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Unlock Your Potential: Navigating Challenges in University Teaching Faculty

Kai Mendoza in Mind & Education June 2025 • 4 min read.

"Explore the critical issues facing university teaching faculty and discover strategies to overcome these hurdles for a brighter future in higher education."

In today's rapidly evolving global landscape, higher education faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities. At the heart of this transformation lies the university teaching faculty, whose construction and development are pivotal for institutional success. Strengthening the teaching faculty is essential to optimize the educational structure and improve the overall quality and efficiency. This article examines the pressing issues in university teaching faculty construction, particularly in China, and proposes actionable strategies to foster a high-quality educational environment.

For years, the Chinese government has emphasized the importance of a strong teaching faculty by introducing policies and regulations aimed at advancing faculty development. However, significant gaps remain between the quality of Chinese university teaching faculty and that of world-class universities. Addressing these gaps and understanding the current status and key issues is crucial for all Chinese universities to ensure future reform and development.

To build a robust system, this article delves into the status of faculty construction, pinpointing the main issues and offering concrete countermeasures. By understanding these challenges and embracing innovative solutions, universities can enhance their teaching quality and ensure long-term sustainable growth.

Key Challenges Facing University Teaching Faculty

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Despite remarkable progress since the reform and opening up, China's higher education system still faces critical challenges in teaching faculty construction. The teaching faculty continues to be optimized, but still struggles with shortages and structural imbalances. The expansion of higher education has led to a continuous growth in the size of university teaching faculties, but the ratio of teachers to students remains a concern.

In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the educational levels of teachers in colleges and universities, with nearly 80% holding a doctoral or master’s degree. However, the proportion of high-level teachers, such as professors and associate professors, remains relatively low at just 41.01%. This imbalance is further compounded by an aging faculty, with a significant proportion of middle-aged and young teachers (under 40) and a relatively lower proportion of senior teachers with advanced titles.

Addressing these structural issues requires a multi-faceted approach:

Increase the number of faculty positions to alleviate shortages.
Implement scientific planning to optimize the teaching faculty structure.
Balance the proportion of basic and specialty teachers.
Ensure universities prioritize professional requirements when hiring.

Another critical issue is the extreme shortage of world-class masters, top elites, and leading talents. While China has the world's largest university teaching faculty, it lacks high-caliber individuals who can drive significant advancements. The structure of university teaching faculty faces several challenges: Too many basic teachers, but few high-level specialty teachers. Too many teachers for traditional majors, but few for high-tech and new majors. An overabundance of conservative teachers, but a scarcity of creative ones. Too many academic teachers, but not enough practical and industrial teachers. Too many one-specialty teachers, with a lack of cross-disciplinary expertise.

Strategies for Building a Stronger Faculty

To overcome the identified challenges and build a robust university teaching faculty, universities and colleges must focus on the following key strategies: seizing the opportunity to introduce high-end talents, establishing a supportive system for training talents, using the international personnel development pattern, and improving the international competitiveness of university teaching faculty, and focusing on establishing relevant systems and creating a soft environment in favor of the growth of talents.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.5430/ijhe.v4n4p239, Alternate LINK

Title: Problems In University Teaching Faculty Construction And Countermeasures

Subject: Education

Journal: International Journal of Higher Education

Publisher: Sciedu Press

Authors: Yuzheng Han

Published: 2015-11-16

Everything You Need To Know

What are the main obstacles preventing Chinese university teaching faculty from reaching the level of world-class universities?

The Chinese government has introduced policies to advance faculty development, but significant gaps remain between the quality of Chinese university teaching faculty and that of world-class universities. Shortages and structural imbalances plague teaching faculties that continue to be optimized. Addressing these gaps, understanding the current status, and resolving key issues is critical for all Chinese universities to ensure future reform and development.

What are the critical shortages and imbalances that exist within the structure of university teaching faculty?

China's university teaching faculty faces an extreme shortage of world-class masters, top elites, and leading talents. There are too many basic teachers, but few high-level specialty teachers; too many teachers for traditional majors, but few for high-tech and new majors; an overabundance of conservative teachers, but a scarcity of creative ones; too many academic teachers, but not enough practical and industrial teachers; and too many one-specialty teachers, with a lack of cross-disciplinary expertise.

What key strategies should universities and colleges implement to cultivate a more robust university teaching faculty?

Universities and colleges must focus on seizing the opportunity to introduce high-end talents, establishing a supportive system for training talents, using the international personnel development pattern, improving the international competitiveness of university teaching faculty, and focusing on establishing relevant systems and creating a soft environment in favor of the growth of talents.

What are the main challenges regarding the proportion of high-level educators (professors and associate professors) within the teaching faculty structure?

The teaching faculty structure experiences imbalances, including a relatively low proportion of high-level teachers (professors and associate professors) at just 41.01%. Addressing structural issues requires a multi-faceted approach, including increasing faculty positions to alleviate shortages, implementing scientific planning to optimize the teaching faculty structure, balancing the proportion of basic and specialty teachers, and ensuring universities prioritize professional requirements during hiring.

How does the expansion of higher education impact the teacher-to-student ratio, and what steps must be taken to ensure fair and even distribution?

The expansion of higher education has led to a continuous growth in the size of university teaching faculties, but the ratio of teachers to students remains a concern. To solve this, China must first increase the number of faculty positions, as well as ensure they are optimizing the planning to have a balanced ratio of basic and specialty teachers, while also ensuring universities prioritize professional requirements when hiring new faculty.