Raoul's China Saloon (V5.0) Beta
The Teachers' Lounge => School Reviews and Experiences (ON-TOPIC) => Topic started by: memnoch87 on September 10, 2015, 06:36:17 PM
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Hi guys,
There's some information on this university on here already, somewhere, but I think it's mostly our of date. The foreign affairs department got a new dean a couple of years ago and things have gotten progressively worse.
I worked their two years ago and a close friend who I introduced to the school has just left so this information spans a number of years and different foreign teachers.
1. Nothing is organised and the FAO is lazy and useless.
If you have problems they will not be solved, visas will be issued at the last possible moment or late and the FAO simply refuses to check her email. Unless you Wechat her constantly nothing gets done. I personally have been rushed to the visa office to get emergency visas done because she simply didn't do her job.
2. The University will constantly try and short-change you.
Every opportunity the school has to pay you less, they will try. If the semester starts halfway through the month they will try to pay you for 2 weeks despite the contract clearly stating that you will get al full months pay. The school rarely fights when you argue this, but it gets exhausting to do this.
In recent years they have become unreliable on payment dates and new teachers sometimes have to wait up to 2 months (!!!!!) to be added to the schools systems.
At one point the dean was trying to find a loophole in our contracts so she wouldn't have to pay us during our summer vacation, this came from a Chinese office worker so I cannot verify it myself but it fits the patern of behaviour.
3. Serious attempts to trick teachers of out flight money and final month pay
The school has a habit of ending classes much (read a month or more) earlier than the contract stipulates. When asked if teachers can go home the answer is usually "yes" or "I don't think that will be a problem because you have no classes."
The teacher then books flights, submits their travel info and has their tickets rejected because they are leaving too early. This has happened to at least 2 teachers I know of.
4. Campus environment and students are great
This really sucks because this was one of the best universities I have ever lived in. The accomodation is kinda crappy but the campus is gorgeous, green, and situated next to a lake. Students are also really good, especially English majors.
Conclusion
Please do not work here. The school office that was once mildly incompetent is now outright corrupt. It's a real pity because the students deserve good teachers but until the school stops this behaviour I think people should avoid this one like the plague.