Revisions to University Establishment and Operation Regulations... Strengthening Autonomy in Research and Educational Activities

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] On the 29th, the Ministry of Education announced that it will publicly notify the full revision draft of the "Regulations on University Establishment and Operation" from the 30th until February 13 of next year to support universities' autonomous innovation and operation.

The "Regulations on University Establishment and Operation" stipulate that four major requirements (campus buildings, campus land, faculty, and basic property for profit use) must be met to establish a university. These requirements have also been applied during operational activities such as establishing new departments, increasing enrollment quotas, and mergers or closures between universities after establishment.

However, since these four major requirements were created based on traditional educational methods, there have been criticisms that they hinder free and innovative education and research activities responding to the rapidly changing higher education environment.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education conducted policy research on the necessity of revisions last year and this year, and after collecting field opinions through policy forums with related organizations, prepared the full revision draft of the "Regulations on University Establishment and Operation."

The revision draft includes easing the four major requirements for universities already established and operating, and improving the ease of campus relocation for some departments. It also includes deleting the uniform obligation to reduce enrollment quotas to promote voluntary mergers and closures between universities.

The standards for fulfilling the campus land requirement will be lowered by recognizing land secured according to building coverage ratio and floor area ratio as meeting the requirement. It is also specified that when a school corporation supports a school above a certain level, it will be recognized as having secured basic property for profit use.

Furthermore, to allow universities to autonomously pursue specialization and nurture core talents, the requirements for securing campus buildings will be relaxed when converting enrollment quotas between day and night or transferring quotas between campuses. When universities establish professional graduate schools, the standards for securing facilities such as campus buildings will also be relaxed. When establishing doctoral programs, universities will be encouraged to expand autonomy by setting faculty research performance standards in the academic regulations considering the characteristics of each field.

If there are any opinions on the full revision draft of the "Regulations on University Establishment and Operation," they can be submitted during the public notice period via the Integrated Legislative Notice Center website or by mail, fax, or email.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, stated, "With this revision, we hope universities can actively respond to changes in the era and society such as the decline in school-age population and digital transformation," and added, "Starting with this full revision, we will actively identify regulations that hinder universities' autonomous innovation in the field and promote regulatory reform."

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