SNU Rejects External Evaluation Report

Seoul National University (SNU) has again rejected a comprehensive university evaluation conducted by the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) this year, after doing so last year.

“The Ministry of Education and Human Resources is planning to set up an agency to evaluate higher education organizations in order to introduce assessment methods employed by advanced countries. Therefore, we will reject KCUE’s evaluation this year,” an SNU official said on February 28. “The KCUE’s rating system is under criticism for being routine and arbitrary. We don’t have to receive double evaluations which require much time and effort; we face many other issues.”

The official added, “President Chung Un-chan has ordered related officials to consider not paying KCUE membership fees amounting to 37 million won annually,” hinting that the relationship between KCUE and Seoul National University has soured over the university assessment issue.

SNU’s decision is seen as a reaction to remarks made by a KCUE official who said that SNU rejected the rating because it was worried about poor results when the outcome of the university evaluation was announced on February 16.

Lee Hyun-cheong, the secretary general of KCUE, noted, “Just as we can see if we are well-groomed by looking in a mirror, SNU is required to be under evaluation to see if it has any room for improvement even though it is excellent in every aspect. So we are trying to persuade SNU to accept our rating system.”

However, SNU’s move to reject the evaluation and the membership fee is likely to end up as a symbolic act. Another official at SNU said, “Under the law related to the Korean university association, every university president must hold KCUE membership. Even if President Cheong does not pay the membership fee until the end of his term, his successor may have to pay. So their move to reject the payment is likely to end up a symbolic act only.”

Universities usually pay membership fees to KCUE at the beginning of March and send materials necessary for a comprehensive university rating to KCUE by September to October every year.

Se-Jin Jung Soo-Jung Shin mint4a@donga.com crystal@donga.com