Ministry of Education Provides 57.5 Billion KRW to 90 Universities Contributing to High School Education

Support for Research on Relaxing CSAT Minimum Standards and Reflecting High School Credit System
Education Ministry on Early Admission Expansion Pledge: "Consultation After Transition Team Formation"

On the 28th, examinees who completed the 2022 academic year early admission essay test are leaving the campus at Ewha Womans University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Education will provide 57.5 billion KRW in funding to 90 universities that have reflected the relaxation of the minimum academic achievement standards for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in university admissions and linked the high school credit system with the admissions process.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Education announced the basic plan for the "2022-2024 High School Education Contribution University Support Project."

The High School Education Contribution University Support Project has been conducted since 2014 to enhance fairness in university admissions and increase the linkage between high school curricula and university admissions, thereby reducing students' entrance exam burdens. There are two types of projects: selecting 70 universities among all universities and 20 universities among those without support history for four years.

Universities wishing to participate in the project must submit a plan for matching investment in admissions officers' personnel expenses and a plan to adjust the operating ratio of admissions for the 2023-2024 academic years. Selected universities will receive support funds covering admissions officers' personnel expenses, education and training costs, high school (city/provincial education office) cooperation activity operating expenses, admissions research expenses, and support for students selected through equal opportunity admissions.

To apply for the project, universities in the metropolitan area must operate at least 30% of admissions based on the CSAT. For 16 universities located in Seoul (Konkuk University, Kyung Hee University, Korea University, Kwangwoon University, Dongguk University, Sogang University, University of Seoul, Seoul National University, Seoul Women's University, Sungkyunkwan University, Sookmyung Women's University, Soongsil University, Yonsei University, Chung-Ang University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Hanyang University), the rate must be at least 40%. Non-metropolitan universities must operate at least 30% of admissions based on either the CSAT or comprehensive student record screening.

The proportion of CSAT-based admissions at the 16 Seoul universities was 40.5% in the 2023 academic year, an increase of 12.7 percentage points compared to the 2020 academic year. Student record-based admissions decreased by 6.7 percentage points to 44.9%. Among these, comprehensive student record screening dropped significantly from 45.3% to 33.8%.

The Ministry of Education aims to simplify the admissions process by rationally setting the minimum CSAT achievement standards in early admissions and encouraging phased abolition or relaxation of standards considering the fulfillment rates by admission type. Regarding the high school credit system, which will be fully implemented in 2025, the ministry will ensure that achievement in elective subjects (general and career) is reasonably reflected and will evaluate research activities exploring admissions improvement plans based on the high school credit system.

Since President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol has pledged to expand regular admissions, the Ministry of Education plans to conduct consultations with the transition committee regarding the expansion of regular admissions.

Shin Moon-gyu, Director of University Academic Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, "The important principles are protecting the predictability for examinees and maintaining the stability of the admissions system." He added, "The president-elect's pledge to expand regular admissions centered on metropolitan universities is under internal review, and consultations will be held once the transition committee is formed, including this matter."

There is also interest in how the implementation of the high school credit system will be reflected in university admissions plans after the new government takes office. Kim Hye-rim, Director of University Admissions Policy at the Ministry of Education, explained, "The full implementation of the high school credit system starts in 2025, and since career elective subjects are already being applied in the field, universities need to consider this carefully."

If a university's own entrance exam questions are set outside the scope of the high school curriculum, it will be a deduction factor in evaluation. Up to 5 points can be deducted for the first violation, 10% of project funds cut and up to 15 points deducted for the second violation, and exclusion from the project in the following year for the third violation.

Twenty-five points are allocated to evaluation items aimed at reducing examinees' burdens related to the CSAT. This includes whether an appropriate number of admission types are operated and whether the burden of student document submission is reduced. Universities that gradually relax the minimum CSAT achievement standards in early admissions will receive financial support.

Thirty-five points are assigned to items related to fairness and accountability in university admissions. This evaluates whether a foundation for fairness in admissions and evaluation has been established, plans to enhance evaluation operations, and the operation of social integration admissions (equal opportunity and regional balance).

Based on 27 metropolitan universities that participated in this project from 2019 to 2021, the proportion of regional balance admissions (planned) increased from 5.1% in the 2021 academic year to 11.6% in the 2023 academic year. Among freshmen in 2021, 70.4% were from the metropolitan area and 29.3% from non-metropolitan areas.

Twenty points are given for securing admissions officers, guaranteeing their job stability, and supporting the expertise of admissions officers and university admissions offices.

The High School Education Contribution University Support Project will change from a structure of one-year implementation followed by evaluation and additional support to a "2+1" structure starting this year. Funding for the next year will be differentially supported based on the evaluation of this year's performance and next year's plan, and the decision on an additional one-year support will be made by evaluating the 2022-2023 performance and achievements and the 2024 plan to enhance project operations.

Universities wishing to apply must pre-register by the 25th of this month, and those who pre-register must submit the project application form by the 28th of next month.

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