Job Discussion Forums

[brianreis]

I would love some feedback on the pros and cons of public vs. pvt. universities. Pvt. probably offers better pay though I suspect the public students are more motivated to learn. COMMENTS? Tnx.

[teenoso]

you seem to have it figured out already......
Kids at private unis may expect more from you , because they are paying more, and they may give you less, because they weren't good enough to get into public uni, and lack study skills (concentration, self-studying ability etc.). Some definitely have the DGaF attitude!

The management at private unis can be more capricious and less professional (in my experience) and may want more hours from you, and the whole place may feel less -established (many of the chinese teachers in private unis may be younger and less-experienced ). Sometimes the private uni has to look over its shoulder at the corporate owners or sponsors, and sometimes there are degree-validation problems (meaning reduced enrolment and non-renewal of FT contracts.).

The only thing to watch for , IMO, is a private college within (and often on the same campus as ) the public uni. It might have a name like 'institute ' or xueyuan.
So you can apply for a public uni , and without realising it find yourself assigned to teach in the private wing (with the less attentive and less capable students).

[Bud Powell]

I worked for a partly-privatized college for a few years. The experience was different from previous experiences in public universities and colleges. Pay was always exactly ten days late. CTs were paid on-time. The excuse was that the private owners had big loans to pay that necessitated our being paid late. I had never been paid late before.

Interestingly, the CTs were a lot friendlier. Wait. Let's say that they were friendly. At public universities, the CTs avoided the FTs except for the occasional young male teacher who'd walk up to us and lay a catty remark on us then leave. At the partly-privatized college, there was a lot more contact between CTs and FTs for those who wanted it. Prior to my working there, I had had very few conversations with CTs. At the college, I often had dinner at CTs' homes, went places with their families, had actual REAL social contact with them. That was quite nice.

The downside of the partly-privatized college was that they were cheapskates. I had the constant feeling that the school was in danger of financial collapse. There were buildings that had been built years before but were locked and had never been used. An amphitheater had fifteen (!) HUGE air conditioning compressors outside the building that had never been turned on. By the time I left, administrators were complaining about electricity consumption and had actually turned off the a/c when we returned from our summer exile; we had to wait for mid October until we got some relief from the heat. When the cold months arrived, the heat was likewise scaled back so that the heat was just a few degrees warmer than the air outside.

Like in public universities, we had an FAO. I think that she was much-too-young and got her job through personal connections.

I have to admit that i admired the fact that someone in the newly-forming Chinese private sector cared enough about education to put his own money into an educational institute and to interest investors as well.

I guess I could say that at the partly-privatized college, I experienced some of the best and some of the worst that Chinese employment had to offer.