Sogang’s law school apologizes for messing up admissions

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Sogang’s law school apologizes for messing up admissions

Sogang University’s law school recently rescinded its notice of qualification for scores of applicants who were informed they had passed the first round of its latest admission procedure, saying that a faculty member “made an error” while running a computer program that calculated their scores.

Kim Sang-soo, dean of Sogang Law School in Mapo District, western Seoul, uploaded an apology on the school’s website Sunday, saying he was sorry for the applicants and their parents who were “harmed” by the blunder.

According to a spokesperson from the school who wished to speak on the condition of anonymity, the error occurred when a faculty member ran a Microsoft Excel program to calculate the applicants’ scores in the first round, in which they were graded by their marks on the Legal Education Eligibility Test, their grade point average from college, their English test scores such as Toeic and Toefl, and their cover letters as well as other paper document submissions.

While using the program, the worker was said to have “mistyped something,” which led to the applicants’ scores being miscalculated.

The Sogang spokesperson said it appeared the worker did not mean to intentionally botch the system in order to qualify someone who was supposed to get rejected.

Those who were wrongfully qualified were informed last Friday that they passed the first round and would be given a chance to take the second round this Saturday, which is an interview.

But after the first round announcements were made, an applicant contacted the school to protest the result, and while looking over the grades, the school discovered they had made a mistake, the Sogang spokesperson told the JoongAng Ilbo.

It is not known precisely how many applicants were affected by the mistake, but 209 people are known to have submitted their applications to that specific admission course, which is planned to select only 20 freshmen for next year’s spring semester. Sogang Law School’s online admission brochure says 80 people would be chosen for the first-round qualifiers.

One applicant whose first-round qualification was reversed said he personally called the law school to ask about his scores, but was told that the school doesn’t reveal such information to applicants.

BY PARK SARA [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
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