BEIJING — Students at a prominent Chinese university on Wednesday staged protests against efforts by the ruling Communist Party to further extend its control over university campuses, a rare and risky rebuke that highlighted broader concerns about the erosion of free speech under President Xi Jinping.

The protests were a response to the decision this month by Fudan University, a Shanghai institution known for its relatively tolerant culture, to rewrite its charter to emphasize loyalty to the party over traditional values like independence and academic freedom.

Fudan was one of three universities to make the changes, which were widely publicized on Chinese social media sites this week, prompting a backlash that extended beyond university campuses.

Many people criticized the universities for appearing to back away from principles they said were necessary for China to have a competitive education system. As criticism mounted, the authorities moved swiftly to limit the discussion, censoring comments and a hashtag about the issue.