[2021 National Audit] 84% of Universities Say "Current University Competency Assessment Needs Change"

Only 30% of Universities Responded That They Reflect Competencies Well
Up to 300 Million Won Paid for External Consulting to Prepare for Competency Evaluation

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] It has been revealed that 80% of universities believe the current University Basic Competency Diagnosis Evaluation should be changed.

On the 1st, Yoon Young-deok, a member of the National Assembly Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, conducted a survey targeting 49 general universities and 99 vocational colleges. When asked whether the current University Basic Competency Diagnosis Evaluation should be maintained, 83.7% of general universities responded negatively. For vocational colleges, the figure was 79.8%.

When asked whether the results of the 3rd cycle diagnosis accurately reflected the capabilities of individual universities, only 30% answered "yes." Among the universities that responded to the survey, more than 70% were selected as general support targets.

Regarding the items that should have been included in the 3rd cycle competency diagnosis evaluation, general universities cited student-centered evaluation (24.4%), university autonomous innovation efforts (19.5%), and regional community co-growth (17.1%). Vocational colleges selected student-centered evaluation (23.1%), university autonomous innovation efforts (36.3%), and regional community co-growth (19.8%).

As opinions on university evaluation, both general universities and vocational colleges pointed out "paralysis of university education and research functions due to evaluation preparation" and "overlapping evaluations by university accreditation agencies."

Among the universities (16 institutions) that responded they received external consulting while preparing for the 3rd cycle University Basic Competency Diagnosis, more than half reported costs ranging from 50 million to 300 million KRW.

Assemblyman Yoon Young-deok emphasized, "The Ministry of Education has created an ecosystem where it is natural for universities preparing for the diagnosis to incur high-cost consulting fees, and the current method of filtering out the bottom few percent through ranking cannot achieve any goals. A method to secure the environment and quality necessary for higher education institutions to properly fulfill their roles is needed."

He added, "Discussions on the rescue methods and scale for universities that failed the 3rd cycle must be conducted at the University Basic Competency Diagnosis System Improvement Council."

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