Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics

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randyjac

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Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« on: September 04, 2012, 12:01:52 AM »
Currently I teach at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics. This is my third year at the school. I teach basic writing to first and second-year English majors, twelve periods of 45 minutes each per week. (Fourteen hours is a usual load, but writing gets a premium.) Each of my classes has about thirty students, mostly girls (which I don’t mind). The normal foreign teacher salary is 5,500 RMB per month, subject to negotiation, of course. Discretionary overtime is paid at the rate of 100 RMB per period, 120 for writing. This is a third-tier school, so the students level is relatively low, but they do try. 

In my opinion, the city of Nanjing has many positive attributes. It offers the advantages of size, namely shopping and nightlife. The city has served as China’s capital off and on for hundreds of years, so the history is rich. Transportation is convenient and inexpensive, with two subway lines and more under construction. I can be in Shanghai in one hour and nineteen minutes from Nanjing on the high-speed train from Nanjing Station. On the negative side, summers are steamy, winters no picnic.

Nanjing University of Finance and Economics has three campuses: the old one in the heart of Nanjing, a larger new one in the university city of Xianlin, and a satellite in Qiaotou. There are foreign teachers residing in each place. I live and teach in Xianlin, where the teachers occupy their own building. (I do spend one day each week in Qiaotou, requiring a 30-minute bus ride each way.) One quirk is that the school does not allow bicycles on its campuses, so everyone walks. I really don’t mind, because I always lose weight. Speaking of weight, the Xianlin campus has four canteens of varying quality, but the one nearest our residence is quite good, and inexpensive. I do happen to enjoy Chinese food.

My apartment has two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bath. The apartment has all the amenities, including air-conditioning (a must) and Internet. All utilities are paid, except for the telephone. Most teachers do not opt for a landline. Our building has a guard on duty 24/7 and entry is nominally restricted after 10 p.m., but late hours, in reality, are never a problem. In the same way, guests are not a problem, but a prudent person realizes that the guards report back to the administration and behaves accordingly. Most of us are on very good terms with the two guards.

I give the Foreign Affairs Office at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics high marks. I have taught at four different schools in China, and the administration here seems the most efficient to me. Normally, the school employs about twenty foreign teachers, though this year we are down to eighteen. None of these are new teachers, all having taught here before. One teacher who left last year for medical reasons had been here for eight years. I have always considered the number of veteran teachers at a school a barometer of an administration’s effectiveness. Emy (Bao Suqin) has led the office for several years, assisted by Carrie (Zhang Qi, email: carrieqiqi@126.com) as the main foreign teacher liaison. Carrie was overworked last year, so a new hire will assist her this year.

I have tried to write a balanced appraisal. I confess that I am motivated to help the school attract a few more qualified teachers. I also confess the school offers a bounty of 1,000 RMB for successfully doing so, but I hereby forswear that in favor of any teacher I should happen to attract.

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AMonk

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2012, 02:51:15 AM »
Thanks for your Review. agagagagag It sounds like a good place to teach. bfbfbfbfbf bfbfbfbfbf
Moderation....in most things...

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randyjac

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2012, 04:31:26 PM »
Thanks for your Review. agagagagag It sounds like a good place to teach. bfbfbfbfbf bfbfbfbfbf
Thanks. I should add that age is not a big problem. Anywhere between 22 and 70 would work for them. And all vacations are paid, including summer. Airfare reimbursement is handed out at the end of each semester, each time 5,000 without batting an eyelash (none of the receipt hassle). I also forgot to mention our trip to Xiamen during the spring. The school took all the foreign teachers there for the weekend, all expenses paid.

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eggcluck

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2014, 08:59:28 PM »
While I did not work for this place I did apply and what happened I think is worth a note just for those considering them.

After I started applying for jobs those that replied tended to do so fairly quickly. These place took so long I thought it was going to be just another no reply type thing. In fact any reply from them was ridiculously slow which caused problems with other employers as I was making them wait for my response while I was waiting to hear from here.

Though I eventually did get a response. The mail said there was some "concerns about my competence" since my previous experience was with children.  They wanted me to do a total of 8 hours on trains to come see them in order to have a "10 minute" chat to prove that I can teach. Being fully aware that pretty much all places are quite happy to hire people from abroad with no experience in anything with no interview I sent a reply (a polite one) saying that I would be OK with going in but I was wondering if it was possible to have this "10m chat" on Skype instead. Given that going there is person was a large cost in time and money I considered it a reasonable request given that they may hire someone from abroad with no such hoops for them to jump through.

I never did get a reply, so I took that as a "that's not ok and since you dared to ask such thing we will forget your application".

As a side note they also contacted my previous employer to see if in fact I supplied real details and that I have actually worked there. Fair enough, sadly my situation with this employer was not exactly rosy...and I have no doubt this made things worse for me when they basically told my employer I was applying to other places without even considering me.

Just some things for future applicants to be aware of especially if you are trying to get out the clutches of an unpleasant employer. It may even be best if you give them a miss since they will make the employer aware that you are trying to leave.
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opiate

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2014, 10:09:15 PM »
I'm not seeing where the school is at fault.

They replied to your application, as a result of them responding you stopped or delayed communication with other potential employers. Your choice.
They wanted to meet you in person....which I agree was a fairly unreasonable request though I think we both know schools tend to favor new hires coming in from nearby.
Then they contacted your employer at the time.....or were they your previous employer? I'm not quite clear on which it was or if it was that they contacted both?
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As a side note they also contacted my previous employer to see if in fact I supplied real details and that I have actually worked there. Fair enough, sadly my situation with this employer was not exactly rosy...and I have no doubt this made things worse for me when they basically told my employer I was applying to other places without even considering me.
Either way, I'm actually glad to see a school that bothers to check employment history. If you were concerned about any potential employer contacting a previous/current employer then it's up to you to ensure it's not an option for them. You can simply ask them not to contact your current employer (if you did this and they ignored your request I would be singing a different tune) , you can withhold details of your current employer, or do any number of things. Giving a potential employer means to contact a previous/current employer that may have negative things to say about you or damage your current working relationship then being angry that it played out that way is a little silly to me.

It seems you just hit a few too many of the 'do not hire unless there are no better options' flags for that particular school.
Local? Nope.
Experience with Uni students? Nope.
Good reviews from previous employer(s)? Nope??

It's nothing personal. You just were not a good fit for that school. Try not to blame them though.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2014, 10:28:20 PM by opiate »

Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2014, 11:03:35 PM »
I think it is a bit cheeky of a school to ask a person to go on an 8 hour trip just for a 10 minute chat. In this day and age surely that could have been accomplished through Skype. I arranged my current job in Kunming while still working in Beijing and was able to pop onto Skype and have a chat with my boss and a few of the students without actually getting on a train to go to Kunming.

I think the done thing is to ask if you can contact the current employer before you just go ahead and do so. I wouldn't say that this school did anything wrong, but I could see why eggcluck might have been left with a bad taste in his mouth when all is said and done.

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eggcluck

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2014, 06:00:52 AM »
My main annoyance came from them never responding to what I thought was a reasonable request.

They could have easily said " sure Skype is no problem!" or " We would rather that you came in face to face" instead I get silence which I felt is rather disrespectful and unprofessional given that a dialogue had already been started.

At no point did I state I was angry (I am not a particularly emotional person and it would take a lot more than this to get me riled up) at them for contacting the old employer If my ageing memory serves me correctly I recall writing "Fair enough" which was an endorsement. I also said in that message that I mentioned as a point of note for anyone else that may be trying to join them to get away from a bad employer. Which is as far as I am concerned a decent thing to do as it forewarns future applicants. I am sure anyone who has had to make the leap from a bad employer can explain why letting them know you are looking for a new job is one of the last things you want to happen.

I did not make a claim about the school being at fault I just wanted to mention my experience and provide a heads up so I did just that. Something I had hoped I made clear in the first post but it seems I did not :( Though if I may add (and I hope others would agree with me) that untimely responses are not indicative of efficiency and/or professionalism.

For the record I did not supply direct contact details for the old employer nor did I use them as a reference. The school did that all by themselves. The mistake I made was using the company name under the experience heading in my CV, most likely something I could not have left blank and had no choice over.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2014, 06:14:37 AM by eggcluck »
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kitano

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2014, 03:44:30 PM »
Nanjing is a very international city, the reason they didn't reply eggcluck is because they are one of the biggest cities in Jiangsu, a lot of foreigners live there so they don't really have to make an effort to get a standard English teacher

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randyjac

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Re: Review of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2014, 07:54:37 PM »
My previous remarks about the school being a decent place to teach still stand. Sadly, I have not yet encountered a school without faults. I am sorry for Eggcluck's experience. By the way, the teacher the school did hire to begin the current semester was a no-show.