The school didn't remain in Shenyang for long. In December 1954, the Ministry of Light Industry decided to move the whole institution to Qingdao, where more expertise was needed to further the development of the local rubber-industry. Thus, in September 1956 the "Qingdao Rubber Industry School" () opened its gates, having moved teachers, students and equipment from Liaoning to Shandong Province. During those years, the area lay at the outskirts of the city proper and was far from being urbanized. In 1958, under the name "Shandong College of Chemical Industry" (), it became directly subordinated to the Ministry of Chemical Industry and given the right to award bachelor's degrees. During the Cultural Revolution, the college suffered a sharp decline in the range of subjects to only three, namely Rubber Machinery, Chemical Machinery and Rubber Products, in 1968. The length of studies was also shortened to only two years, and in 1972, it was required for the school to recruit workers, peasants and soldiers as students (). Things started to look brighter in 1977, when the Gaokao was reinstated as prerequisite to higher education, and the college was able to enroll 443 new students for Bachelor-level studies.