Colleges lose undecided major
Three weeks into the first semester, a total of 90 freshmen enrolled as undecided at Yonsei University were baffled when they heard their department will be absorbed by another department.The students boycotted classes in protest when the school canceled a meeting set for April 3 that the students and their parents had demanded.
“It’s nonsense for the school to treat qualified, undecided students as a burden to be cleared away,” said Oh Dong-ha, 21, the president of the student council of the major.
The conflict at one of Korea’s top-notch universities follows other colleges’ decision to shut down or discuss the fate of the undecided major.
The undecided major - also known as the “free major system” here - began being implemented in 2009 by many Korean universities, including leading institutes like Seoul National and Korea University.
Now 33 universities nationwide offer the major.
It’s designed to encourage students to explore various academic areas of interest during the first two semesters, before moving to a degree-granting program in the second year.
Many, however, have accused the well-intended system of being hastily implemented in order to offset the reduced pool of enrolled students after the closure of the law department, following an introduction of the law school system in 2009.
Concerns were also raised as some universities offered a smaller number of major options in the second year.
The Hankuk University of Foreign Studies decided to stop accepting students for its undecided major program from next year and instead created a new major entitled “Language & Diplomacy.”
The school announced the undecided students will be transferred to the new department.
Seoul’s Chung-Ang University became the first school to shift the resources to the College of Public Service, a department that mainly teaches public administration for aspiring public servants.
The university said the decision was intended to better serve students.
Sungkyunkwan University followed suit by turning its undeclared major program into public administration and pre-law.
In the face of an uncertain fate, some universities try to seek a way out.
Korea University began offering specialized interdisciplinary courses that teach public governance and leadership, while Seoul National University allows students enrolled as undecided to create their own curriculum.
They can choose classes that are not part of their direct course of study.
“Through the university’s program, I can take different courses on human rights that I’ve been interested in for a long time,” said Kim In-kyun, a 25-year-old student enrolled as undecided.
“The school should not only grant the freedom to choose a major, but also hire an excellent professional advising staff to help students zero in on what’s right for them,” said Han Kyung-gu, the head the undecided major department.
“The counseling staff should be able to find each student’s potential and their interests by frequently meeting and consulting with them not only in the classroom but outside of campus,” Han said.
Experts say that managing the undecided major requires delicate handling.
“It requires close cooperation between students, parents and the school,” said Yoo Hyun-suk, a researcher at the Korea Educational Development Institute.
By Min Kyung-won, Park Eun-jee [ejpark@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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