On October 11, a single article from The Korea University Weekly stirred all of Korea University (KU). The article stated that KU announced the revision of the most sensitive issue to students—the scholarship program. Three new scholarship policies, each named Libertas, Justice, and Veritas, focus on giving financial aid to those in need instead of giving merits for those who receive a high grade point average (GPA). There are diverse perspectives within the KU community toward this drastic change of scholarship program.
After the news was released, President Yeom Jaeho held a press conference on October 14, explaining the revision in detail. He said that the tentative scholarship programs mainly contained three changes, as follows: one is the expansion of the scholarship for those in need, which is the Justice scholarship; another is the creation of various program-based scholarships, which is the Veritas scholarship; and the last is an abolishment of merit-based scholarships. The existing work scholarship and the scholarship which aids in the development of student autonomy are named as the Libertas scholarship. These changes will be gradually implemented starting from 2016.
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| ▲ Since Yeom started his presidency, he has made drastic changes in KU. Photographed by Kim Na Young. |
The amendment reflects President Yeom’s strong will towards his agenda. Starting from his “Three No Policy,” he has stressed that students should “not be a slave of their GPA.” Therefore, instead of giving financial awards to students with high GPAs, the new scholarship policy targets disadvantaged students. President Yeom said, “Since there are many alternative scholarships for students with high GPAs, we have decided to give money to students in need."
KU is not the first to take such measures. While most undergraduates who study in universities in Korea take grade scholarship for granted, this is not the case for Ivy League universities, including Princeton, Yale, and Harvard. For instance, instead of giving a merit-based scholarship, Harvard University provides entire tuition fee to students whose parents make less than 65,000 dollarsa year. In addition, 90 percent of American families are to be under the coverage of Harvard’s scholarship programs and they only have to pay as much or even less than in-state schools. KU is now applying this system.
To reduce the dead zone of welfare, KU introduced its own examination standards. Even if students did not receive a scholarship according to the expected family contribution criteria of Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF), if they are eligible for the criteria set by KU, they can become beneficiaries. After the enforcement, KU students have to voluntarily apply for the scholarship and will be interviewed. The scrutiny process is to ensure fairness.
However, what added fuel to the conflict between the school and students was the school’s unilateral policy announcement. Although many students concede that it is righteous to provide aid to the needy, they insist that the decision should have been discussed with students beforehand. Even the very representative of KU students, Korea University Student Association (KUSA) was not informed of the revision in advance. Shortly after the announcement, the association held a press conference on October 14, denouncing the unilateral and undemocratic notification.
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| ▲ Seo Jae Woo, the president of KUSA, criticized the unilateral policy of KU. Photographed by Suh Jaehee. |
Seo Jae Woo (’12, Industrial Management Engineering), the president of Jieum, agreed on the enlargement of scholarships for students, but was in dismay because of the unilateral announcement of the President. Seo criticized, “President Yeom stresses communication with students, and he wrote in his book that ‘a good intention does not justify the policy itself.’ And yet he is contradicting his own words.” Seo seemed disappointed, expressing that this was another example demonstrating how President Yeom views students—as mere educatees.
President Yeom defended himself by saying, “The revision was not discussed in advance with the student society due to concern for the confusion that would result. Moreover, it is still a tentative guideline. We are willing to talk over with students about the feasibility of the plans.” Shin Ji Young, the Vice President for Student Affairs also added that she will continuously discuss the new scholarship guideline with students in monthly conferences with the Vice President for Student Affairs.
However, some students point out that there is another problem, other than the content of revision. Park Jong Hun, (’14, Mechanical Engineering) criticized that “The revision may seem well-intended, but it still fails to address the matter of prime importance—high tuition. In addition, President Yeom’s repeated call for increase in tuition fee is the elephant in the room that makes students uncomfortable.” Similar to what Park said, many students sympathized that the tuition fee is burdensome to the students in general, not just to low-income students.
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| ▲ The 47th KUSA, Jieum held a media conference regarding on the revision of the scholarship policy in October 14. Photographed by Lee Jeong Min. |
KU is not neglecting all of students’ concerns. Indeed, the budget of the scholarship will increase 7 percent in 2016 to 35.9 billion won, compared to 33.3 billion won in 2015. However, what makes students hesitant to welcome the new policy is that it does not resolve the fundamental problem of high tuition fee and yet abolishes the grade scholarship. The revision did not allow for the coexistence of merit-based and need-based scholarships. As a consequence, the scholarship became a competition for taking a greater share of the limited pie.
Now that the policy has been announced, active attention is being paid toward how the policy is going to be coordinated. For starters, it is necessary for both KU and students to actively participate and negotiate on equal terms at the table. As KU declared that it will listen to various opinions of students and reflect them in its policies, both the school and students will be expected to diagnose the problems in the later discussion with the Vice President for Student Affairs and settle for the most desirable answer.
