Even if University Semester Start is Postponed, Class Days Must be Maintained... Expansion of Make-up and Online Lectures

Ministry of Education Distributes Academic Operation Guidelines... Recommends Attendance Recognition for Students Suspended from School Attendance

On the 4th, students wearing masks are passing in front of a banner with guidelines for preventing the novel coronavirus infection at Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of Education has recommended that even if universities postpone the start of the semester due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, necessary lectures should be conducted through make-up classes or online lessons. Students confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 or those suspected of infection and absent can be recognized as attending, and first-year international students are allowed to take a leave of absence for the first semester.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Education prepared and informed universities of the "Academic Operation Guidelines for Responding to the Novel Coronavirus Infection," which includes these measures.

The Ministry of Education first stated that if universities postpone the semester start, they may reduce the number of class days within two weeks, but even in this case, the minimum required hours per credit of 15 hours must be observed.

Accordingly, universities must organize class hours using weekday mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays in accordance with their academic regulations and actively utilize remote classes and intensive courses to fulfill the required class hours.

In particular, although remote classes are generally limited so that online credits do not exceed 20% of the total credits offered by each major per semester, this standard will not be applied for this semester.

When operating classes focused on assignments, attendance recognition may be replaced by assignment submissions to ensure the quality of education.

Furthermore, students whose entry into Korea is delayed due to the infectious disease, students who are prohibited from attending school for 14 days after entering from China, and students who are not entrants but show symptoms suspected of infection can be recognized as attending upon submission of relevant supporting documents.

Some universities that had prohibited first-semester leave of absence for new and transfer students by academic regulations will allow it in cases related to the infectious disease, and restrictions on leave periods will be relaxed for students staying in China and domestic students diagnosed with COVID-19 to prevent disadvantages.

Considering the delayed semester start, tuition payment deadlines may also be extended if necessary. Since tuition refund amounts are determined based on the number of days from the semester start to the date of refund reason occurrence, universities must provide sufficient guidance to students to avoid any disadvantages.

However, to ensure stable educational activities for instructors, it is recommended that instructor fees be paid in early April instead of the usual payment time at the end of March.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education instructed universities to notify their students in advance about changes in academic operations due to the postponed semester start and to provide information on disease details, infection prevention rules, and behavioral guidelines related to the infectious disease.

A Ministry of Education official stated, "These guidelines apply only to the first semester of the 2020 academic year, and class days, attendance standards, and leave of absence must comply with the guidelines," adding, "We ask universities to make efforts to prevent infectious diseases on campus by opening lifelong education centers, open lectures, language institutes, and other separate programs within universities as close to the semester start date as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.