Pros
You can get 'EAP' experience in order to gain better employment elsewhere. Salary paid on-time.
Cons
Let me begin by recommending reading the plentiful 5-star one-line reviews first, and consider their authenticity. For example, not many people I spoke to referred to XJTLU as ‘friendly and chill’ (10 Jan, 2021). I never for once thought it was anywhere near ‘best international employer’ (30 Mar, 2019). I didn't even meet anyone who referred to XJTLU as a ‘Nice emplyer’ (sic) (16 Apr 2021). Those who read the 5-star reviews will probably conclude that those reviews, like XJTLU, aren’t what they seem. I worked at the Language Centre, which then became the School of Languages (SOL). I started looking for a new job after approximately 6 months of moving to XJTLU and China. I left as soon as I could, and am happier for it. Students Some other low reviews have mentioned that the students have not got the English to enable them to study in an EMI. I would agree with that to some extent and have experience, and sympathy, with these comments. However, as XJTLU will happily take any student who can afford to pay the fees, this is the direct outcome. This is not the student’s fault. The students are an afterthought at XJTLU. This is seen by the increased class sizes (25-30 now common) in the School of Languages and a move to a blended approach. This is combined with spectacularly low expectations of the students. As an EAP Tutor / Language Lecturer (titles seem to change as quickly as the staff do), it is ultimately disheartening to see students’ education taken for granted by XJTLU. Staff retention Regarding staff retention, the SOL resembles a revolving door. They haven’t got a recruitment problem, they have an acute retention problem. The SOL operate in a perpetual recruitment/retention crisis, haemorrhaging staff on a bi-annual basis. The management team are mostly unwilling or unable to acknowledge this. This is true for the SOL and the wider university. For example, a poplular website which lists employment opportunites in academia lists 30 positions at XJTLU (correct on 18th September 2021), some of these are for multiple positions. The advertisement for ‘Language Lecturers’ was posted on the 1st of September 2021, essentially the beginning of the academic year. Last month (August 2021) the SOL were approximately 50 teachers short. I recommend potential employees think carefully about the reason why they recruit for staff to essentially start ASAP. It has one of the highest staff turnovers of anywhere I have ever worked. When I arrived (pre-COVID) they had a staff shortage; often tutors arrive mid-semester and are jettisoned onto a course by a frantic middle manager. By the time I left, the staff shortage had become more severe. There is an active avoidance from management to acknowledge this. When asked in a meeting why staff were leaving, management responded by stating that they ‘don’t have the data’. Conveniently, staff who leave tend not to be offered exit interviews to collect the data. Reducing salaries / opaque promotions Expect to start at a lower salary than people currently in the SOL. Wages seem mostly good for existing staff who have been there for over 5 years. Staff who have been there a while comment that this was when things were 'good'. The current trend is to recruit people on lower salaries. Interestingly, the salary range for EAP positions is from ‘17,615-31,993 RMB’. New staff won’t be hired at the upper band. Most new people come in between 18,000 – 24,000RMB per month. I was told to expect promotion within ‘5-10 years’. However, for 2 consecutive years there was a 1% promotion rate. When I raised my concerns over the direction of my career, I was told by 2 different bosses that if I didn’t like it, I could find alternative employment. It wasn’t that rare to find people who did a single semester and then left. Conversely, a few well-connected staff gained multiple promotions very quickly. The has resulted in some teachers being over-promoted and becoming managers, often without the skillset required. Some of the SOL management team lack leadership skills. A few of them lack basic interpersonal skills. Change for the sake of change In my time there I had 2 bosses. My role changed name, the entire year 1 course structure changed twice. We went from a language centre to a ‘School of Languages’. Continuing Support was disbanded in 2019 (staff shortages were blamed) then re-branded and relaunched in 2020. Some changes seem to be orchestrated by management wanting to impress their bosses, rather than what is best for the school/students. Financial issues Payment of salary was on-time. However, sometimes staff are unable to claim their housing allowance. This happened for two months in 2020. The blame for this was placed firmly on the shoulders of the mysterious ‘local government official’. It’s common for blame to be placed with anyone other than the university. This person/group of people is blamed for XJTLU’s mistakes. For example, XJTLU deducts tax from employees' pay automatically, but in 2020 failed to forward all of this to the tax office. This made overseas remittance impossible. When asked why XJTLU hadn’t paid the tax to the tax office, a local government official was duly blamed, and my tax was quickly paid. There are many examples of this kind of behaviour. Advice: The best piece of advice I was told when I arrived was from a disillusioned member of staff was ‘don’t do anything here and expect to be rewarded, do it for your next job.’ That staff member left soon after, and it was around this time I was actively looking for other work. It is a hollow university, with a largely unsympathetic management team. The lack of empathy was mentioned by a previous reviewer, I agree with this assessment. It has a cliquey feel to the place, promotions are rare, and still seem to be based on who you know, rather than what you can contribute. The toxic work environment contributes to the high turnover.