‘扩招’ is a compound verb meaning ‘to increase enrollment’, especially in educational institutions such as universities, colleges, or vocational schools. The first character 扩 (kuò) means ‘to expand’ or ‘to enlarge’, while the second character 招 (zhāo) means ‘to recruit’ or ‘to admit’ — together, they literally convey ‘expanding recruitment’, i.e., admitting more students than before. This term is commonly used in official policy announcements, news reports, and academic discussions about education reform.

‘扩招’ typically appears in contexts involving government initiatives, institutional planning, or demographic shifts — for example, when a country responds to rising demand for higher education or seeks to improve access for underrepresented groups. It is rarely used for individual schools acting alone without broader policy context, and it almost never applies to non-educational recruitment (e.g., hiring employees). The term carries a formal, administrative register and is seldom found in casual speech.