China's universities:

Are they congenial to a changing academic profession?

May 1, 2012

• Main drivers

• Evolution of China’s universities

• The changing academy

Drivers

• 33 years of R&O– Prioritizing economic development

• Global economic competition– Role of S&T

• Deepening participation in global community

Changing Drivers of Growth Toward 2050

4

Low Cost CapitalDrives Growth

Low Cost IPDrives Growth

Low Cost LaborDrives Growth

1985 1995 2005+

Source: DeWoskin and Stevenson, April 2005.

Drivers (domestic)

• Market of demands– Knowledge and skills– Status culture– State control/social harmony

• Soft skills• Demography

System evolution

• 2 million students in 1990• 30 million now• 2020 – 40%• 2050 – 50%• Private universities, about 15 percent of enrollments.• Over three hundred independent colleges, enrolling about

400,000 undergraduates

Evolution

• Elite > mass & WCUs• Consolidation• Governance and finance• Specialized > comprehensive• Selection (exam reform and interviews)• Curriculum • Internationalization• Experimentation

Difficulties

• Access & equity• Student engagement• Over administration/governance• Grad unemployment• Attracting returnees• Campus culture

Creating an innovative nation

11

StrategicInnovation Triangle

15 YEAR MEDIUM-TO-LONG TERM S&T PLAN 2006-2020

MEDIUM-TO-LONG TERM EDUCATION REFORM PLAN

MEDIUM-TO-LONG TERM TALENT DEVELOPMENT PLAN

2020?

?

World’s second in scientific publications

• World’s share 1999 – (4.4% in 1999 to 10.2% in 2008)

• Heavy in engineering subjects– including nanotechnology

%GDP on R&D

• 0.6% in 1995• 1.3% in 2005• 1.44% in 2007• 2.5% by 2020

Growth of about 20% per year

Rising but…..

• Lion’s share of research funding goes to flagships universities

• Share of citations– 4% compared to 30% for US– 6th in world rankings.

The changing academy

• Academic profession– with Chinese characteristics

• Expansion - attracting the best

• Culture of the academy

Difficulties

• Salaries• Access• “guanxi” system• Weakness of professional organizations• Tiers and talent flows

– Flow of academic talent to Beijing&Shanghai

The academic profession -- reforms

• Beida– Addressing: deadwood & inbreeding– Up or out– International recruitment

The Second International Survey

Code Name GDP/per,$,2008

GDP/per rank Code Name

GDP/per,

$,2008

GDP/per rank

AR Argentina 8214 14 AU Australia 47400 3

BR Brazil 8197 15 CA Canada 45428 5

CH China 3315 18 DE Finland 51989 2

HK Hong Kong 30755 10 FI Germany 44660 6

KR Korea 19504 12 IT Italy 38996 8

MY Malaysia 8140 16 JP Japan 38559 9

MX Mexico 10234 13 NO Norway 95061 1

ZA South Africa 5693 17 PT Portugal 22997 11

UK UK 43785 7

US USA 46859 4

Total samples:24,652

gross participation ratio in higher edu.,%,2008

34

23

0

20

40

60

80

100

KR FI US AU NO AR IT JP UK PT HK BR MY MX CH ZA DE CA

GDP/per capita,2008,1000USD

3.315

30.755

0

20

40

60

80

100

NO FI AU US CA DE UK IT JP HK PT KR MX AR BR MY ZA CH

GDP/per capita, gross participation ratio in higher edu., 2008

Region 31 provinces- 6 regions. 11 provinces in 6 regions are sampled (1/3).

Institutions among 1,867 RHEIs, 691 public full-time 4-year degree level.

among 691: 105 to central, 586 to local. 691 are the target group.

70 institutions (1/10) are stratified sampled by region & affiliation 1:6.

Faculty 1,075,989 (1 million) in 1,867 RHEIs.

603,236 (0.6 million) in 691 P-RHEIs. 0.6 M are the target group.

Structure

of samples

each institution: 60 scholars in 5 disciplines, rank, gender, age…… 60 members×70 institutions = 4200 faculty members

Response Respondents: 3618 of 68 institutions. rate: 86%

Funding Ford Foundation and HKU

Mainland Team

H.Shen, Y.Zhou, Y.Zhang, X.M.Zhang, Y.T.Jia, Z.Y.Gu, J.Liu, and10 Ph.D & Master students, School of Edu., HUST,Wuhan China

Mainland China Higher Education System

Age

3126

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

AR BR MX ZA MY CH HK KR JP CA US DE IT NO FI PT UK AU

30 & below over 60 31-40 41-50 51-60

Academic degrees, un-weighted

Terminal degree as doctor,%,un-weighted

0

20

40

60

80

100

AR BR MX ZA MY CH HK KR JP CA US DE IT NO FI PT UK AU

doctor post-doc

China survey: structure of terminal degrees

China survey: structure of terminal degress,%

7.3

26.426.3

46.349

2317.5

4.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

all central local

bachelor master doctor post-doc

Findings: Top tier/bottom tier Research Collaboration: Institutional

CH HK JP KR0

20

40

60

80

100

62

78 74

90

31

39

33

44 Top 10% Lower 10%

Institutional collaboration

International Research CollaborationTop tier/bottom tier

CH HK JP KR0

20

40

60

80

100

33

86

49 51

9

38

8

12

Top 10% Lower 10%

Perceptions on research and social responsibility Top Tier/bottom tier (% of agreement)

Top 10%

Lower 10%

Social responsibility

CH HK JP KR0

20

40

60

80

100

58

91

84

71

53

81

69

80

Top 10% Lower 10%

Institutional culture: Top tier/bottom tier

CH HK JP KR0

20

40

60

80

58

65 64

50 47

54 51

55

Top 10% Lower 10%

Academic freedom

Comparison: Research Activities

HK CH

a. 49 3

b. 86 28

• Source: CAP 2007

a. Co-authored with colleagues in other countries,

c: Published in a foreign country

Mainland China Hong Kong

Time for student consultation 661(21%) 272(42%)

* Source: CAP 2007 Survey

Perception on Teaching

Mainland China Hong Kong

At your institution there are adequate training courses for enhancing teaching quality

898(29%) 307(40%)

* Source: CAP 2007 Survey

Teaching Activities

Mainland China Hong Kong

Learning in projects/project groups 834(26%) 458(60%)

Development of course mate-rial 866(27%) 597(78%)

* Source: CAP 2007 Survey

Country Mass higher education

Model

CHINA Emergent State driven

USA Mature Market driven

Congeniality

• Career perspective (B5[4])• Commitment to the profession (D5[5])• Job strain (D5[6])• Job Satisfaction (B6)• Working conditions (B7)• Restrictions (D6[1&2])• Academic freedom (E5) • Organizational culture E4 (2,4,6)

Table 1: Self-Reported Research Productivity (Hong Kong, Mainland China, & the United States)

Country N Mean S.D. F df

Scholarly books you authored or co-authored ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

.85HH

.48H

.23

2.08

1.01

.56

52.98***2,3542

Scholarly books you edited or co-edited ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

.84HH

.44H

.23

1.82

.85

.92

62.60***2,3542

Articles published in an academic book or journal ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

8.54H

9.55H

4.30

10.15

12.55

7.38

78.12***2,3542

Research report/monograph written for a funded project

ChinaHong KongU.S

1826676

1043

1.43

1.61

1.21

4.23

3.00

3.69

2.322,3542

Paper presented at a scholarly conference ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

2.58

7.50HH

5.69H

4.87

9.86

11.18

105.79***2,3542

Professional article written for a newspaper or magazine

ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

.97

2.25H

1.49

5.00

8.35

15.99

4.09*2,3542

Patent secured on a process or invention ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

.30H

.19

7.67E-02

1.19

1.10

.53

15.60***2,3542

Computer program written for public use ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

.33HH

8.14E-02

.10

1.64

.53

.55

16.68***2,3542

Artistic work performed or exhibited ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

.13

.24

1.73HH

1.60

1.43

16.39

11.30***2,3542

Video or film produced ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

6.96E-02

.12

.15

1.66

.61

1.13

1.312,3542

Others ChinaHong KongU.S.

1826676

1043

5.64E-02

.63H

.87H

.84

8.70

6.57

8.71***2,3542

Notes: HH = Research productivity is higher than that of two other system; H = Research productivity is higher than that of one other system; * p<.05; ***p<.001.

Congeniality

• US academics report higher levels than China• HK academics fall between China&US on most

Research productivity (D4)

• Books authored• Books edited• Articles in journals/books• Funded research report• Conference papers• Newspaper/mag. articles

• Patents on inventions• Computer programs• Artistic works• Videos or films• Other

Results (self-reported productivity)

• China academics report higher levels than USA– Except conference paper + artistic works

• HK academics report higher levels than both– on Articles, research reports, conference papers & newspaper/magazine articles

Table 2: Perceived Congeniality of Work Environment (Hong Kong, Mainland China, & the United States)

Country N Mean S.D. F df

This is a poor time for any young person to begin an academic career in my field

ChinaHong KongU.S.

34037871146

2.86

3.00C

3.53CC

1.25

1.38

1.23

123.28***2,5333

If I had it to do over again, I would not become an academic

ChinaHong KongU.S.

34167931144

3.69

3.78

4.18CC

1.35

1.23

1.10

61.12***2,5350

My job is a source of considerable personal strain ChinaHong KongU.S.

34367881146

2.41

2.84C

3.06CC

1.17

1.22

1.24

142.76***2,5367

How would you rate your overall satisfaction with your current job?

ChinaHong KongU.S

35158001146

2.47

2.35C

2.31C

.73

.94

.97

18.87***2,5458

Working conditions in higher education ChinaHong KongU.S.

35657991146

2.29CC

3.22

2.82C

1.04

1.14

1.03

308.23***2,5507

Restrictions on the publication of results from my publicly-funded research have increased since my first appointment

ChinaHong KongU.S.

2620651495

3.17

3.54C

3.75CC

1.28

1.22

1.22

57.34***2,3763

Restrictions on the publication of results from my privately-funded research have increased since my first appointment

ChinaHong KongU.S.

2436618452

3.32

3.59C

3.71C

1.24

1.06

1.20

28.37***2,3503

Good communication between management and academics

ChinaHong KongU.S.

33397751127

3.04CC

3.34

3.21

1.24

1.18

1.18

23.60***2,5238

Collegiality in decision-making processes ChinaHong KongU.S.

32877661122

2.95CC

3.26

3.09C

1.23

1.06

1.09

24.45***2,5172

A cumbersome administrative process ChinaHong KongU.S.

32897661120

2.41C

2.20

2.35C

1.18

1.01

1.16

10.04***2,5172

The administration supports academic freedom ChinaHong KongU.S.

33447801110

2.50

2.51

2.37CC

1.15

1.04

1.02

5.97**2,5231

Notes: CC = Perceived level of congeniality is higher than that of two other systems; C = Perceived level of congeniality is higher than that of one other system; **p<.01; ***p<.001.

Significant results Congeniality > Productivity

• China– job satisfaction (positive)– Increased restrictions on publication of results from publically

funded projects (negative)

• USA– Poor time for a young academic to begin a career (Negative)

• Hong Kong– Job satisfaction (positive)– Collegiality (negative)– Poor time for a young academic (negative)– Increased restrictions on publication of results from publically

funded projects (negative)

Conclusion

• Evolution continues• Strong areas:

– Traditions– Talent pool– Ascending research productivity

• Weak:– System differentiation– Lack of research doctorates/overseas returnees– Governance for creative learning and open access

Thank you

謝謝

Congeniality > Productivity

• job satisfaction – (positive) CHINA&US

• Increased restrictions on publication of results from publically funded projects – (negative) CHINA&HK

• Poor time for young academic to begin career – (Negative) HK&US

• Collegiality – (negative) HK

Table 3: Predicting Research Productivity from Perceived Congeniality(N Mainland China = 1,862; N Hong Kong = 676; N U.S. = 1043)

Research Productivity China Hong Kong U.S.

R2 .02 .05 .02

F 10.34*** 7.74*** 5.36*

DfL 2, 1338 4, 552 1,356

β restrictions_publicly .10*** .13** -

β collegiality - .12** -

β satisfaction -.06* -.15*** -

β poor time - -.11* -.12*

Notes: L = Listwise cases exclusion was used;

restrictions_publicly = restrictions on the publication of results from my publicly-funded research have increased since my first appointment;

collegiality = collegiality in decision-making processes;

satisfaction = how would you rate your overall satisfaction with your current job;

poor time = this is a poor time for any young person to begin an academic career in my field;

*=p.<.05; **=p<.01; ***=p<.001.

International Research Collaboration

Do you collaborate with international colleagues?

AR AU CH FI DE HK IT JP MY NO UK US Total

Percent 47 59 13 70 58 60 59 24 32 67 61 31 45

国际研究合作你是否与国际同事合作？

AR=阿根廷， AU=澳大利亚， CH=中国， FI=芬兰， DE=丹麦， IT=意大利，JP=日本，MY=马来西亚， NO=挪威， UK=英国， US=美国

International Publications

Which percentage of your publications in the last three years were coauthored with colleagues located in other countries?

AR AU CH FI DE HK IT JP MY NO UK US Total

Arithmetic

Mean 9.8 20.3 1.1 25.2 39.5 21.3 14.7 10.0 7.6 26.8 27.4 5.6 15.0

Median 0.0 6.0 0.0 10.0 30.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 20.0 0.0 0.0

国际发表著作情况

AR=阿根廷， AU=澳大利亚， CH=中国， FI=芬兰， DE=丹麦， IT=意大利，JP=日本，MY=马来西亚， NO=挪威， UK=英国， US=美国

过去三年你的著作在国外发表的比例是多少？

International Publications

Which percentage of your publications in the last three years were published in another country?

Hong Kong Ranks #1

AR AU CH FI DE HK IT JP MY NO UK US Total

Arithmetic

Mean 32.2 45.3 11.7 58.4 61.0 77.9 46.3 25.8 21.2 62.2 37.3 7.6 38.6

Median 10.0 39.0 0.0 70.0 70.0 95.0 40.0 0.0 0.0 75.0 30.0 0.0 20.0

国际发表著作情况 过去三年你的著作在国外发表的比例是多少？

香港位居第一

External Funding from International organizations/entities

In the current (or previous) academic year, which percentage of the external funding for your research came from International organizations/entities?

AR AU CH FI DE HK IT JP MY NO UK US Total

Arithmetic

Mean 6.7 14.0 4.3 27.3 14.2 4.5 17.1 0.9 5.8 19.7 48.3 63.1 16.3

Median 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 42.5 100.0 0.0

来自国际组织 /团体的额外资助 在现在（或过去）一个学年之中，你的研究经费来自国际组织 /团体额外资助的比例是多少？

Internationalization in Teaching

In your courses you emphasize international perspectives or content

[ 5 point scale: 1=“Strongly agree” to 5=“Strongly Disagree”]

Hong Kong Ranks #1

AR AU CH FI DE HK IT JP MY NO UK US TOTAL

Percentage

(responses 1 & 2) 58 68 67 51 65 72 61 51 60 68 66 53 62

Arithmetic Mean 2.3 2,1 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.3

教学的国际化 在你的课程中，你会强调国际视野或内容五分法： 1=“非常同意”到 5=“非常不同意）

香港位居第一

Internationalization in Teaching

Currently, most of your graduate students are international

[ 5 point scale: 1=“Strongly agree” to 5=“Strongly Disagree”]

AR AU CH FI DE HK IT JP MY NO UK US TOTAL

Percentage

(responses 1 & 2) 4 25 10 8 6 14 2 8 11 10 31 6 10

Arithmetic Mean 4,4 3.5 4.4 4.3 4.4 3.9 4.6 4.4 4.1 4.3 3.2 4.3 4.2

教学国际化 现在，你教过的毕业生来自世界各地五分法： 1=“非常同意”到 5=“非常不同意”