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Wages, Benefits, and the Promotion Process for Chinese University Faculty*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Todd M. Johnson
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Extract

The most important first step, both symbolically and in practical terms, toward restructuring higher education in China following the destructive years of the Cultural Revolution was the re;establishment of the national entrance examination for universities and graduate schools in 1977. While this had the direct effect of improving the quality of students entering universities, no similar quick fix was available for reinvigorating university faculty. As seen in the I following passage, written by a university administrator in Shanghai, the personnel system at Chinese universities in the late 1970s was not conducive to effective teaching or research.

Type
Research Notes
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 125 , March 1991 , pp. 137 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1991

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References

1. Ke, Liu, “Shanghai Jiaotong University's management reform,” Shanghai gaojiao yanjiu (Research on Higher Education in Shanghai) 1 (1985), pp. 33–37Google Scholar, trans, in Chinese Education, Vol. XVIII, No. 4 (Winter 1985–1986), p. 13Google Scholar.

2. WorldBank, , China: Management and Finance ofHigher Education, (1985), p. 35Google Scholar. Not surprisingly, one of the recommendations made by the World Bank was that student enrolment should be dramatically increased without a subsequent increase in the number of university faculty (pp. xx–xxii).

3. For example, at Beijing University officials indicated in 1988 that only one-third to one-half of the current faculty were qualified to teach courses under the new curriculum adopted by the State Education Commission in 1987 for economics and finance majors. I Looked at another way, roughly half of the professorships in China are in political economy or related disciplines, whereas these courses will account for only one-fifth of the core requirements under the new curriculum. Johnson, Todd M., “The economics of higher education reform in China,” China Exchange News, Vol. 17, No. 1, (03 1989), p. 7Google Scholar.

4. Ke, Liu, “Jiatong University's management reform,” p. 10Google Scholar.

5. The 10 institutions visited were: Beijing University, Fudan University (Shanghai), People's University (Beijing), Jilin University, Nankai University (Tianjin), Sichuan University, Zhongnan Institute of Finance and Economics (Wuhan), Wuhan University, Xiamen University, and Zhongshan University (Guangzhou).

6. See for example, Party Committee, Jiaotong University, “Appreciations on wage reform conducted by Jiaotong University at its own expense,” Shehui kexue (Social Sciences), 7 (1984), pp. 47–49Google Scholar, trans, in Chinese Education, Vol. XVIII, No. 4, (Winter 1985–1986), p. 30Google Scholar.

7. See Table 16, Wage Scale of Teaching Staff in Institutions of Higher Learning, China Education Almanac Editorial Department (ed.), Zhongguo jiaoyu nianjian, 1949–1981 (China Education Almanac, 1949–1981) (Beijing: China Encyclopedia Publishing House, 1984)Google Scholar, trans, in Chinese Education, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (Fall 1986), p. 92Google Scholar.

8. One exception to the nationwide pay scales for academics is in the special economic zones. In 1988 higher wages were reportedly being paid to attract new teachers to universities in Shenzhen (Guangdong Province) and Hainan.

9. In 1979 food expenditures, on average, accounted for roughly 67% of total household expenditures in China. van der Gaag, J., “Private household consumption in China” (World Bank Staff Working Papers, No. 701, 1984), p. 12Google Scholar.

10. In May 1988 the non-staple food subsidy was increased by 10 yuan per month nationwide. In 1988 retail prices increased by 18.5%, compared to an average rise of 7.3% per year since 1986. Zhongguo tongji zhaiyao 1989 (China Statistical Survey: hereafter TJZY 1989) (Beijing: Zhongguo tongji chubanshe, 1989), p. 89Google Scholar; Zhongguo tongji nianjian 1988 (China Statistical Yearbook: hereafter TJNJ 1988) (Beijing: Zhongguo tongji chubanshe, 1988), p. 777Google Scholar.

11. Xueyuan are similar to colleges or “schools” in a western university and generally have several departments or research institutes (yanjiusuo) under them. For example, an economics school may have departments of political economy, finance and world economy, as well as research institutes.

12. Ke, Liu, “Jiaotong University's management reform,” p. 12Google Scholar.

13. Johnson, , “Economics of higher education reform,” p. 3Google Scholar.

14. Of the 10 universities visited, only one reported different hourly rates for time contributed to training programmes. The others had a flat rate irrespective of the rank, age or administrative title of the contributor.

15. This explanation was offered by officials at the China Institute of Economic Reform in June 1988. This institute was reorganized in the summer of 1989 following the fall of its primary supporter, Zhao Ziyang.

16. China Education Almanac Editorial Department (ed.), China Education Almanac, 1949–1981, trans, in Chinese Education, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (Fall 1986), pp. 105–108Google Scholar.

17. Specific pay scales are not available for disability and death benefits. China Education Almanac, 1949–1981, pp. 109–110.

18. See Lee, Yok-shiu F., “The urban housing problem in China,” The China Quarterly, No. 115 (09 1988), p. 398CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

19. Per capita housing expenditures for families in cities and towns was 1.39% of monthly living expenses in 1981, 0.88% in 1987, and 0.71% in 1988.TJZY1989, p. 97.

20. TJNJ 1988, pp. 873, 875–76.

21. Statistics for non-teaching personnel are derived from statistics on total staff and teaching faculty from “regular” institutions of higher education. TJNJ 1988, pp. 874–75.

22. This information was reported by several housing officials I interviewed and is consistent with other studies of Chinese housing. See for example Lee, Yok-shiu F., “The urban housing problem in China,” pp. 392–93Google Scholar.

23. Both the People's University of China in Beijing and Jilin University in Changchun have acquired land outside the city on which to build satellite campuses. According to officials at each school, land for new residential housing is one of the major motivations for the expansion.

24. This scenario uses a discount rate of 6% and assumes that the apartment lasts for 25 years. Assuming a discount rate of 10% and an asset life of 15 years yields monthly payments of 329 yuan. This would imply a housing subsidy of over 300 yuan per month, more than the entire salary of a full professor.

25. Ke, Liu, “Jiaotong University's management reform,” p. 15Google Scholar.

26. The wage reform measures that were passed by the Communist Party and the People's Congress in 1985 affected not only university personnel but all government organs and institutions. In addition to establishing wage rates based on rank or post, the new wage system set base (jichu) wages for professions, seniority payments, and for the first time officially endorsed the payment of bonuses or material rewards by work units. For a complete review of the 1985 wage reform, see chapter 10 in Lunqu, Yuan, Xinzhongguo laodong jingji shi (Economic Labour History of New China) (Laodong renshi chubanshe, 04 1987), pp. 258–282Google Scholar.

27. For example, the wage scales for professors ranged from 1 to 6 (1 being the highest) while the scale for associate professors was 3 to 6. See Table 16, Wage Scales of Teaching Staff in Institutions of Higher Learning,China Education Almanac, 1949–1981, p. 92.

28. China's education yearbook lists a fifth category between instructor and lecturer called jiaoyuan. This category was apparently abandoned in 1985 along with the old wage system. The term jiaoyuan has always been a general term for teaching staff, but was never used as an official category at any of the schools visited even before 1985. It may be a classification for faculty members recruited during the Cultural Revolution who are not qualified to be promoted further. In terms of wages and benefits, this category was probably equivalent to zhujiao. Achievement of Education in China, 1980–1985 (Beijing: People's Education Press, 1986), p. 38Google Scholar.

29. The case of a 32-year-old scholar at Fudan University being promoted to associate professor of political science was independently raised at several of the schools visited.

30. Achievement of Education in China, 1980–1985, p. 47.

31. China Daily, 30 November 1988.

32. Faculty members, university administrators and central government officials said there is a pyramid structure in the distribution of academic ranks, with professors and associate professors making up 31% of the total. Journal articles have also suggested that there is an optimal relationship between age and academic rank. See e.g. Weili, Fu and Er, Jiao, “On the relations between the rank and age structure of teachers in institutions of higher education,” The Chinese People's University Reprint Series, No. 6 (1985), pp. 81–Google Scholar, trans, in Chinese Education, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Winter 1986–1987), pp. 94–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

33. An example of the “total” monthly income (yuan) for a full professor based on survey data is as follows: base wage, 160; seniority pay, 20 (40 years); subsidies, 23; bonus pay, 60; moonlighting, 40; implicit housing subsidy, 180; other fringe benefits, 10; total, 493 yuan. An analysis of income for other academic ranks also shows that basic wages account for only some 30% of “total” income.

34. None of the more than 50 instructors surveyed were provided with their own apartment by the university. At some universities it is possible for instructors to receive their own dormitory room, however in the major cities it is common to find them living in graduate student housing, two or four to a room. Because of the lack of university housing many instructors have to live with relatives or rent space on the “black” or free market.

35. One lecturer from Beijing University who did not qualify for university housing felt fortunate to find a decent apartment near campus. The rent for his apartment, however, was 55 yuan, or nearly 60% of his base monthly salary.

36. In the economics and management fields, young faculty teach most of the e courses simply because most “social science” faculty recruited before 1977 o not have advanced mathematical training. Related to this, young faculty teach a r of the western economics courses adopted by the State Education Commission I in 1987 as part of the new nationwide curriculum for economics and finance. See “Proceedings of the curriculum development seminar of Chinese economics and education: Chinese university development project II, August 24–28, 1987,” (Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 1989)Google Scholar.