Rising up the university teaching ranks: the teaching documentation option

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
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I’m still struggling to decide which is the best way to rise through the teaching ranks at my university. Currently, I’m a lecturer in Taiwan.

Has anyone here risen up a rank through documenting their teaching and writing up a report to 升等 (rise up)?

I know the other various options. I still have concerns about doing a PhD in Taiwan…(Will it be valued outside of Taiwan? Will it mean much on a personal level?..don’t know.) Not fully convinced that my work will ever overtake the importance of the university where I do my PhD in the eyes of employers. Will having a Taiwan PhD be a forever discriminating factor abroad 10 years from now? Perhaps…perhaps not. Not sure there’s a definite answer.

While I thought my other outside academic work would be sufficient to rise up in the system, I now realise that my personal work would be subjected to some very strict Taiwan regulations which makes it nearly impossible – to the extent that what I have done gets so divorced from reality that my university claims no value in it due to regulations. Quite frustrating, actually, because I’ve gotten a fair amount of academic recognition around the world for my work and suppose in certain circles I might be considered a leading figure.

Anyhow, curious if anyone here has successfully used this third option: the teaching documentation option to prove worthiness to rise up a rank.

I’ve racked my brain on this quite some time and just keep spinning in circles…As I don’t know how long I will be in Taiwan, I just can’t seem to decide the best course of action. Thank you much for any further thoughts. Cheers! :slight_smile:

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PhD, plus get a paper published to rise ranks. There’s no other way. You can’t become a professor without a PhD (not even assistant or associate).

If you plan on staying in Taiwan, do your PhD here. If you don’t plan on staying here long-term (more than 10 years), then I wouldn’t.

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Find a school where PhD tuition is free.
Taiwan universities are losing PhD programs like flies due to low birth rate, and many/some have been offering free tuition in order to maintain said PhD programs.

You want PhD in English language/literature, or what department?

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Better still, find a program with a scholar whose work you really respect. If you go through the trouble of getting a PhD, you might as well learn something from your supervisor, and hopefully continue to up your game.

If such people don’t exist in your field in Taiwan, then I would not recommend doing an advanced degree here.

Guy

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Without knowing your area of expertise, it’s hard to give sound advice.

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Are you teaching English? or teaching something in English maybe in a field related to your JD or private work?

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Hi, I’m teaching English and all my work has been in the area of language learning. I’m very much looking to continue teaching English in the future but still quite uncertain if furthering myself here in Taiwan academically is really going to worth it. I guess on a personal level I can learn some Chinese. :slight_smile: