Perceptions of Tenure: Faculty Development Issues in U.S. Leadership Development Programmes

This chapter examines Chinese HEI leaders’ perceptions of tenure in American HEIs. A sample of four Chinese HEI leaders was selected from those who attended U.S. leadership development programmes between 2013 and 2017. Data were collected through four interviews and four learning reports. The leaders spoke highly of the third-party reviews and the professionalism of the American faculties. While they misunderstood the real meaning of tenure; they admired the achievements of American HEIs in applying tenure but were concerned about difficulties in applying the tenure system in their own HEIs. They pointed out that tenure might not solve all the problems experienced in Chinese HEIs. There was a mis-comparison between elite American HEIs and non-elite Chinese HEIs due to the programme arrangements. We argue that benchmarking is needed in the future in order to match the profile of Chinese HEI leaders to appropriate universities in the U.S.