"Seven Questions" Reform of the Construction of the Teaching Staff in Colleges and Universities
The faculty is the "source of living water" for the high-quality development of education. The ideological and political quality, professional ability, education level, and innovation ability of college teachers are related to the completion of the fundamental tasks of Lide, the quality of talent training and the improvement of scientific research and innovation capabilities. Affect the high-quality development of higher education and the overall situation of the economic and social development of colleges and universities.
How do young teachers face the pressure of "promotion or leave"?
How to balance efficiency and fairness in appraisal?
How does the threshold of teacher ethics become "hard lever"?
At the end of January, the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Construction and Reform of College Teachers in the New Era" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions") promulgated by the Ministry of Education and other six departments aroused heated discussions among college teachers and experts in higher education.
This newspaper specially invites teachers' representatives and netizens from different regions and professional universities to ask questions and answers to higher education experts and leaders of well-known universities on the issues and confusions of everyone's concern.
How to stabilize teacher expectations under the "pre-employment-long-term employment" system
1. How to deal with the uncertainty brought about by "either ascend or go"?
■The teacher is confused:
Hua Yang, a teacher at the School of Automobile and Traffic Engineering, Hefei University of Technology:
I noticed that the "Guiding Opinions" proposes to speed up the reform of university teacher staffing position management, implement the management of the post appointment system, and further explore management methods such as the combination of qualification and long-term employment, and implement it And improve the hiring mechanism that can go up and down, and can get in and out.
Appointment by post, without the status symbolic meaning and status connotation of the previous professional title, how can teachers obtain a sense of professional identity, dignity and stability?
Will the deadline restriction of the employment contract and the "promote or leave" system increase the uncertainty of teachers and affect the joining of outstanding talents?
■Expert answers:
Li Tingzhou, associate researcher of the National Education Macro Policy Research Institute of East China Normal University: The
reform of the
employment
system for university teachers originated in 1986. After decades of development and improvement, it has been relatively mature and has been widely implemented across the country.
The reform of the title system can also be traced back to 1986. It is clearly required that professional and technical titles are different from academic and technical titles such as degrees and academic titles. They must be set according to actual work needs, and have clear responsibilities, qualifications and terms of office.
The implementation of the “Quick Employment-Long Term Employment” system draws on the experience of the United States, emphasizing competitive elimination in the early academic career, and professional protection in the later period.
Some scholars believe that this kind of reform has weakened the concept and consciousness of traditional college teachers’ identity and job lifelong tenure. The long-standing unit attachment, egalitarianism, and seniority and other stubborn diseases have been gradually resolved, but it also has obvious administrative drive and Market logic does not pay enough attention to the attributes of academic organizations of universities, the work characteristics of university teachers, and the laws of academic research.
At present, there is not enough empirical evidence to show whether this kind of personnel system reform will affect the joining of outstanding talents, but it is certain that this kind of reform has made college teachers gradually change from a highly stable and self-driven profession to a more existential profession. More competitive and challenging occupations.
2. What about career growth under high pressure?
■The teacher is confused:
Huayang:
Personally, I feel that most of the young teachers around me are under pressure during the employment period. Many colleges and universities have high scientific research results and assessment requirements for national project declarations for every new young teacher, as well as teaching and public welfare requirements.
The "Guiding Opinions" also proposed that colleges and universities should improve the teacher development system, improve the teacher development training system, guarantee system, incentive system and supervision system, and create a benign environment conducive to the sustainable development of teachers.
How to better provide in-depth care and guidance for the "green peppers" under the "high demand"?
■Expert answers:
Li Tingzhou: The
"Overall Plan for Deepening Educational Evaluation Reform in the New Era" puts forward, "Highlight the quality orientation, focus on the evaluation of academic and social contributions, and support the cultivation of talents, and must not allocate scientific research quantitative indicators such as the number of papers, the number of projects, and project funding and performance wages , Reward linkage".
The "Guiding Opinions" further clearly pointed out that "the study experience abroad, the number of patents and the index, inclusion, citation and other index requirements of the papers are not regarded as restrictive conditions", "reasonably set the evaluation and evaluation cycle, and explore long-term evaluation."
It is foreseeable that the teacher evaluation system of various universities will be changed. The situation of simply emphasizing quantitative indicators and rigid requirements will undergo a fundamental change, and a university teacher evaluation system that returns to the laws of education and scientific research will be further improved.
How to strengthen the "hard lever" of teacher ethics
3. Can the morality and style of teachers be quantified?
■The teacher is confused:
Professor Wu Cuiyun of Tarim University:
How do the promulgation of policy documents such as the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Reform of the Construction and Reform of the Faculty of Colleges and Universities in the New Era" implement the "hard lever" of teacher ethics and guide the majority of teachers to educate others and develop morality first?
■Expert answers:
Chen Jie, President of Tongji University:
First, we must build a scientific and reasonable evaluation system for ideological and political and teacher ethics and style. The school and college are linked together, focusing on relying on and giving play to the role of grassroots party organizations, and objectively, meticulously and accurately evaluating the performance of teachers’ ethics and style. , Improve the inspection feedback and supervision mechanism.
Second, the effectiveness of teaching and educating people and ideological and political education should be the fundamental starting point for the reform of the teacher evaluation system.
In accordance with the requirements of the "Opinions", colleges and universities should strengthen the guiding design of evaluation indicators, strengthen the requirements of teachers' ideological and political education, and at the same time regard the quality of teaching and ideological and political work and the effectiveness of education as the primary content of inspection and evaluation, and guide teachers to practice and practice. Lide fosters people's original intentions.
4. Can legal remedies be sought for disputes in appraisal and employment?
■The teacher is confused:
Song Tian, a professor at the School of Computer Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology:
Relevant disputes will inevitably arise in the process of appraisal. Is there an effective administrative and legal remedy system to support it?
How to determine the threshold and standards for long-term employment, and how to take into account teachers who have already obtained senior ranks under the old system?
■Expert answers:
Wu Hewen, professor of the School of Education of Shaanxi Normal University: For disputes arising in the process of appraisal, on the one hand, the relevant laws and regulations at the national level need to be improved and adjusted. The revision of the Higher Education Law, the Labor Law, and the Teacher Law should incorporate the university personnel system Reform and establish corresponding administrative and legal relief systems to protect the legitimate rights and interests of teachers and promote positive energy.
Before the relevant national laws and regulations have been revised, various universities should establish a special appeal and relief system to resolve related disputes when promoting the quasi-term employment system.
The long-term employment standards need to be scientifically set under the guidance of the relevant national documents, combined with the school's positioning and the nature of the post, and fully demonstrated after fully listening to the opinions of students, teachers, colleagues, and stakeholders, so as to stimulate teachers' vitality and protection The organic combination of teachers' rights and benefits.
The implementation of the quasi-employment-long-term employment system should reflect the principle of flexibility. It should be used for innovation and historical continuity should also be considered.
The implementation of this system requires a transitional period. During the transitional period, teachers should be given the right to choose, and differences in disciplines and schools should be considered. It is not suitable for one size fits all.
Teachers who have obtained senior ranks under the old system can choose according to their own wishes and personal plans. Those who are willing to take risks and get high salaries can choose to enter the new system, and those who are willing to develop steadily can choose the old system.
These two options can be connected. Those who choose the old system but meet high standards can be compensated in accordance with the new system.
How to Broaden the Channels of Introducing Talents in Western Universities
5. How do western universities retain and attract people?
■The teacher is confused:
Wu Cuiyun:
In recent years, it has been difficult for universities in some provinces and regions in the western region to recruit suitable Ph.Ds, regardless of whether they are in short supply or general majors. However, in the eastern region, PhDs have become instructors and laboratory assistants.
For colleges and universities in remote areas of the western frontier, based on the corresponding preferential policies for talent introduction at the level of local colleges and local governments, can the state introduce some targeted policies to further stabilize the faculty and broaden the channels for talent introduction?
■Expert answers:
Wu Hewen:
In response to the uneven development of talents between the East and the West, in addition to the current state-level talent selection in the western region and the establishment of special projects in the national-level project review, the state should also introduce policies that can more stimulate the endogenous motivation of talents in western universities.
For example, formulating incentive policies to attract enterprises and individuals to donate funds to western universities, and setting up flexible special teacher positions. The nature and tasks of the posts are set by the corresponding universities according to regional needs and university positioning and development plans. At the same time, the central government should eliminate provincial and ministries Differentiating policy, providing matching funds in a higher proportion.
How to set up posts scientifically and standardly to promote teaching and scientific research
6. How to allocate job resources?
■The teacher is confused:
Song Tian: The
"Guiding Opinions" proposes that colleges and universities adopt diversified recruitment methods in accordance with the law to independently and flexibly employ personnel, make overall plans and make good use of staffing resources, give priority to guaranteeing the needs of teaching and research, and give priority to key disciplines, characteristic disciplines and important management positions.
Reasonably set the proportion of faculty positions and strengthen the construction of the staff team.
Within the limited number of establishments, how to better allocate post resources?
■Expert answers:
Wang
Guosheng
, vice president of China University of Geosciences (Beijing): The establishment of
posts should be guided by the development of the school's career and solve the problem of human resource allocation.
The layout of the college and the adjustment of the disciplinary structure are an important basis for the reform of the organization.
From the internal development of the school, there are deficiencies in the school’s high-level talents and team building, the academic structure and international level of the teachers, the overall vitality of the team and the driving force of the mechanism; the personnel management system has yet to be improved, and the foundation is relatively weak. Need to make up for shortcomings, these are the endogenous needs of the school personnel system reform.
The core of personnel reform is to optimize the allocation of human resources, establish classification management and classification evaluation systems, improve post evaluation and assessment systems, establish a people-oriented incentive system, fully stimulate the development potential and innovative vitality of faculty and staff, and build a first-class faculty and staff team , To form a situation where everyone uses their talents, their responsibilities, and everyone forge ahead, and promotes the realization of the school's long-term development goals.
7. Can the humble "small job" be affirmed?
■The teacher is confused:
Faye Wong, Professor of the School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology:
Innovation is inseparable from the bottom-level operation and maintenance work. How to better use system construction, scientific post evaluation, operation and maintenance, service support and other low-level work and the value of teachers’ public services, make these seem like " Is the work value of “inconspicuous” affirmed?
■Expert answers:
Wang Guosheng:
To solve this problem, the reform of the personnel system must be promoted through the reform of the staffing system, the reform of the recruitment system, the reform of the evaluation system, the reform of the assessment system, and the reform of the distribution system to mobilize the enthusiasm of every faculty member.
To reform the staffing system, complete the transition from staffing management to total staff management, from identity management to post management, and from closed management to open management; improve professional title evaluation methods from multiple perspectives, improve classification evaluation system and evaluation standards, and achieve motivation The goal of endogenous motivation, development potential and innovation vitality of faculty; clarify the basic responsibilities of posts and common assessment standards, decentralize the college to formulate evaluation rules, give full play to the main responsibility of the college and the initiative of teachers, and establish a relationship between schools, colleges and teachers in individual assessment and evaluation. The combined linkage mechanism realizes the responsibility on the job, everyone is responsible, and the job is suitable; the salary system is improved to achieve the goal of more work and better work.
(Our reporter Zhou Shixiang, Jin Xiaoyan, Yao Xiaodan, Tang Qianer)