposition from members of its community, who recently penned three open letters arguing that the move will damage the school’s already-slipping academic ranking.

The university currently has six campuses — one nearly six decades old — throughout Jinan, a city of nearly 7 million people and the capital of eastern China’s Shandong province.

An alumnus of Shandong University (SDU) surnamed Wang told Sixth Tone that sources within the school have said there are plans to move to the city’s Zhangqiu District, formerly a county-level city and now a suburb of Jinan some 40 kilometers away from the city’s center.

Wang, also a representative of Young SDUer, a social media account run by former SDU students, believes the move is intended to free up prime real estate in Jinan’s city center. Though the plan has not been officially confirmed, property in Zhangqiu has already seen a spike in sales. According to a local news report, more than a hundred commercial properties have been bought up, some by SDU teaching staff.

Wang told Sixth Tone he is worried that Zhangqiu is too remote and undeveloped — there is currently no subway line connecting the district to the rest of the city. Wang, who studied law at SDU, would only reveal his surname for fear of professional repercussions.

Founded in 1901, SDU currently has around 60,000 students. With two campuses in Jinan, the school’s expansion over the past 30 years has produced six additional campuses in Jinan, Weihai, and Qingdao, all of which are in Shandong province. But skeptics point to a drop in national university rankings — from 13th in 2002 to 21st in 2016 — as repercussions of such rapid expansion.

“The Qingdao campus just opened [in 2016], and they want to establish a new one in Zhangqiu as soon as possible. How can this be?” said 24-year-old graduate student Wu Qiong. With the Qingdao campus undergoing a second phase of construction for a total cost of 7.5 billion yuan ($1.09 billion), Wu wonders whether the Zhangqiu relocation will overburden the school coffers.

“The most important thing right now is to improve the academic level and quality of education to attract more talent,” Wu told Sixth Tone. “If new construction projects are repeated over and over again, the university’s future will be fraught.”

A survey on Young SDUer shows that 80 percent of respondents disagreed with the school potentially moving to Zhangqiu. The account also published the open letters arguing against the relocation.

“Openness is the most important quality for any subject,” Wang said. “The city center is more open, and the circulation of information is more convenient there.” He also worries that large mining operations in Zhangqiu would compromise air quality and present health risks.

Those in support of the relocation stress the new opportunities presented by the move. One graduate told Sixth Tone’s sister publication The Paper that the fragmented Jinan campuses incur management costs and bureaucratic problems that would be resolved by a larger campus in Zhangqiu.

SDU’s alumni association released an announcement Friday in which it said establishing a main campus would be a major step in the school’s history. “It has received great attention and strong support from the governments of Shandong province and Jinan City,” the statement said. It added that administrators would inform the public of any updates, and that they welcomed feedback.

When Sixth Tone contacted the university, an employee referred back to the alumni association’s statement.

“A teacher from the university’s alumni association told us that focusing on our own careers is the best contribution to the university,” Wang said, adding that the teacher implored them not to cause trouble for the school. “But we can’t turn a blind eye — once the relocation plans come true, it’ll be too late to fight.”

Additional reporting by Yin Yijun.

(Header image: A view of the Qingdao campus of Shandong University, Shandong province, Sept. 17, 2016. IC)