Job Discussion Forums

[dialogger]

Have searched the site for answers on this but too much mixed with private outfits flying flags of convenience like British or American.
My interest is in genuine joint ventures between Australian, British, Canadian or NZ universities and local Chinese state universities.
My questions include:
Does the outside university provide the FTs?
If not do they prefer nationals from their home country?
Are FTS genuinely made to feel part of the teaching effort or the same old performing seal routine at wholly Chinese universities.
Is there a pay differential + or - ?
Is there an emphasis on preparation for going offshore ie cultural issues and day to day life in Australia or wherever?

[evaforsure]

Many times the Overseas University will provide the finance for the teacher and the local uni will take care of the paperwork...

In two out of three cases I have worked the local uni has provided off campus housing ... some have been very nice such as the 15th floor apartment in Dalian and others have been nice but not centrally located..my first assignment in Beijing I was housed in Changping and since then I have accepted no school housing preferring to ask for additional funds to cover housing....my current employer doesn�t provide many (none) support services at all...and remember that many times when this kind of program is at a Chinese university, the students in the Joint Venture program are not top notch so the students you will work with are not of the same quality as the students that normally attend the Chinese uni...this means that they never get a degree from the uni where the classes are held..if they don�t pass the program they would only receive a paper from the overseas univ. detailing that they had attended the course and nothing else....

They would like to hire teachers from their home country but as teachers of this level are not often available the programs are staffed by many native English speaking teachers...As far as th teaching program has gone ..my experience ... the classroom, provided by the Chinese uni. and the curriculum is provided by the overseas uni...books and courses are determined by the international language department from the overseas uni...and even though the overseas unis know that the Chinese unis copy materials for the students, they turn a blind eye...copy write is not as important as profit ..

The FTs place in this process is, in my experience, more involved with learning process overall as many of the classes are taught in English incl. math or sciences.. but not all the tech teachers are FTs and many Chinese teachers pull in double salaries by teaching for the Chinese uni and the overseas uni..this is why ..at least in the programs I have worked for, there was a need for qualifications such as former college teaching positions or a teaching cert from a native English speaking country...but I would say that the level of involvement that is required from the FT is considered very important as the FTs have the ability to pass/fail and there is even (in many cases) a review for those who do fail and a remedial requirements such as a summer program or the option to repeat a year...

the pay....at the present time many unis are busy re writing contracts as the rise and fall of foreign currency has left many FT with less then they sign up for and lately many of these programs have lost employees due to the falling value of their currency...the pay is sometimes half and half...sometimes in foreign currency that you can have place in your bank in your home country or a Chinese bank...one good thing about working for a foreign uni.. is often even though your in China.. and are hired as a consultant (perhasp this will be the same for u or not), your job is still looked over by the uni union and they will often be involved with the process of pay and negotiations...usually they pay a great deal more than standard FT jobs, now the drawback is that foreign money has to be exchanged ..and so you are subject to exchange rates...as to the visa and FECs....many of these programs only hire from inside China..and the trend lately is to cut housing from the paychecks of many of the expat residence in china so as to cut the cost to the companies..often you will sign a contract issued by the overseas uni and not a safea contract...sometimes the safea contract will be attached to the overseas contract but has no real purpose other than completeing the PRC requirements...sometimes paperwork is issued by the department of labor .....differs with the situation
These kinds of jobs do offer a certain amount of freedom from Chinese staff and the ability to determine many of the job related actions and activities a class will participate in...as to the culture.. they do try and provide some but in my mind this has been the one contention that I have as not enough time has been provided to explore the cultural differences ....
One note.. many students signing up for a program could care less about the program and just wish to go overseas with the aim to change majors once arriving ..so the apathy level could be high in some cases....
also the process of visa is becoming tighter and the FT is often involved with the prep of paperwork...the reason they have tighten the screws...is illegally made money can be washed by simply sending someone to an overseas school then have them with draw...so these programs, which use to be run loose, are now starting to tighten up ...

[rmcdougall]

[Adeem]

Some are good, and some are gash. We have both at my university. It depends on who the boss is, and what educational standards they are prepared to hold the students to. If they will actually fail students and not take bribes to pass them, then you are onto a winner. It also depends whether there is close involvement with the overseas university, or if it has devolved into a money making scam for the local company.


A joint program may well have both Chinese classes (provided by the host Uni) and classes in English (handled by the Foreign part). You would hope to feel part of the teaching effort in the foreign part, where teachers do indeed have great control over passing/failing and learning content. A lot of it is about teaching students the skills they need and letting them get used to the academic culture that they are looking to enter. it can be hard for some to adapt, and it is your job to motivate them as best you can.

The programmes do pay better than just working with the university straight, but there is more expected of you as they are somewhat more real teaching gigs, with all the marking, planning, meetings and bureaucracy that this entails. I agree with Eva that companies do like to hire from within China, as there is less time needed for acclimatisation, people often already have visas that can be renewed, and they are more likely to turn up. Just being there on the spot is a massive factor in landing a gig. All of this often overrides the wish to find teachers from one particular country.

Anyhow, it is more satisfying for me than a regular uni or school job in China, but everyone's experience will vary - a lot!

[evaforsure]

[dialogger]

Thanks all.
This is interesting stuff!
Was somewhat taken aback by the comment that students enrol to have a better - or certain chance of going offshore and perhaps staying there.
But - Hey it fits with the China we all know and love.