Universities Without Daekyohyeop Certification by Next Year Will Have National Scholarship Support Suspended

Ministry of Education Unveils Reform Plan for Evaluation System Supporting General University Funding

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Universities that fail to obtain the Korea Council for University Education (KCUE) institutional evaluation certification by next year will not have their freshmen and transfer students eligible for national scholarships.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Education announced that it has notified each university of the "Draft Plan for Reforming the Evaluation System for General University Financial Support," which includes this provision.

The Ministry of Education will abolish the University Basic Competency Diagnosis, which has been conducted every three years for each university since 2015, after the 2024 academic year, reflecting the results of the 9th University Basic Competency Diagnosis System Improvement Council released last month.

Instead, starting from the 2025 academic year, the Ministry will provide general financial support to all universities except those designated as "Management Crisis Universities" based on financial diagnosis by the Private School Promotion Foundation, and "Non-certified Universities" under the institutional evaluation certification systems of KCUE and the Korea Council for College Education (KCCE) (including universities with certification deferral, certification suspension, non-certification, or those that have not applied for institutional evaluation certification).

At this time, freshmen and transfer students admitted in the relevant academic year to universities designated as Management Crisis Universities or those that have not received KCUE certification will face restrictions on student loans and will not be eligible for national scholarships. Management Crisis Universities and Non-certified Universities are also barred from participating in the Ministry of Education’s special-purpose financial support projects.

However, even if a university is designated as a Management Crisis University by the Private School Promotion Foundation, general repayment student loans are allowed if the university has obtained KCUE institutional evaluation certification. Additionally, religious universities aiming to train 100% of their enrolled students as religious leaders are exempt from restrictions on national scholarships and student loans.

For Management Crisis Universities and Non-certified Universities to receive general financial support, they must be removed from the Management Crisis University list and obtain conditional certification or higher through institutional evaluation certification.

The Ministry of Education has stipulated that for special-purpose projects by other ministries or local governments, the project operators will decide on the provision of financial support.

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