A Comparative Study On The Employment System Of College Teachers Between China And The United States

The construction of faculty in colleges and universities has become the top priority of China's reform and development of higher education and the construction of "Double First Class".The faculty appointment system is the core of the construction of faculty and a scientific and reasonable faculty appointment system in colleges and universities is the basic guarantee to build a high level faculty with good quality,reasonable structure,distinctive features,rich spirit of innovation and international competitiveness.Through the comparative study of Chinese and American university faculty appointment systems,the analysis of the characteristics and advantages of the two countries' university faculty appointment system can provide reference for the reform and development of the University faculty appointment system in China.In this research,field investigation has been launched at three Chinese universities(one 985 university,one 211 university and one local university)and 3 American colleges and universities(one of the top eight private research universities in the USA,one private liberal arts college and one public teaching-oriented university);the literature and documents related to the faculty appointment system have also been collected;8 Chinese university managers and faculty menbers(president or vice president,dean or vice dean and head of the department,professor or associate professor)and 9 American universities managers and teachers(president or vice president,dean or vice dean and head of the department,professor,associate professor or assistant professor)have been interviewed;the development,the existing problems and the reform trend of Chinese and American colleges and universities faculty appointment systems have been sorted out and analyzed;through Bailey Di comparative four steps,a collocate analysis of the Chinese and American university faculty appointment systems has been made;from four vertical dimensions,namely,history,government,market and academy,and three transverse dimensions,namely,recruitment procedure,appointed posts set and post-appointment management,the university faculty in both countries has been compared,consequently revealing the differences in university faculty appointment system between China and the USA.On the basis of comparative study,the theoretical analysis of university faculty appointment system is carried out,and the four countermeasures and suggestions are put forward for the reform and development of the university faculty appointment system in China.Through the comparative study,it is found that,due to the differences in the background of establishment and development of Chinese and American university appointment systems,including history,government,market and academic factors,the two countries have displayed different characteristics in their universities faculty appointment system.Nonetheless,to ensure the high quality of the social functions of universities is the common foundation of the university faculty appointment system of both countries.The comparative analysis of recruitment procedures,appointed post set and post appointment management shows that the Chinese and American university faculty appointment systems have many similar characteristics and many differences as well.However,how to make the university faculty appointment system more normalization and scientific,to make it more conducive to the development of teaching and research in colleges and universities is a common problem faced by the reform of the university faculty appointment systems in both countries.Differences in the appointment systems in Chinese and American colleges and universities can be attributed to the differences between their social,political and economic systems and higher education management systems,which can also be considered to be the differences in the colleges and universities' understanding of the value of the improvement of university faculty appointment systems: The goal of the reform of the university faculty appointment system in China is to improve the efficiency of teaching and research,and to increase the output of the universities and colleges;Meanwhile,the development,debate or reform of the university faculty appointment system in the USA,focuses on the protection of academic freedom,to provide teachers with professional safety and to cultivate organizational culture.Theoretical analysis shows that the government,market and universities have played different roles in the development and reform of the university faculty appointment system.Government plays the role of macro regulation and control,which is realized through the formulation and implementation of relevant laws,regulations and policies;market has a role in the allocation of resources.Through the relationship between supply and demand,the market promotes the rational allocation of faculty resources.The role of universities is self regulating,reflected in the daily operation and continuous improvement of the university faculty appointment system.Government,market and universities need to establish a harmonious coordination and cooperation win-win relationship between each other.As of related factors,the development of the university faculty appointment system is the influenced by both internal and external factors.External factors include: international and domestic environment;internal factors are the three powers in colleges and universities: referring to the administrative power,academic power and student power.Reform of the university faculty appointment system has both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation,intrinsic motivation is the cognition of the mission the university undertakes and the pursuit of its development;extrinsic motivation sources to the changes of social,political and economic demands and the changes of the functions government and the society give to universities.According to the comparative study and theoretical analysis,this study proposes four countermeasures and suggestions for the reform and development of the university faculty appointment system in China: First,provide scientific and reasonable position setting.Colleges and universities should combine their own characteristics and functions,and provide a reasonable set of teaching posts according to the long-term development goals,overall planning and discipline construction;second,form an open and impartial procedures of appointment.Colleges and universities need to establish a more open and impartial faculty recruitment system,clarify the qualifications for faculty posts and selection right of faculty menbers and change the limitation of faculty menbers' promotion within the university.Third,establish a scientific standard post appointment management.As of faculty menbers' promotion and assessment,follow key and comprehensive coordination,combine qualitative and quantitative standard,implement the classification assessment,rationally use examination results and establish a sound and effective exit mechanism of faculty;Fourth,improve other supporting measures,including amendments to relevant laws and regulations,improvement of talent flow mechanism and the social security system,and so on.