The Part-Time Personnel System: Regulations and Practices for Professors with Concurrent Administrative Positions at Taiwan’s National Universities

In contemporary higher education, the pedagogic scope and objectives have expanded well beyond the traditional domains of academic research, talent cultivation, and cultural enrichment. They now encompass a broader commitment to serving society and fostering national development. Consequently, connections between university professors and society hold significant importance. Considering this, part-time jobs outside universities, such as consultants for government, profit business entities, and NGOs, offer significant value not only for professors, but also for universities and the advancement of higher education. However, in Taiwan, public university faculty that hold concurrent administrative positions, including the president, directors, deans, etc. of the university, are considered public servants and governed by the Public Servant Service Act. The regulations governing their off-campus part-time employment are considerably more stringent than those applied to regular professors without concurrent administrative positions. This study analyzes the assessment of off-campus part-time employment issues for faculty members holding administrative positions. It presents discussions on these issues using the critical systems heuristics framework, including scope judgment, normative facet, and empirical facet. Through purposive sampling, a semi-structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 16 national university personnel offices, and in-depth interviews were conducted with ten university presidents and top-level administrators. The results showed the critical problems of off-campus part-time regulations and practices of national university professors with concurrent administrative positions. It is suggested that the government should deregulate the control of the part-time personnel system and gradually authorize universities to establish their own regulations.