(Special Issue) Differentiating Teachers from Government Employees: Regulations on Teachers with Concurrent Administrative Positions at National Universities

Vol.&No.：Vol. 67, No. 2
Date：June 2022
Pages：155-184
DOI：https://doi.org/10.6209/JORIES.202206_67(2).0006

Abstract：
At present, human resource management of public university teachers in Taiwan is mainly based on the University Act, the Teachers’ Act, and the Act of Governing the Appointment of Educators. Since 1992, interpretation No. 308 of the Grand Justices Council has clearly defined the “distinction between teachers and government employees,” that is, teachers who also work as administrators fall under the jurisdiction of the Civil Servant Work Act. However, teaching and research emphasize profitability, creativity, and flexibility, whereas administrative duties center on prevention, control, and safety. Overregulation of the legal system may affect the competitiveness of universities and the willingness of teachers to assume administrative positions. Furthermore, with regard to the concurrent administrative positions of teachers, one should question whether (1) the rights and obligations of teachers should differ from those of government employees, (2) whether these differences would be appropriate and fair, (3) whether the regulations would be uniformly applied, (4) whether standardization of practice should be applied, and (5) whether the public is concerned with any relevant issues. Unfortunately, related studies differentiating teachers and government employees have adopted a normative focus. This paper intends to further explore the diagnosis and evaluation of these practical problems mentioned above.
To strengthen the development of science and technology in the country and promote cooperation between industry and academia, most studies have advocated for relaxing regulations to encourage university teachers to engage in off-campus part-time activities. Some mechanisms, such as the conflict-of-interest avoidance regulations and disclosure, achieve this without being restricted by the Act of Governing the Appointment of Educators and the Civil Servant Work Act. However, a review of existing laws and regulations that govern the rights and obligations of teachers who hold administrative positions under civil service regulations showed that these laws and regulations are strict for teachers who do not also hold administrative positions. If schools establish internal control mechanisms of self-regulation, further planning and consensus building on the specific regulations are required. This study assessed the regulations on off-campus part-time activities undertaken by teachers who hold a concurrent administrative position at a national university. Moreover, this study explored various perspectives to determine the necessity of adjusting legal regulations. Therefore, the critical systems heuristics model was adopted as the analytical framework.
This study evaluated the management of off-campus part-time activities by teachers who hold a concurrent administrative position at a national university. Through sampling 16 university personnel office documents and interviewing 10 university presidents and first-level executives, this study analyzed the off-campus part-time activities by teachers holding a concurrent administrative position. The analysis focused on three aspects of the critical system-inspired approach: position judgements, value evaluation, and observation. The results of the survey indicated that teachers often hold an administrative position at a national university to engage in activities on the side. The percentage of comprehensive and technology-based universities where teachers worked at was significantly higher than that of professional schools. The most controversial among these part-time activities which teachers involved is working at for-profit and non-profit organizations and groups. The interviews indicated that the respondents had diverse opinions about the regulations of off-campus part-time activities. The three main positions expressed by the participants were (1) the regulations should be the same as those for government employees, (2) the regulations should be the same as those for non-administrative teachers, and (3) the regulations should depend on the nature of the administrative matters which teachers are in charge. Among them, position 1 had fewer supporters compared with positions 2 and 3.
In conclusion, universities rely on teachers to become more global and competitive. Teachers do so by linking their theoretical and practical expertise, fulfilling their social responsibilities, and contributing to society. If teachers are restricted from having a part-time position because of their concurrent administrative position, it may decrease their intention to involve in administrative positions thus hinder the recruitment of exceptional administrative professionals and the development of the university. This paper proposes two recommendations for policy makers: (1) off-campus part-time activities should be gradually authorized in regulations and administration, and (2) the university should appropriately relax regulations based on the relationship between administrative duties and part-time activities.

Keywords：differentiating teachers from government employees, teachers with concurrent administrative positions, part-time activities, problem construction, educational personnel management

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