Recent Higher Education Reforms and University Extension in Korea: A Case Study of Kyungpook University’s Honorary Student System

Abstract

  In this paper, recent higher education reforms in Korea, in particular, reforms for regional universities, are discussed. What policies have been applied for regional universities in the 21st century? What efforts have regional universities made for the sake of their survival? What issues did the reforms for regional universities create? What policies and reforms have been established under the strong initiative of the Korean government for lifelong higher education?

  To answer the above questions, the Honorary Student System that Kyungpook National University, a regional national university in South Korea, has carried on since 1995 is analyzed as a case study. The Honorary Student System comes under the university extension program for elderly students. Post 1990, due to rapid changes such as localization, globalization, and movement toward a more open society, the demand for new knowledge and values has increased. The system intends to provide opportunities for local people to satisfy their intellectual desires, and to strengthen ties between the university and the local community. The current research is based on observational surveys and interviews conducted by the author. In November-December of 2016, the author visited all those universities (five national institutions, including Kyungpook University and two private universities) that follow the Honorary Student System.

  This paper aims to answer the following three research questions: (1) What were the direct reasons and circumstances for Kyungpook National University’s implementation of the Honorary Student System? (2) How is the Honorary Student System different from conventional university extension programs held in South Korea?, and (3) What changes did the university undergo by accepting elderly students, who are non-traditional learners? Furthermore, what impacts did this have on the community?

  Higher education in South Korea reached its unprecedented quantitative expansion from the 1980s to the 1990s. However, since the 2000s, due to the declining birth rate in the country, the traditional college-age population has been depleted. The Korean Ministry of Education, in its Plan for Restructuring Universities and Colleges, has projected that the Ministry will reduce the number of students from the present 560,000 to 400,000 in the year 2023. The Plan has also introduced a five-grade evaluation system for the quality of higher education in order to determine the ‘reduction rate’ of enrollment. On the one hand, this plan was the government’s policy for building ‘world class universities.’ On the other hand, those specified as ‘improper universities’ were forced to close their doors.

  Korean universities and colleges, particularly many regional ones, have not been able to reach maximum student enrollment. Simultaneously, several issues have cropped up, such as criticism of the decline in the quality of higher education, an increase in the number of highly-educated yet unemployed individuals, intensified competition among higher education institutions, and universities’ financial difficulties. Therefore, a nation-wide higher education reform has been initiated.

  Higher education in South Korea also witnessed a historical education act that requires all universities to establish a “university extension center for lifelong learners” on their campuses. Under the revised 1980 Constitution, “The government is responsible for promoting lifelong education.” The Lifelong Education Law, established in August 1999 under the Social Education Promotion Law, provided strong support for related educational institutes including universities and colleges. According to the Korean government, institutions such as civic schools, civic high schools, industry-attached schools (middle and high), evening classes offered at schools (middle and high), open high (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)