Partnering with foreign universities can help improve the management of China’s colleges and give academics a greater freedom, says Chancellor Liu of Duke Kunshan University, Sino-foreign joint venture university in China.
Liu Jingnan, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chancellor of Duke Kunshan University in Jiangsu Province, says professors, rather than government officials, should have a major say in how universities are run.
“One problem with the bureaucracy in Chinese universities is that responsibilities are not clearly defined, so no one wants to take on any duty,” Liu says. “Only the chancellors, the presidents or party heads have the power to make decisions.”
Liu has been pushing for changes to the higher education system for years, and he says partnering with foreign universities may help change the management of Chinese universities.
Before joining Duke Kunshan University in 2012, Liu was president of Wuhan University, an elite public college in the central province of Hubei. Having served as chancellor at universities representing two distinct systems, Liu has been contemplating the differences and similarities between the higher education systems of China and foreign countries.
Liu opened up recruitment of faculty at Wuhan University to allow local and foreign scholars to apply, and cut red tape in the budget management office to limit interference in academic operations from the administration.
Duke Kunshan University, a joint venture among Duke University from the United States, Wuhan University and the city of Kunshan, China, welcomed its inaugural class of graduate students in 2014. It also expects to launch the undergraduate program in 2018.
Duke Kunshan University grants “enough power to professors” so that they don’t need to worry about intervention from the administration, Liu says.
Currently, twelve universities in the country, including Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and the University of Nottingham Ningbo, are formed through Sino-foreign joint ventures. Many other colleges have launched programs with partners from overseas.
Liu says the different management styles seen in Chinese and foreign universities may create some conflicts at the joint ventures, but he is confident the approach will help change China’s education system in the long run.
The following are excerpts of Caixin’s interview with Liu.
Why did Duke University want to establish a partnership in China?
Duke’s strategy is to transform itself into an international, world-class university. The current president (Richard Brodhead) has emphasized the importance of Duke University’s presence in China because China is the fastest growing emerging market economy. To understand China is to better understand the future of developing countries. The aim of Duke University is to serve the society, not only in the United States but globally. So it needs to go out and give its professors international exposure. That is why they have come to China.
What is the biggest difference between Duke Kunshan University and other domestic universities?
Chinese universities are usually much bigger and managed by a bureaucratic system, but Duke Kunshan gives more power to professors and students. Its decision-making procedures are more efficient and democratic, but it usually takes longer to finalize major policy decisions. Duke Kunshan is governed by its charter and institutional arrangements, with less bureaucratic procedures. All faculty members are recruited from a global talent pool through a transparent process. Their responsibilities and rights are clearly defined. The recruitment is done by different committees of professors following a strict procedure, so the chancellor doesn’t need to worry about it.
Duke Kunshan University’s meeting arrangements are also different than that of Chinese universities. The latter usually have three types of internal meetings – the Communist Party committee meeting, the president’s office meeting and meetings on specific topics. All of them are quite bureaucratic. At Duke Kunshan, we communicate more through emails and conference calls. Therefore, the hierarchy is flattened and the management relies on online communication. We have a regular online chancellor’s planning meeting to discuss management and operational issues with professors from different departments.
Another problem with the bureaucracy in Chinese universities is that responsibilities of administrators are not clearly defined, so no one wants to assume any responsibility. Only the chancellor, the president and the party head have the power to make the final decisions. But at Duke Kunshan University, responsibilities and the authority of individuals and teams are clearly defined. Decision-making on important issues is usually slower but more prudent. Decisions need to be approved by different committees constituted of professors.
Is Duke Kunshan copying the U.S. higher education system?
Not completely. Under the agreement between the two universities, we will bring in Duke’s education philosophy, management, pedagogical approaches and curricula, but then we will create our own systems by combining them with China’s domestic conditions and demands. The university charter was developed based on a set of principles: our goal is to serve the society with knowledge; in terms of management, the Board of Trustees is the main decision-making body, with governance by the faculty; we aim to promote better student-teacher interaction in the classroom and encourage students to balance classwork with extracurricular activities.
What problems has the joint venture university faced?
Challenges mainly come from three major differences between the two parties: cultural differences, institutional and ideological differences and the development gap. These differences have caused misunderstandings and conflicts.
People from different cultural backgrounds and systems look at things from different standpoints. For our U.S. colleagues, they are most concerned about academic freedom and potential racist attitudes in China.
How did you overcome these challenges?
First, we share the same goal to make Duke Kunshan a world-class university. So we can communicate and make compromises to achieve this. Second, we have to build mutual trust. My job is to help our U.S. colleagues better understand China’s higher education system and policies, and promote cooperation based on candid communication.
For instance, some of our colleagues from the U.S. raised questions about academic freedom in China, and we would convince them with examples that China actually embraces academic freedom just as the United States does.
Another example is that, many U.S. faculty members have doubts about the standard of China’s national college entrance exam. We have to help them understand why it has evolved to its present status, the effectiveness of the exam and the reforms taking place. In recent years, a lot of foreign universities have started to accept scores from the exam.
What is the main issue affecting Duke Kunshan University’s growth?
One big challenge for our long-term development lies in our financial model. We are following the development model of private universities in the United States that offer high quality education at a high cost. The average cost per year to produce one graduate student is about 400,000 yuan, or US$ 62,600. The tuition covers only 40 percent of this cost on average. Students also get grants and scholarships. Meanwhile, the school only charges 80,000 yuan on average from each student every year. As a result, the more students we enroll, the more subsidies we would need, to bridge the gap between the actual cost and the amount that can be covered by tuition. It will be hard to break even by relying on tuition alone.
What are some of the funding sources that Duke Kunshan University can tap?
Currently Duke Kunshan University mainly relies on subsidies from Duke University and the Kunshan City government. There are also some private donors. However, this model is not sustainable.
Recently, we have established an education development foundation. At the Duke Kunshan University Education Development Foundation Board’s inaugural meeting, I said that Duke Kunshan aims to win the society’s support through its service to the society. We want to learn how to build a strong fundraising model from major U.S. universities, so that we can rely on private and alumni donations. But it will be a long process which would likely take 15 to 20 years.
Why did you decide to head Duke Kunshan University after retiring from Wuhan University?
I think it is in line with my personal goals. When I served at Wuhan University, I had the chance to investigate and learn about the management, funding sources, vision, and academic freedom at prestigious Western universities. And I believe that the education philosophy at Duke Kunshan University agrees with the ultimate goal of modern education ‘ first, to produce well-rounded, versatile citizens; second, to produce law-abiding world citizens who are global-minded; third, to educate students through liberal arts and interdisciplinary education.
Duke Kunshan University is governed by the Board of Trustees and operates under the leadership of the chancellor . There is no need to worry about administrative intervention and professors have enough freedom. Heading Duke Kunshan is a new challenge for me. The U.S. higher education model will have an impact on China’s education system. It is worth a try.
What are the differences in the approach to managing universities in China and in Western countries?
After years as a university president, I strongly feel that China’s universities have many problems. And the most serious one is bureaucracy. In most Chinese universities, administrative officials have power to control personnel and resources. This bureaucratic system impairs academic performance. This is not a problem limited to the universities, but one that affects the entire education system. Academics are appointed to positions at major universities the same way officials are appointed to government departments, and the structure of a university is similar to a government office. Most of the resources are controlled by administrators while professors have little say.
What reform measures did you introduce to Wuhan University as a chancellor?
At Wuhan University, I carried out two major reforms. I made the recruitment process more transparent by replacing the internal staff appointment system with an open recruitment call, so that scholars from all around the world could apply. The second was to set up a committee of professors to decide on faculty promotions. I also made some changes to the university’s budgeting system to give more financial power to each department.
Were these measures successful?
Some worked, some did not. We call it an early exploration. The education minister at that time told me that changes to the way budget is managed would be too radical and risky.
There are new developments and problems in China’s higher education, but reform is lagging far behind. We must urgently deepen reforms. But it is not easy to change the official-centric culture, which is a remnant of old traditions dating back a thousand years.
This article is originally published by Caixin.com on November 25, 2015. Click here to read the original article.
