Role Transformation For Academic Middle Managers In Chinese Teaching-led Universities In The Transition From Elite To Mass Higher Education

Higher education all over the world is in a stage of continuous change, driven by governments, the marketplace, student numbers and student choice. The transition from elite to mass higher education is a global phenomenon. There has been a transformation from elite to mass higher education in developed countries in the past two decades. Since the beginning of the new millennium, China has been experiencing the transition from elite to mass higher education. Chinese universities especially teaching-led universities are facing sever challenge of rapid increasing in student numbers and decreasing in unit funding. The traditional role of academic middle managers fitted for elite higher education is no longer suitable for mass higher education management. For academic middle managers, the rapid turnover of chief executives means also that they have to adapt quickly to new ideas and structures. Yet because university communities as a whole tend to be anxious about change, the role of academic middle managers engaged both with management and with students and academics has taken on a new significance.There has been exploration about the role transformation of academic middle managers in universities in Western countries, such as UK and USA, but research of this aspect in Chinese universities in the transition period is obscure. This dissertation tends to provide a useful insight into the management of university faculties and the role transformation of the deans or departmental heads in universities in the rapid changing time. It presents an empirically based analysis of the role transformation and attributes of the academic middle managers in the management of teaching-led universities in transition from elite to mass system of higher education in China within the context of higher education globalisation and rapid development of information technology. It begins by examining the key concepts and theoretical background in elite and mass higher education; neo-liberalism, managerialism and entrepreneurialism in higher education; and academic capitalism and higher education marketization. It then presents the roles and attributes of middle managers in organizations and the transformational role of academic middle managers in contemporary university organizations. It also examines the attributes of academic middle managers in higher education institutions to emphasize the necessity of role transformation in the context of transition from elite to mass higher education. It further considers alternative conceptions and a variety of depictions of the changing roles and responsibilities of academic middle managers and their attitudes and practice of leadership. A case study of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) to look at the correlation between managing successful transition from elite to mass higher education in Chinese teaching-led universities and the importance of role transformation of the academic middle managers is conducted and analysed. It concludes by suggesting that academic middle managers have a major contribution to play in managing transition and change at both the faculty and the university level with their successful role transformation.