Internal governance structure and characteristics of private colleges and universities - Based on the analysis of constitution of 7 private universities in Zhejiang Province

: By combing the constitution of 7 private colleges and universities in Zhejiang Province, this paper summarizes the law of internal governance of private colleges and universities, analyzes the structure and characteristics of internal governance of private colleges and universities, and puts forward some thoughts.


Preface
The constitution is the highest program of a university, plays an important role in the construction of the modern university system, and is the "booster" for private colleges and universities to standardize running and realize the connotation development.Regulations on the Implementation of the Non-state Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, which will come into effect on September 1, 2021, points out that organizers shall formulate regulations according to law and form decision-making bodies according to the regulations, stipulating their decision-making and management rights.The outstanding highlight is that the internal governance structure of the private-run school has a clear specification.The private-run school builds the internal governance system and mechanism in accordance with the school charter, the organizer implements management activities according to the content, procedures and requirements stipulated in the school charter, and forms the corresponding decision-making power, management power and supervision power according to the rights and obligations stipulated in the charter.Although the supporting role of "picking up the missing" of private colleges and universities has not changed, the main focus of the policy transformation of private higher education in the present and future period is shifting from "standardization" to "support", giving private colleges and universities more autonomy in running schools and promoting the construction of high-level private colleges and universities.
The level and characteristics of regional economic and social development determine the running characteristics and living space of private colleges and universities.From the perspective of internal management, the power boundary of each governing body is difficult to form a norm due to the specific development and change of the school.Zhejiang Province private higher education has been committed to the people's satisfaction of higher education since the day of running the school, and strive to provide diverse, high quality higher education services for the society, out of a unique Zhejiang road.Taking West Lake University as typical example, the new high level private university is of great practical significance in deepening the reform of running school system in higher education, building and developing a first-class private university, and promoting the connotative development in higher education.
In this context, based on the constitution, the study on the internal governance structure and characteristics of private colleges and universities in Zhejiang Province and the analysis of the structure, characteristics and practical hot spots of the internal governance of private colleges and universities in Zhejiang Province are not only theoretically helpful to explore the regional characteristics of the internal governance of private colleges and universities, but also to explore the diversified internal governance models of regional private colleges and universities.It provides an empirical strategy for exploring the internal governance of private colleges and universities under the framework of classified management, and explores the new structure and model of internal governance.In practice, it is helpful to accurately grasp the effectiveness and predicament of internal governance in Zhejiang Province private colleges and universities, clarify the advantages and disadvantages of Zhejiang model, dig out typical cases, and provide empirical basis for further optimizing the internal governance structure of colleges and universities.

The actual state of internal governance in Zhejiang Province private colleges and universities -Charter based analysis
With the constitution of Zhejiang Shuren University (hereinafter referred to as ZSU), Westlake University (hereinafter referred to as WU), Zhejiang Wanli University (hereinafter referred to as ZWU), Wenzhou Business College (hereinafter referred to as WBC), Ningbo University of Finance and Economics (hereinafter referred to as NUFE), Zhejiang Yuexiu University (hereinafter referred to as ZYU), Zhejiang Guangsha Vocational and Technical University of Consruction (hereinafter referred to as ZGU) as the research samples, NVIVO12.0 was used as the analysis tool.From the perspective of text structure, organizer, board of directors, board of supervisors, president and party organization, teachers and students, this paper summarizes and analyzes the basic structure and characteristics of internal governance of Zhejiang private colleges and universities in order to find out the structure and characteristics of internal governance of regional private colleges and universities.

Constitution text structure comparison
From the perspective of text structure, the constitution of the seven universities are relatively complete, involving the general provisions, the rights and obligations of the organizers, the governance system, the organization, the rights and obligations of teachers and students, the sources of funds, assets and financial management, the change and termination of the school and other parts.The number of chapters is about 10, mainly focusing on the internal management system.Different colleges and universities have some emphasis: ZSC, ZWC, ZGU to make special provisions on school logo, WU, ZWC, NCFE, WBC, ZGU and other colleges and universities to the source of funds, assets and financial management made a special explanation.

Sponsor and authority
The seven schools are mostly organized by education foundations, education groups or education development companies.In terms of authority setting, ZSU, WBC and ZYU did not specify the rights and obligations of the organizers, while other schools have made detailed provisions.WU, WSU and NUFE all explicitly stated that they do not require reasonable returns; WU, ZWU, NUFE and ZGU all explicitly proposed that the sponsor has the obligation to provide financial support and security for the university; WU, NUFE and ZGU all explicitly proposed that the sponsor has the authority to support the independent running of the university, formulate and revise the school charter, and elect members of the board of directors.WU, ZWU and ZGU clearly put forward that the organizers have the power to decide the number and personnel structure of the board of directors and supervise the financial affairs, the organizers of WU, ZWU and ZGU have the power to decide the number and personnel structure of the board of directors, and the organizers of ZWU, NUFE and ZGU also have the power to make macro-decisions on the positioning of running a school, development planning and so on.Organizers in ZWU have the authority to examine the budget and final accounts of all revenues and expenditures and to coordinate the use of all income of the university, while organizers in ZGU have the authority to assess the level of running a school and the quality of education.

The board of Directors and its powers
The seven universities have basically set up the board of directors as the highest decision-making body of the university, and all of them have made detailed regulations on the composition, selection and voting rights of the board members.In terms of the authority of the board of directors, the seven universities maintain the same authority in the deliberation of development plans, the appointment and dismissal of deans, the amendment of constitution, and the termination of school changes, Except for ZWU, the board of directors of the other six universities have the power to prepare budgets and final accounts, while WU, WBC and ZYU have the power to borrow funds for running schools and the right to set up internal institutions, and the Board of directors of WU ZYU and ZGU has the right to review the staff establishment and salary, The board of directors of WU and NUFE has the right to remove additional directors and the right to supervise assets.The board of directors of NUFE also has the right to evaluate the management.Except for ZSU and WU, all other schools have set up boards of supervisors and defined their functions and powers.The boards of supervisors of WU, WBC, NUFE, ZYU and ZGU all have the power to supervise and correct illegal behaviors and behaviors that harm the interests of the University; the boards of supervisors of WU, WBC, NUFE and ZYU have the power to inspect the financial work of the university; the boards of supervisors of WU, WBC and NUFE also have the power to supervise and discuss board meetings.The board of supervisors of NUFE and ZYU have the authority to supervise the performance of the directors and the president, while the board of supervisors of WU has the power to inspect the personnel, teaching and other office management.

The president of the university and Party organization
The president responsibility system under the leadership of the Party Committee is the basic management system of colleges and universities.From the constitution, the functions and powers of the Party committee are mainly embodied in supporting the school's decision-making bodies to exercise their rights, implementing the Party building work, leading the school's ideological and political work and moral education work, participating in the school's major issues of decision-making, leading the school's trade union, the Communist Youth League, the student union and so on.From carrying out the Party's educational policy, leading the ideological and political work and moral education of the university, the expression of the constitution in this part of the content is basically consistent with the provisions of the Higher Education Law.The president of the university is the legal representative of the university.Generally speaking, the system of president responsibility under the leadership of the Party Committee has been widely recognized by all colleges and universities, and is presented in the text of the constitution.From the expression of the president's powers in the Constitution, it is found that its main contents are basically consistent with the provisions of the Higher Education Law.Some of them are directly the repetition of the text, while some are the breakdown and elaboration of specific responsibilities.As for the powers and powers of the president, the charter mainly involves implementing the development plan of the university, formulating the implementation work plan, implementing the budget and final accounts, managing the daily work of the university, formulating rules and regulations, organizing teaching and scientific research activities, appointing and removing the heads of institutions, etc.The subtle difference lies in the fact that ZYU and ZGU did not explicitly point out that the principal should formulate the internal organization of the school; In terms of the appointment and dismissal of university staff by the president, WU points out that the president's appointment or dismissal is the person in charge of the establishment, functional departments, colleges and research institutes of the university, which is more centralized than the appointment or dismissal of school staff or other personnel by the president of other universities.ZSU shall have the right to borrow funds for running the school and to manage its assets.WBC also separately proposed that the president has the right to propose the appointment of the head of finance.

Faculty rights and duties
The constitution of seven schools clearly stipulate that teachers have the right to fairly obtain development opportunities such as further study and training, as well as the right to fairly obtain awards and honorary titles.The constitution of six schools clearly stipulate that teachers have the right to fairly use school public resources and to fairly obtain remuneration and welfare.
It is clearly stipulated in the constitution of the five schools that teachers have the right to abide by the rules and regulations of the school and the contract agreement, obtain the right of fair evaluation in terms of character, ability and performance, and have the right to express objections and appeals in terms of employment, welfare benefits, evaluation of merit and awards, punishment, etc.It is clearly stipulated in the constitution of the four schools that teachers have the right to know the reform, construction and development of the school and major matters concerning their vital interests, have the right to participate in democratic management, and have the right to abide by ethics, laws and regulations, as well as other rights stipulated by laws and regulations or employment contracts.Only WU and NUFE proposed that teachers have the right to enjoy academic freedom according to law, while ZSU proposed that teachers have the right to apply for reconsideration or lawsuit against the infringement of personal and property rights and interests by the school according to law.

Student rights and obligations
It is clearly stipulated in the constitution of the seven schools that students have the right to obtain school status, obtain fair evaluation and obtain double certificates after completing the required studies.The constitution of the six schools clearly stipulate that students have the right to receive education fairly, use educational and teaching resources and participate in educational and teaching activities, as well as the obligation to abide by school regulations and agreements.The constitution of the five schools clearly stipulate that students have equal opportunities for development, the right to apply for awards, aid and loans, the right to object to and appeal against disciplinary actions and decisions involving their own interests, and the obligation to abide by ethics and laws and regulations.The constitution of the four schools clearly stipulate that students have the right to participate in social services, student teams and recreational and sports activities, participate in school management, and enjoy the right to know, participate, express and supervise related affairs and other rights stipulated by laws and regulations.The constitution of the three schools clearly stipulate that students have the right to know the reform and construction of the school and important matters related to their immediate interests, while ZSU stipulates that students have the right to choose majors and elective courses according to procedures.

Conclusion and reflection
Taking the text of constitution as the research object, the analysis of the internal governance structure and characteristics of Zhejiang Province private colleges and universities found that: on the whole, the research and development of internal governance of colleges and universities in Zhejiang Province has basically broken away from the breakthrough stage of the theoretical framework from management to governance, and began to transform to the stage of governance system modernization and governance structure reform.

Multiple governance subjects
Take the United States as the representative, the typical feature of the university governance structure is that it forms a model similar to the "troika", that is, the board of directors, presidents, and professors' councils are called the "troika" of the governance structure, which are not only interrelated but also form a mechanism of checks and balances [ 1 ] .It ensures the dynamic balance of decision-making power, administrative power and academic power.Some scholars point out that the governance of private colleges and universities needs to return to the original intention of education, reconstruct the internal development logic, and guide the development of private colleges and universities by pursuing the stability of school-running orientation, paying attention to the appropriateness of strategic planning, and paying attention to the rights change of interests of different stakeholders [ 2 ] .At present, the governing body of Zhejiang Province private colleges is changing from the pure balance of administrative power and academic power to the more complex and multi-subject power boundary research.The diversified membership is represented by Westlake University, which includes not only representatives of the National "Thousand Talents Plan", representatives of local governments, representatives of the Advisory Committee, representatives of the organizers, but also representatives of professors, staff and students.

Internal governance structure
The constitution is the foundation of university system construction.Only by constructing various internal rules and regulations based on the constitution can we ensure that the university runs the university according to law, regulates the university and governs it effectively.The Annual Inspection Index System for Private Colleges and Universities (Trial Implementation), issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Education in 2020, has clarified the six internal governance elements of the Party building and ideological and political work, school-running conditions, corporate governance, school-running behaviors, financial management, and teachers and students' rights and interests.At present, Zhejiang Province's private colleges and universities have made remarkable progress in following the law in governing them and fully considering the influence of society and the government on the development of colleges and universities.For example, the president is the legal representative of the university, and the principal responsibility system under the leadership of the Party Committee has been widely recognized by all colleges and universities.From the description of the principal's functions and powers in the Constitution, it is found that its main contents are basically consistent with the provisions of the Higher Education Law.The role of the Party organization is to implement the Party's educational policy, to lead the ideological, political and moral education work in schools, and so on.The contents of the charters of various colleges and universities are also consistent with the provisions of the Higher Education Law.However, the transformation from traditional management to modern management is the logical starting point of optimizing the internal governance environment of private colleges and universities.The transformation from modern management to common management is the key link of optimizing the internal governance environment of private colleges and universities.From common governance to harmonious governance is an important goal to optimize the internal governance environment of private colleges and universities.In terms of the contents embodied in the Constitution as a whole, the internal governance of Zhejiang Province private colleges and universities still focuses on the boundary of power and democratic supervision.How to improve the internal governance structure according to the logic of university development, improve the efficiency of resource allocation and promote high-quality development still needs to be explored.The governance model of Zhejiang Province regional private colleges and universities is changing from a simple co-governance model to a more concrete, practical and innovative consultation co-governance model.For example, the sponsor has the power to assess the level of running a school and the quality of education.The board of directors has the power to remove additional directors, to supervise assets, and to evaluate the management.The board of supervisors has the power to supervise and correct illegal acts or acts that harm the interests of the school, and to inspect the financial work of the school.And the powers and powers of supervising the director and the principal, the principal has the powers and powers of appointing or dismissing the school's preparatory organization, functional department, the school (institute) responsible person, etc [3] .

The model of consultation and co-governance
In addition, the modernization of the internal governance system of universities must also construct the organizational and institutional framework conducive to the common governance of universities [8] .Actively push [3] Que M.K.,Wang Y.E.(2022)The motivation, bottleneck and countermeasures of building high level private colleges and universities.Modern educational management, 02:74-83.https://doi.org/10.16697/j.1674-5485.2022.02.009.forward the shift of the focus of university governance to the lower level of academic departments, fully mobilize the enthusiasm and initiative of academic departments, make academic departments decide and manage the academic affairs of their units more, and release their vigor and creativity in the training of personnel and knowledge innovation.However, the exploration of the governance structure of Zhejiang Province private colleges and universities still needs to be deepened.The analysis of the text of the charter reveals that the charter does not sufficiently reflect the teachers' right to know the reform, construction, and development of the schools and the important matters concerning their immediate interests, as well as to participate in democratic management.Previously, there were also related teacher surveys showing that teachers' willingness and motivation to participate in school internal governance were not strong enough to reflect that there was still a long way to go in the current internal governance of private colleges and universities.
Domestic research on the internal governance model of colleges and universities is limited by the Opinions on Insisting and Perfecting the Implementation of the Principal Responsibility System under the Leadership of the Party Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued by the General Office of the CPC in 2014.Previously, we have devoted ourselves to summing up and referring to the study of the foreign governance model, which lacks policy orientation.Later, some scholars divide the internal governance model of domestic universities into the model of academic staff group leading, the model of administrative staff group leading and sharing according to the dimension of governance subject, the model of governance content into the model of centralized power at the university level, the model of decentralization at the grass-roots level and the model of power and power right at the grass-roots level, and the model of governance into the model of hierarchy, culture and consultation.

Table 1
The compendium of constitution of each school

Table 2
The rights and obligations of the organizers of each school

Table 3
Composition of each school board

Table 4
The functions and powers of each school board

Table 5
The functions and powers of each school's board of supervisors

Table 6
The functions and powers of the Party committees of each university

Table 7
The functions and powers of the principal of each school

Table 8
The rights and obligations of staff in each school

Table 9
Students' rights and obligations in each school