"Tuition Refunds in Disasters Improved to Reflect Actual Semester Start Date"

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Recommends Improvements to the Ministry of Education

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has recommended that the Ministry of Education improve the unfair procedures related to tuition refund.

The Commission stated that the information on tuition management at each university is too specialized and difficult to understand, and that the tuition refund regulations have been applied in a way unfavorable to students.

Starting from the second half of next year, the Commission requires each university to disclose detailed budgets of tuition usage by revenue and expenditure categories, along with separate explanatory materials, on the Ministry of Education’s university information disclosure site, 'University Alimi.'

In particular, if the university semester start date changes due to disasters such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the tuition refund reference date must be changed to the actual semester start date.

As normal classes became difficult due to COVID-19, many students applied for leave of absence after the semester started, citing reasons such as military enlistment. This led to conflicts between universities and students over tuition refunds.

Yang Jongsam, Director of the Policy Improvement Bureau at the Commission, said, "We hope this institutional improvement will alleviate some of the inconveniences faced by university students due to COVID-19."

The Ministry of Education stated that it will ensure these recommendations are implemented by June next year.

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