University Admissions Directors: "Government Measures to Strengthen Fairness in College Admissions Are Restricting Student Records Evaluation"

"Worries Over Future-Oriented Public Education Decline Due to Expansion of Regular Admissions and Abolition of Extracurricular Activities"

On the 15th, the day after the 2020 College Scholastic Ability Test, examinees and parents are listening to an admissions expert's explanation at a college entrance briefing session hosted by Jongno Academy at Sejong University in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] University admissions officers nationwide have pointed out that the reduction and abolition of extracurricular activities and self-introduction letters in high school records for college admissions could undermine future-oriented public high school education, such as autonomous activities, student council activities, and reading and debate education within schools. They expressed concerns that the increasing number of prohibited items in the student record comprehensive screening process, such as blinding high school information, could make comprehensive qualitative evaluation of students more difficult and potentially shrink the comprehensive screening system.

The National Association of University Admissions Officers issued a statement on the 14th, rebutting the problems and countermeasures pointed out by the Ministry of Education in November last year’s "Measures to Strengthen Fairness in College Admissions," and emphasized the need for "feasible policies and systems that do not damage the college admissions ecosystem."

In the statement, the association criticized, "The Ministry of Education’s measures ignore various analyses showing that the CSAT-centered screening increases private education expenses and deepens educational inequality. Instead, by expanding the CSAT, classroom instruction focused on process and student participation is regressing into problem-solving-oriented teaching."

They particularly warned that the reduction and abolition of extracurricular activities and self-introduction letters in student records could shrink future-oriented public high school education, including autonomous activities, student council activities, and reading and debate education within schools.

Regarding the enhancement of transparency and professionalism in evaluation, they demanded government support under the current university financial conditions to secure a large number of admissions officers with evaluation expertise. They reasoned that external public evaluators have ambiguous roles and status, and it is difficult to find objective evidence that they are superior in evaluation expertise compared to existing full-time or commissioned evaluators, considering conditions such as avoidance and exclusion, completion of education and training, and long-term participation in evaluations.

The association also pointed out, "Although the student record comprehensive screening aligns with the direction of the 2015 revised curriculum aimed at nurturing creative talents, changes in related government policies may make comprehensive qualitative evaluation of students difficult and risk shrinking the comprehensive screening system."

While agreeing on the importance of objectivity and reliability of screening materials for college admissions evaluation, they judged that imposing responsibility for management, supervision, and monitoring of student records on universities exceeds the scope of university authority.

The association stated, "We should not base education policies on public opinion that changes with social circumstances but establish a paradigm for college admissions policies that prioritize the education of elementary, middle, and high school students. Public information that can reference individual schools’ curricula should be provided during evaluation, and the Ministry of Education should guarantee university autonomy through various supports so that each university can select students suitable for its unique talent profile."

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