Ministry of Education Eases University Innovation Support Fund Spending Criteria... "Will Tuition Refunds Expand?"

Revised to Negative Approach
All Allowed Except Exceptional Cases
Effective from Revision Date
Universities Expected to Gain Financial Capacity

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Ministry of Education has decided to reform the execution standards for the University Innovation Support Project budget, which amounts to 800 billion KRW annually, into a negative list system, partially relaxing restrictions on budget usage. Universities are expected to use the expanded financial flexibility to return a portion of tuition fees to students.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 2nd that it will hold the "Dialogue with University Presidents for Post-COVID-19 Educational Transformation (3rd Dialogue)" to discuss these matters. The event will be held jointly with the Korea Council for University Education and the Korea Council for College Education, with 31 university and college presidents attending.

The negative list system generally allows all uses except for exceptional cases, and is mainly used when relaxing usage restrictions. Since the revised standards will be applied immediately from the time of amendment, universities are expected to respond more autonomously to financial situations such as tuition refunds in the future. The University Innovation Support Project budget, prepared to improve education and research environments, was allocated at a scale of 5 billion KRW to 143 four-year universities. However, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), some projects in the first semester of this year were difficult to execute, resulting in funds being accumulated.

Students belonging to Corona University Student 119 are holding a press conference demanding tuition refunds in front of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of Education also plans to adjust some indicators affected by COVID-19 in next year's University Basic Competency Diagnosis, Education Internationalization Competency Certification System, and related surveys.

Possibility to Obtain Master's Degrees from Other Universities via Remote Classes
Expansion of Joint Degree Programs with Foreign Universities

Additionally, the Ministry of Education will improve operational restrictions related to remote classes. Unless students complete all credits required for degree acquisition remotely, universities will be allowed to grant degrees within the scope they determine. In particular, online degree programs will be permitted for master's degree courses operated by individual universities or joint university education programs. Furthermore, if joint education programs are operated between domestic and foreign universities, degrees will be recognized even if the courses are taken through remote education. The standard for offering remote class subjects will change from 20% to university autonomy, and the evaluation method will also be decided autonomously by universities instead of the attendance evaluation principle.

Efforts will be made to activate joint curriculum operations among universities within regions and promote projects based on cooperation between local governments and universities. The role of universities in lifelong and vocational education will be strengthened to enhance retraining for employed or unemployed individuals. Joint degree programs between domestic and foreign universities will also be permitted to develop and expand various programs.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye said, "I urge communication so that COVID-19 does not remain merely a crisis but becomes an opportunity for educational transformation," adding, "The Ministry of Education will do its best to ensure that universities and regions can become agents of innovation."

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