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SoleMan
Joined: 18 Jul 2008
Posts: 6
Location: Seoul
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 Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:49 pm Post subject: Hangzhou Dianzi University |
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| I'm considering working for Hangzhou Dianzi University in Hangzhou. Before I go further, would someone be able to tell me what they are like as employers, and, what are the conditions like? They seem nice enough, but I'd like to check what they're like first. |
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YoMan
Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 5
Location: China
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:48 am Post subject: Everyone is Leaving |
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I know staff who used to work there, and they are all leaving this year. It seems the foreign staff are required to work odd hours, have to commute at least two hours each day to work, have to do extra hours of English corner for free, and there was mention of previous contracts not being honored in full. Staff have made official complaints about sexual harassment by students in class. One staff member had to have a cat-scan due to an injury caused by the daily commute. Staff members said the commute was plain dangerous. This was mentioned to the school, but nothing was done. Staff have also complained about being made to feel ill due to various pressures placed on them by management. This doesn't make for a happy place to work. Staff also complained about being pressured to work when ill. There is no sick leave and staff members must make-up time taken off due to sickness, but being pressured to work when ill is wrong.
I work at a campus nearby, and most (all except one) of the HDU staff members are staying on in Hangzhou, but NOT at HDU. Many of those who stayed in Hangzhou (but not at HDU) are not willing to comment adversely about HDU because they require a letter from their old employer, testifying that they finished their contract, to give to their new employer. Until they have this letter, they don't feel as if they can talk freely. That kind of says something about the managements tactics.
I'm not saying it is a bad place to work, I'm just passing on what I've been told be previous HDU employees. |
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tuvia
Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 34
Location: beijing
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 7:41 am Post subject: must be some commute.. |
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| what on earth could cause the need for a cat scan from commuting? anyway, this whole post sounds fishy. and if you are not saying its a bad place to work after all of that, then what are you saying? |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:23 am Post subject: |
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CAT scan? Maybe they have to take a tuk tuk motor tricycle taxi and it rolled and crashed... Just a stab in the dark...
Where is HZ DianZi University? Obviously (?) not in central HZ city, but then most campuses are in satellite towns and development areas these days.
So, it could be in: XiaSha (far N-E), BinJiang (near S, actually it's a new part of HZ city), XiaoShan (far S), or XiaoHeShan (near W)...
I definitely like living in HZ city not too far from West Lake (8 minutes by bike).
I will work out west at XiaoHeShan again next semester. It's about 25-40mins by taxi (30-40rmb) from my house, depending on traffic. Buses are 3rmb. Depending where you live (if you're allowed to rent in the HZ city area...) buses could go past your door, I have to walk 15 minutes, or else I can interchange with another bus.
You might have to live on campus, otherwise some offer a rent allowance, some don't...
Good luck.
LFA |
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YoMan
Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 5
Location: China
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:57 am Post subject: Re: must be some commute.. |
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| tuvia wrote: |
| what on earth could cause the need for a cat scan from commuting? anyway, this whole post sounds fishy. and if you are not saying its a bad place to work after all of that, then what are you saying? |
If I'm not working there, then I can't say it is a bad place to work. What I'm saying is that everyone else who used to work there doesn't want to work there anymore, and, that says something in itself. |
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YoMan
Joined: 28 May 2008
Posts: 5
Location: China
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:00 am Post subject: |
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| lf_aristotle69 wrote: |
CAT scan? Maybe they have to take a tuk tuk motor tricycle taxi and it rolled and crashed... Just a stab in the dark...
Where is HZ DianZi University? Obviously (?) not in central HZ city, but then most campuses are in satellite towns and development areas these days.
So, it could be in: XiaSha (far N-E), BinJiang (near S, actually it's a new part of HZ city), XiaoShan (far S), or XiaoHeShan (near W)...
I definitely like living in HZ city not too far from West Lake (8 minutes by bike).
I will work out west at XiaoHeShan again next semester. It's about 25-40mins by taxi (30-40rmb) from my house, depending on traffic. Buses are 3rmb. Depending where you live (if you're allowed to rent in the HZ city area...) buses could go past your door, I have to walk 15 minutes, or else I can interchange with another bus.
You might have to live on campus, otherwise some offer a rent allowance, some don't...
Good luck.
LFA |
I heard it was a reckless minivan driver. The residences are downtown [kinda cool] but the campus is in Xiasha, way out east. And then, some teachers had to change to another bus to teach at another campus even further out east. It was one of these buses that caused the injury.
Given that so many people have left the campus en-mass, I think it is important to warn anyone else who is considering working there to seriously consider other choices!! |
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Moon Over Parma
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 819
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| lf_aristotle69 wrote: |
| CAT scan? Maybe they have to take a tuk tuk motor tricycle taxi and it rolled and crashed... Just a stab in the dark... |
No specifics were made by the poster so I agree with it seeming fishy.
| Quote: |
| Where is HZ DianZi University? Obviously (?) not in central HZ city, but then most campuses are in satellite towns and development areas these days. |
Meaning cultureless wastelands far removed from civilisation. At best you will be fifteen minutes away from civilisation. You still need to take the bus. The bad news: you need to take the bus because taxis rarely go to these places. Buses will stop running between 6:30pm-9pm. Want a night out on the town? You will end up spending a lot to get a taxi to take you home, or pay more for a night in a hotel. Be very, very wary of these "university towns/zones/whatever labels they give them." It's the trend for universities to do this: relocate way the hell out in swamplands, wastelands and far removed from anything. Decent schools will house their teachers at the urban campus or in apartments in the nearest urban center and simply bus the teachers in for the days they teach. Schools that could care less about teachers will simply force them to live in the boonies. If you end up with a school in a "university town," demand double the wages to compensate for sacrificing your life (and sanity). You'll spend the extra cash on trips out of the wasteland or in creating an oasis of entertainment in your campus apartment. Most FAOs will balk at that or bullshit you about the campus being "twenty minutes from the city." "Twenty minutes" is Chinglish for an hour or more.
| Quote: |
| I will work out west at XiaoHeShan again next semester. It's about 25-40mins by taxi (30-40rmb) from my house, depending on traffic. |
Let's say you go out on the town for an evening one day, do shopping and need to get perishable goods home fast on another day, and then another you missed the last bus into town while you were enjoying life in civilisation = 120 RMB for three trips. Do this for a month and that's around 480 RMB in taxis. Nearly half a grand, and it will probably go up once China stops its price caps on petrol after the olympics. If you're making 5000 RMB, that's a big chunk to pay for the "luxury" of being out in the middle of nowhere.
Damn. That's more expensive than in parts of Shanghai.
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| You might have to live on campus, otherwise some offer a rent allowance, some don't... |
They should get the apartment for the FT, off campus and bus them to work. Any school who cares about productivity would do this. There are schools that will do this, however most won't. |
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therock
Joined: 31 Jul 2005
Posts: 1266
Location: China
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:44 am Post subject: |
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| Moon Over Parma wrote: |
| They should get the apartment for the FT, off campus and bus them to work. Any school who cares about productivity would do this. There are schools that will do this, however most won't. |
The thing is most schools do not care about productivity. They just care about filling the position. If it is going to cost the school anymore money you can pretty much forget it. Like you said there are exceptions however the norm is to hire the dancing monkey as cheaply as possible. |
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Moon Over Parma
Joined: 20 May 2007
Posts: 819
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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| therock wrote: |
The thing is most schools do not care about productivity. They just care about filling the position. If it is going to cost the school anymore money you can pretty much forget it. Like you said there are exceptions however the norm is to hire the dancing monkey as cheaply as possible. |
I know of a couple of FAOs who are desperate for teachers and they'd rather let their schools go without desperately needed FTs than to pony up a grand to two grand RMB a month for off campus apartments in civilised areas not far from their universities. They'd rather not hire anyone than to bend even a little. So, forget the "dancing monkey" nonsense (I've never encountered a university that wanted a "Dancing monkey." Even the ones wanting a warm body had base requirements for work.Base, but "dancing monkey" was not one of them. Let's put that tired, buxiban stereotype to rest if you can't use it in the right context. We can consider it part of the evolution of discourse.
Yeah, some will go so far as go instructor-less rather than to negotiate anything. Lots of universities in Nanjing were like that. Almost all were claiming to be in wonderful "Nanjing," but were really in sweet f. a. wastelands quite removed from civilisation. I'm sure there were suckers who'd lap up those jobs too. Good luck to them. |
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SoleMan
Joined: 18 Jul 2008
Posts: 6
Location: Seoul
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SoleMan
Joined: 18 Jul 2008
Posts: 6
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:57 am Post subject: HDU - Glad I didn't go there!! |
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Man I'm glad I didn't go to Hangzhou Dianzi University.
I was talking to a person who teaches there and he/she said that HDU conducted teaching assessments (to determine if they should re-employ teachers) after only four weeks teaching. HOW on earth can a teacher establish a relationship after teaching for only four weeks. How can students asses the teachers?
I was also told the teachers were invited to Hangzhou with the promise of an apartment to live in. When they got there they were told they'd have to live in a hotel room. Are these people serious!?!?!?! |
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sroetem
Joined: 06 Jun 2008
Posts: 33
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| Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:54 am Post subject: Jumping on board |
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As much as I would love to join the bashing of HDU, I
can say that they have done everything I have asked of them.
There has been much frustration due to lack of know how and backasswardness within the CH ed system/social system.
Albeit, I've been demanding. That is what it takes if you
want to get something done anywhere.
Apartments - in town, they're ok. Beats living in the boonies.
More than enough room, and close to HZ nightlife.
Commute - 2 hours roundtrip on a rather comfortable bus....
unless you get the crazy minivan driver. I believe the CATscan story.
Students - I enjoy them very much, but THEY are the ones evaluating your teaching performance after only 4 weeks. We all know it takes time for a valuable/constructive eval. So, if you want to be the #1 teacher, then show movies all day and let them sleep. Terrible system. But you can teach ANYTHING you want.
Staff - Don't take 'no' for an answer. You would be surprised what being a demanding (entitled) individual can do for you. Please do not mistake this for being arrogant. Tell them what you need. It works.
I would work there again, but know it would be short-lived because I enjoy variety.
I've learned to say, "this is OK.....for China". It's all relative. |
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