'University Basic Competency Diagnosis' Final Failure of 52 Universities Including Inha University and Sungshin Women's University... Ministry of Education "All Appeals Rejected" (Comprehensive)

47 out of 52 Rejected Universities, 218 Appeals... Ministry of Education Conducts 3-Stage Review
Ministry of Education Finalizes 233 Universities for General Financial Support
Rejected Universities Consider Administrative Lawsuits, Aftermath Expected to Be Intense

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Sungshin Women’s University, Inha University, Sungkonghoe University, and 49 other universities nationwide have ultimately been excluded from receiving government financial support. Their all-out efforts, including filing objections, protest visits, and picketing after the preliminary announcement, have failed. As the Ministry of Education rejected all previously submitted objections, these universities are expected to lose out on a total of 14 billion KRW in innovation support project funds over the next three years.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Educational Development Institute announced that they had finalized the results of the ‘2021 University Basic Competency Diagnosis,’ excluding these universities from general financial support, confirming the preliminary results. The Ministry conducted the diagnosis on 285 universities nationwide (161 general universities and 124 junior colleges) and selected 233 universities (136 general universities and 97 junior colleges) as recipients of financial support. According to the regional allocation method, 90% of the total selected universities were assigned by region, and the remaining 10% were selected on a nationwide basis.

Accordingly, 122 general universities and 87 junior colleges, which make up 90% of the selected universities, were chosen through regional distribution, while the remaining 14 general universities and 10 junior colleges, accounting for 10%, were selected based on the highest scores regardless of region. Among the 52 universities that were excluded, 11 were metropolitan universities including Sungshin Women’s University, Inha University, and Sungkonghoe University. In the provinces, 14 universities including Sangji University and the national university Gunsan National University were excluded.

Among the excluded universities, 47 submitted a total of 218 objections to the preliminary results, but the final results were confirmed to be the same as the preliminary ones. Kim Gyu-won, chairman of the University Structural Reform Committee, explained, “The acceptance of objections submitted by each university was finalized after a three-stage review process involving the Objection Handling Subcommittee, the University Diagnosis Management Committee, and the University Structural Reform Committee. On the 1st, the University Diagnosis Management Committee reviewed the Objection Handling Subcommittee’s findings and decided to reject all objections raised by the universities.” However, the Ministry of Education clarified that universities excluded from general financial support are not restricted from applying for other financial support projects, including national scholarships and student loans.

The Ministry of Education explained that the universities excluded this time were only removed from the general financial support project and that there are no eligibility restrictions for other financial support projects or national scholarships and student loans. Universities selected for general financial support are also required to pursue autonomous innovation, including appropriate scale reduction, from next year through 2024.

Selected universities must establish autonomous innovation plans, including appropriate scaling considering conditions, capabilities, and development strategies by March next year. The Ministry of Education plans to provide benefits in general financial support to universities that excel in appropriate scaling. In the second half of next year, the Ministry will check the maintenance enrollment rate of universities receiving general financial support and recommend differential enrollment reductions based on unmet scales; failure to comply will result in suspension of general financial support.

The fallout from the exclusion of 52 universities is expected to be severe. The presidents of the excluded universities have strongly protested since the preliminary results announcement, demanding continued support from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and visiting the Ministry of Education in protest. They pointed out, “The general financial support project, promoted as part of university structural reform by the government, is damaging university diversity and regional balanced development, contrary to its original purpose of strengthening university competitiveness.” They also requested a sufficient increase in the university innovation support project budget and consideration of differential support instead of a binary selection between selected and unselected universities.

These universities are concerned not only about financial difficulties but also about the stigma and label of being ‘failing universities.’ There are also expectations that the upcoming early admissions starting on the 10th will be negatively affected. Some universities are reportedly considering administrative lawsuits against the Ministry of Education, claiming problems with this evaluation. With the issue of presidential responsibility emerging, some presidents are expected to resign. Previously, on the 1st, Jang Ik, president of Wideok University, abruptly resigned with six months left in his term.

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