"Can't Edit Videos" Online Course Expansion Leaves Professors Feeling 'Makmak'

University Professors and Teaching Assistants Preparing for Online Classes "Don't Know How to Edit Videos... Feeling Overwhelmed"
Concerns Over Decline in Lecture Quality Due to Lack of Experimental and Practical Classes
Some Students Demand Partial Tuition Refunds

On the 2nd, a university campus in Seoul appeared quiet. With concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the start of the semester has been postponed to the 16th, and universities are preparing for remote classes such as online lectures. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern reporter Juhyung Lim] #A(28), a university teaching assistant, has recently been helping produce video lectures for professors. This is because university classes have been replaced by cyber lectures due to concerns over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. However, the video production tools and cyber lecture platforms, which are being used for the first time, feel unfamiliar. When playing back the recorded videos, sometimes there is noise in the professor's voice.

A said, "It is a big task to modify the class content to fit video lectures, but the biggest problem is the lack of personnel who can handle videos well," adding, "They say classes can be conducted online throughout March, but honestly, it feels overwhelming."

Earlier, domestic universities postponed the semester start by 1 to 2 weeks following government recommendations. However, as COVID-19 continues to spread, some universities plan to conduct academic schedules online for two weeks after the semester begins. Most universities have already established their own video lecture systems through cyber campuses on their websites.

University lecture hall / Photo by Yonhap News

The problem lies in the lack of video production skills among professors and teaching assistants. Most professors have no experience conducting online lectures, and since hundreds of courses need to be conducted online, a lot of preparation is required.

A university professor who requested anonymity said, "I have some experience with online classes from when I worked as an instructor, so I am somewhat better off. But the reality is that most professors and instructors on campus do not know how to edit videos, and the number of teaching assistants who can help immediately is woefully insufficient," explaining, "Especially for courses where practical training is important, the academic schedule is bound to get disrupted."

Because the quality of online lectures is poor, students have many concerns about cyber classes.

According to a survey conducted by the 'National University Student Council Network,' a coalition of student councils from 27 universities nationwide, from the 27th of last month to the 2nd of this month, among 12,613 university students surveyed, 49.4% expressed concern that "practical and experimental classes will be insufficient due to online lectures," and 40.9% worried about "poor quality of classes due to online class substitution."

Among them, some students have demanded partial tuition refunds. On the 2nd, a petition titled "Request for Tuition Reduction Due to University Semester Postponement" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board, gaining over 69,000 supporters as of the morning of the 10th.

On the 2nd, a petition was submitted requesting a partial refund of university tuition fees corresponding to the number of days the start of the semester was postponed. / Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Website Capture

In the petition, the petitioner stated, "The first semester effectively started on March 30. Accordingly, most universities shortened the semester by 1 to 2 weeks, reducing 16 weeks of classes to 14 to 15 weeks," adding, "However, there is no tuition reduction due to this."

They continued, "Universities claim that they can satisfy the minimum required 15 hours of class per semester through online and supplementary lectures and will conduct offline classes later, thus fully guaranteeing students' right to learn. However, online lectures, which inevitably have to be produced in a short period, are qualitatively inferior to offline lectures. Students need to be partially compensated for this damage through tuition reductions," they argued.

However, partial tuition refunds are expected to be difficult. Under current law, partial refunds are possible only on a monthly basis.

According to regulations on university tuition, if a university suspends classes for a period of one month or more, it must exempt or reduce tuition for that month.

At this point, most universities have only delayed the semester start by 1 to 2 weeks.

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