Double-Qualified Faculty and Graduate Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from an Application-Oriented University in China

Abstract

As China’s higher education system undergoes a critical transition from rapid capacity expansion to qualitative structural optimization, newly established application-oriented universities are increasingly prioritizing the development of "double-qualified faculty. These are specialized instructors who possess both rigorous academic credentials and substantial, officially certified industry experience. Despite the aggressive national push for such pedagogical models, empirical evidence quantifying the exact economic returns of these high-cost human capital investments remains scarce, particularly within the constrained context of regional, small-scale private institutions. This study comprehensively investigates the economic returns of student exposure to double-qualified faculty, utilizing a uniquely compiled, micro-level dataset from Inner Mongolia Honder College of Arts and Sciences. To ensure maximum statistical reliability and relevance in a small-scale institutional context, the sample is restricted to 312 graduating seniors (N=312) who have successfully secured their initial employment contracts. Rejecting data-intensive Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) due to the inherent vulnerabilities and small-sample constraints of the institution, this paper employs a highly robust Mincerian Human Capital framework. The empirical strategy uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models with Heteroscedasticity-Robust Standard Errors, which are subsequently paired with Propensity Score Matching (PSM) algorithms to systematically correct for self-selection bias and unobservable confounding variables. The empirical results robustly reveal that a 10-percentage-point increase in the proportion of courses taught by "double-qualified" faculty yields a statistically significant 4.1% increase in graduates' starting salaries. Furthermore, exposure to these instructors significantly improves industry-major matching rates by 14.3 percentage points, fundamentally reducing frictional unemployment and mitigating the depreciation of human capital. These findings decisively validate Human Capital Theory over Signaling Theory in the applied sector. The results underscore that targeted, concentrated financial investments in industry-certified faculty yield high marginal economic returns for students, providing vital, strategic policy recommendations for optimizing faculty structures in institutions operating under severe budget constraints.