University

Purposes and functions of university education: My own reflection With the six year hard works in my secondary studies, finally I get into university. I am relieved that there is no more past paper and public examination on one hand but I find that I am lost on the other hand. As a freshman, the experience in first month of university life is out of my expectation: I am totally free! There are so many spare times and so few coursework to do. No more control from the class teachers. No more annoying reminders from my parents.

All I have got is the time to play, play and play (and a little time for lessons, of course). When September has come to an end and October comes as an old friend, I start to wonder: Should my university life go like this? It seems that I am getting lost in a big forest, losing my way, since I do not have a goal. When I was studying in secondary school, there was one goal waiting for me to achieve – getting into university. Now, I have attained it. Then, what’s next? “University is not equal to vocational training institute. My class teacher has once told me. Now it appears in my mind suddenly. In theory, what you have chosen to study is highly likely to be your career after you graduate. Taking the BBA students as an example, which is the commonest, they are likely to participate in jobs related to finance when they finish their tertiary studies, and it is undeniable in practice. But would the same happen to students of arts like me? If I am going to take criminology as my major in year 2, what is my job going to be in the future? A policewoman?

The future female Sherlock Holmes? If university is a place where you are going to decide your future career by your major, does it sound sensible that students major in English should be an English teacher? Definitely not, since there are many possibilities even you are majoring in English. Even though you are practicing a specific skill in university, it does not mean that you should give up the opportunity to discover new things. The theory I have just mentioned above is true, however, not absolutely true, especially to the arts students.

Since there are many possibilities in the university life, I know that I will be given different chances to try out different things, which is new to me, and it will enable me to discover myself, know more about myself. I am convinced that this is the function of university education – providing a space for learning, discovering, and experiencing. Throughout these three processes, the main purpose of university education – rising up students who are able to think independently and work as a team or individually, can be fulfilled.

Apparently, how to have a good job is the last thing for me to consider right now. At this moment, my goal is try to become an active learner, who can ask questions with confidence, get involved in the classes and clubs, and eventually become self-independent and self- initiative, which is a vital characteristic I believe that it is more important than getting a high GPA. “Learn how to learn”, this is the reason why I am here, studying in university.

Back to the 1940s, the modern electronic computer was developed at U.S. universities; however, in the year, there was no computer education yet. It needed more 10 years to have computer education. The period of the computer revolution was 1950 in the U.S.. Computer education began in the middle of the 1950s with an organized body of knowledge. Also Japanese the teaching of computer science has been developed in the same period. During 1955 to 1959, some universities developed their own computers. They organized short courses.

Computer technology comes from the U.S. to Japan. Usually a technology is developed in the U.S.. After that, it comes to Japan so Japanese computer education is late at all and most manuals are written in English so it is easy to lean computer for people who speak English; however, most Japanese people who live in Japan cannot understand English so they have to translate English to Japanese to understand the manuals. It needs much time.

Usually Japanese universities teach computer to students in Japanese so students have to study not only computer but also English when they try to use computer even if they can use Japanese operating system. For example, the command of the computer programming languages are written in English so Japanese students have to have dictionary their hand, therefore, some students stop learning it. It is so hard for Japanese student.

In the near future, computer technology will be needed and important for not only students who want to be programmers or engineers but also general Japanese people so Japanese computer education has to find their own computer educational system so that people who have no computer knowledge can learn it easily.

Historical background of higher education Ever since the Federation of Malaya gained independence in 1957, theMalaysian education system has been developing so as to unify the nationstateand to promote economic growth. The Education Act of 1961,which followed educational reform efforts such as the Razak Statementof 1956 and the Rahman Talib Report of 1960, has governed the moderneducation system in Malaysia. These educational reforms correlated withsocioeconomic conditions.

In the early 1970s, the New Economic Policy(NEP 1971), or Bumiputera Policy, was implemented. The NEP aimedto bring about a better balance in enrollment among the different ethnicgroups in Malaysia. 1 It resulted in a steady increase in the number ofBumiputera students in Malaysian universities. Furthermore, since theearly 1970s, the Malaysian government has sought to make more effectiveuse of the nation’s Malay human resources in the process of economicdevelopment, and the percentage of Malay students at every educationallevel has increased steadily.

Basically, the Malaysian education system follows a 6-3-2 structure,with six years of primary school, three years of lower secondary school,and two years of upper secondary school (see Appendix 1). Eleven yearsof basic education are provided to all citizens. However, the highereducationsystem has been limited to the elite citizens of the country. Performance in the public examination, known as the SPM (SijilPelajaranMalsyaia/Malaysia Certicate of Education), which is taken after theeleventh year of school, determines whether FormIV students can enterpost-secondary education (matriculation, or six Form).

Until the mid-1990s,the Malaysian government encouraged students to study overseas in theU. K. , the U. S. , Australia, or Japan. The 1st phase of the establishment of public universities started in1969 under the Universities and University Colleges Act. During this time,UniversitiSains Malaysia (USM 1969), UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia(UKM 1970), UniversitiPertanian Malaysia (UPM 1971), and UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia (UTM 1975) were established (see Table 1).

Moreover,four public universities were established during the second phase (fromThe Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) was created on 27 March 2004 to take charge of higher education in Malaysia which involves more than 900,000 students pursuing higher education in 20 public universities, 33 private universities and university colleges, 4 foreign university branch campuses, 22 polytechnics, 37 community colleges and about 500 private colleges. The MOHE’s mission is to create a higher education environment that will foster the development of academic and institutional excellence.

It is in line with the vision of the government to make Malaysia a centre of educational excellence and to internationalise of Malaysian education. Higher educational reform and the roles of private universities in the mid-1990sIn the mid-1990s, four educational acts were implemented: the EducationAct of 1995, the 1995 Amendments to the University and UniversityColleges Act of 1971 (1995 Amendments to the UUCA 1971), the PrivateHigher Education Institutions Act of 1996 (PHEIA 1996), and the NationalCouncil on Higher Education Act of 1996 (NCHEA 1996).

With theimplementation of the Private Higher Education Institutions Act of 1996,the private sector increased its involvement in providing (Malaysia 2001). The Act allowed private institutions of higher educationand foreign universities to establish franchises and degree courses. Inparticular, private-sector universities were encouraged to offer science andtechnology courses in order to increase enrollment at higher-educationalinstitutions and to produce a greater number of highly skilled graduates(Malaysia 1998: 122).

Six private universities, Malaysia Multimedia University (MMU), UniversitiTenagaNasional (Uniten), UniversitiTeknologiPertonas (UTP),UniversitiTunAdbul Razak (Unitar), International Medical University(IMU), and UniversitiIndustri Selangor (Unisel), began offering degreelevelcourses in engineering, business studies, medicine, and multimedia.

Since that time, the number of private universities has increased, as seenin Table 2. IT-focused universities from both public and private sectors,such as Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia(UKM), Multimedia University, and UniversitiTenaga (Uniten), operatein the MSC (see Table 2).

Their challenging cases will be examined as follows:the case studies of the Malaysia Multimedia University as the newlyestablished core university of MSC at 1st; second, the Malaysia NationalUniversity as the traditional university which might have some difficultiesin attempting the new challenges; and third, University Malaysia Sarawak(Unimas) which shows a need for distance learning because of its locationon the island of Borneo. Malaysia Multimedia University (MMU) as a pioneerMalaysia Multimedia University (MMU) was established as the core institutionof the MSC in July 996, and was the 1stst private university to begiven accreditation by the government. MMU has two campuses that offerfaculty in several fields: technology, IT, creative multimedia, and administration at the Cyberjaya Campus in the MSC; and technology, informationscience technology, business, and law at the Malacca campus. There are9,000 undergraduate and post-graduate students, including foreign studentsfrom 31 countries (e. g. , Brunei, Sudan, Bosnia, Malawi, Tanzania, India,Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, China, Thailand, and Guinea 4)enrolled in MMU. MMU uses English as the language of instruction.

Knowledge-Campus (K-Campus) projects of UniversitiKebangsaan MalaysiaNot only newly established universities, but also the nine historical universities(public universities established before 1994) conduct IT-relatedprojects. All nine public universities have embarked on open- or distancelearningprograms (Siowek-Lee and Rinalia 1998). UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia (UKM, Malaysia National University), one of the most prestigiousuniversities in Malaysia, formed a special ICT committee to implementthe blueprint of ICT projects and established the Faculty of Information.

Distance learning: the case of Unimas, Sarawak University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), which is not located on the MalayPeninsula but on the island of Borneo, established its Faculty of InformationTechnology in 1993. By July 1994, the faculty offered undergraduateprograms in software engineering, information systems, internetworkingtechnologies, computational science, and interactive multimedia. Therewere 34 students at the undergraduate level and a few at the post-graduatelevel in 1994; by July 1995, the 1st Master’s students in IT graduatedfrom Unimas.

The computational science program was introduced duringthe 1995-96 academic year; the joint program in cognitive science, offeredby the Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development and theFaculty of Information Technology, began in 1996. Unimas, in collaboration with KolejLatihan Telekom (Telekom TrainingCollege), has begun offering diploma programs in multimedia (businessand computing) and in multimedia technology, which have been accreditedby the LembagaAkreditasi Negara (National Accreditation Board) (1 March2000).

Moreover, the Network Multimedia Education System (NMES) waslaunched in October 2002. In the process of achieving a developed nation status by the year 2020, one of the challenges facing thegovernment is how to provide levels of society. One solution is to use technology as anenabler to make available education to the masses. Universities are taking up the challenge by updating thecontent of their programmes but more importantly,utilising the latest technologies to improve the deliverysystems.

One of the most talked about emerging delivery systems is Open and Distance Learning that isfast becoming a viable alternative in providing education to the masses. Open University Malaysia wasestablished on 10 August 2000 in response to the government’s call for the democratisation ofeducation. Although it has the status of a private university, OUM is owned by 11 public universities inthe country.

As an open learning institution, OUM subscribes to the following principles:Flexible entry requirements to provide moreopportunities for all members of the society to pursue tertiary education; A learner-friendly flexible academic system wherethe constraints and needs of working adults are well understood; and Adoption of the blended pedagogy mode toenrich learning experiences. Malaysian higher education reform is progressing rapidly because thegovernment needs to develop highly skilled human resources locally toenable the nation to move toward a knowledge society, in the era ofICT.

Malaysian public universities had been traditionally restricted to theelite; however, they began to be corporatized in the mid-1990s. Privateuniversities have taken on more important roles in expanding enrollmentand maintaining the quality of higher education in science and technologyrelated to ICT. First, higher education reforms toward a knowledge society are affectingaccess and social selection with respect to ethnic and gender equality. Educational policy implemented since 1969 has provided educationalopportunities to a less privileged population, the Bumiputera.

Governmentpolicy can have an effect on aspirations and, thus, the demand forhigher education. This has clearly been the case in Malaysia, which isboth an Islamic and a multicultural country made up of the Malays,Chinese, Indians, and indigenous peoples. The implementation of the NewEconomic Policy (NEP) in 1971, or Bumiputera Policy, attempts to bringabout a better balance in enrolment among the various ethnic groupsand has led to a steady increase in Bumiputera students in Malaysianuniversities.

The government of Malaysia has encouraged Bumiputera studentsto pursue science courses in particular. According to the National EconomicRecovery Plan, in addition to maintaining the Bumiputera/non-Bumiputera ratio of 55:45, the Ministry of Education (MOE) is to ensurethat at least 55 percent of Bumiputera students are enrolled in scienceand technology ? elds of study at institutions of higher learning (Malaysia1998:123). This mandate is in response to the growing need for highlyskilled human resources, both to encourage economic growth and to unifythe nation, following its independence in 1957.

Female Malaysian students earn better grades, in general, than do maleMalaysian students. Yet, female Malaysian students have experienced difficulties in obtaining higher education in the past. Structural and attitudinalbarriers to the equitable participation of women at the highest educationallevels have existed during the last few decades (Aminah 1998:25). Hence,their past underrepresentation was not a result of their inability but rathertheir cultural backgrounds.

As some scholars (Jamilah 1992; Aminah 1994;Fatimah and Aminah 1994; Jamilah 1994; Kamogawa 2003b) have noted,the stereotypical Malaysian way of thinking is that arts and teaching fieldsare suitable for women and that science and technology fields are suitablefor men. Consequently, Malaysian female students have had a tendency tochoose art and educational courses. Higher Education has generated RM 2. 1 billion through 70,259 international students for the year 2008. Ministry of Higher Education came out with the target: 80,000 foreign students by 2010.

As at 15 January 2009, 210 out of 434 private higher educational institutions (PHEIs) and all 20 public universities have been licensed to recruit international students. Most of the international students in public universities pursue post courses while those in PHEIs pursue both graduate and post graduate degree courses. In 2005, there were 41,559 international students, of which 7,656 were in public universities and 33,903 in PHEIs. The population of international students made up 6. 4% of the total number of students in institutions of higher education.

The different divisions under the Department of Higher Education will concentrate on their respective areas in improving the quality of education services and ensuring that programmes offered by the public and private higher educational institutions in Malaysia are of high quality and international standards. In their endeavour to achieve these goals, they have established promotional offices in Dubai, Jakarta, Ho-Chi Minh City and Beijing. A Technical Committee has also been formed to make Malaysia a Centre of Excellence. This committee is chaired by the Minister of Higher Education.

A Technical Committee on ‘Edu-Tourism’ was also formed. Other marketing strategies include incentives offered to institutions promoting education overseas; recognition of Malaysian degrees by foreign countries and the establishment of the new national quality agency for both private and public higher educational institutions, i. e. Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). The ultimate aim of all these strategies is to make Malaysia a ‘favoured’ destination for international and local students to pursue their tertiary education besides making education an important export commodity that will generate foreign exchange for the country.

Equal pay and rights for women Women constitute about 50% of global population. Without equal pay and rights for women, they lag behind and that means entire human kind is losing about 50% growth potential. Bring child mortality rate to near zero Mortality rate for under 5-year old children in some under developed countries could run as high as 162 per 1000 according to World Bank data. This rate is quite alarming and shocking in twenty first century. UN should work with NAGS, WHO, UNESCO, respective governments to bring down this rate.

UN should take strict measures against countries that discourages proper immunization such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Sadly, all here of these countries recently reported outbreak of polio. Ensure proper access to and preservation of Every living human being needs to drink safe pure drinking water and pure drinking water. There is no doubt among experts that water would become priciest mineral 20 to 30 years down the road. According to LINE reports, 783 million people don’t have access to safe drinking water. Also, there are reports that indicate drinking water storage is shrinking due to climate change.

UN should work with all member states, Nags to educate the importance of pure drinking water to general public and take proper measures to ensure everyone’s access to pure drinking water. Stop wars and genocide One of the founding charters of GIN is to stop wars. Unfortunately, UN has very limited success here. Recent annexation of Crimea to Russia is a stellar example of how UN failed to do its job in this regard. Genocides in CAR and Syria also remind us how complicated today’s political world is, and limited authority GIN has over its member states.

UN should be working harder to stop wars and genocides. Ensure democratic free and fair elections in all There are plenty of examples when many member states dictators win over 99% of votes in national elections. Those elections are never held in free and fair manner and without any international election monitoring. These dictators repress against its own citizens, violate basic human rights, and engage wars with neighbors. UN should be strengthening its election monitoring capabilities and sections against states that don’t hold free and fair elections.

Conclusion

As a global citizen, I think each of the six demands have profound impact on today’s world, and world population. UN has some level of successes in many sectors, however, there is more needs to be done for this planet earth and its residents. C. Describe a time when you took a great risk. What was the outcome? Time to take a great risk: I strongly believe life is all about taking calculated risks, insightful planning, smart execution and reaping benefits at the end. Many of my family members have settled in various western countries in pursuit of higher post graduate studies.

There is no way I could wait that long to go overseas for higher studies. Since I was 4 or 5 year old, I used to listen to BBC Bengali service which intrigued me about other cultures, different life styles, languages, and politics. It wasn’t matter of if but when. When I was in 9th grade, I decided it was the time to this take this risk and start proper planning. Knew it would be a big sacrifice -living without parents, siblings, relatives, living in an unknown territory and not to mention forking over large sum of tuition fees.

Per plan, I applied and got admitted into Notre Dame College (for 10 through 1 2 grade studies), attended few courses at a private university modeled after US colleges etc. It was August 1 998 when I finally got university acceptance letter and visa to go abroad. Sweet outcome: Outcome has been great In a nutshell, to get here had to work hard. I knew how to adapt to a country and culture as I was born and bought up in a Hindu family but Muslim majority county Bangladesh.

I have consistently taken double fulfillment course load to lower tuition fee/course, have taken internships, on/off campus jobs to earn extra $ to provide for schooling and living expenses. Now I have over ten years of professional experience now in US and have been dealing with world renowned clients like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Apple, British telecoms, Swiss railways in my daily routine, and working and selling solutions access the globe. Most of the mimes, can do all these things from my home office. Sometimes, I feel like I have gained more than I bargained for!

And theses when I tend to raise the bar and work smarter to reach new goals. Conclusion: In summary, when risky decisions are taken, we would need to make sure we have proper plans in place, we need to be flexible and pour our heart and soul to be successful. Have already made my mind to take next risk- to set up boutique IT consulting firms’ across the globe in socially and financially challenged parts of the world. I strongly believe entrepreneurial spirit of II global program, venture lube and classmates would be extremely helpful in achieving my next big goal!

F. You have just participated in an important meeting with your superior. How will you ensure that every part of the instructions you received will properly reach all subordinates, suppliers and clients, located in different parts of the world? During my meeting with my supervisor Mr. “X”, he informed me that our product license reinitialize rate year over year has gone down by 10% during last fiscal year. He instructed me following: ; Work with account managers to identify clients where license renewal could be at risk

A Wag Whenever one sits down to write on the mess that one finds in the arena of higher education, one is struck by a sense of d©J¤ vu as well as a sense of inability to say nything new. Pawan Agarwal’s comprehensive paper that he wrote for ‘CRIER, the excellent report by National Knowledge Commission (headed by the irrepressible Sam Pitroda) are Just two of the many articles that easily come to mind. The first one mentioned, has exhaustive data at a fairly disaggregated level so that this aspect need not detain us here.

The issues and challenges in this context -that are fairly well understood – are diverse not typical. Thus, the challenge is not epistemological but one of political will and at a more mundane level of implementation. In India, it oes not take a genius to point out the problems in any sphere, least of all in the higher educational sector. The point however is (ought to be) to identify workable solutions. In this article I will concentrate on the capacity, flexibility and quality issues that beset the higher educational sector in India and suggest some steps that need to be taken to remedy the situation.

Rest assured, there will be no magic wand and no single solution. Help and initiative from whatever quarter must be sought and grabbed by both hands. A bouquet approach will alone be realistic, driven by ragmatism rather than ideology. Whilst finance is undoubtedly important, I argue that governance is the key. The essentials of the story are easily told: Despite tremendous expansion in the sector, there is inadequate capacity and hence access; after all we have 350 universities with huge enrollment (one of the largest in the world).

The system is characterized by rigidity with absolutely no flexibility; we have degrees being offered in a rigid framework with very little choice for the students (who should matter the most) and the regulations are archaic with peculiar unresponsiveness to the current context. Thanks to the perverse hiring policies and protracted procedures (not to mention politics: with and without state interference) the quality of faculty is in a state of rapid decline. The reasons and solutions are well known and yet some of them bear repetition.

Having made a first cut let us revisit the issues in some detail, but first some preliminaries. India is at cross roads. It has all the pretensions of emerging as a knowledge economy and yet the time is running out for it to catch the bus. Surely, we don’t require Thomas Friedman to point out the gravity of the situation. After all, what we o today – by way of investment – will have a decisive influence fifteen years from now. For that is how long (even in these fast paced times) it takes for changes in educational system to fructify.

It is no secret that a genuine knowledge has a prerequisite of solid foundation provided by educational institutions characterized by relevance and excellence in training and research. This then must provide us with the parametric environment for what follows. The long queues in front of the colleges as well as the screaming headlines in the newspapers, starkly present the scarcity of capacity in the higher educational sector. The premium that the seats in better colleges for almost all the courses attract is common knowledge.

Whilst there are supervisory mechanisms in place (de Jure) we know that supervision many a time means additional side payments. As an aside, the only solution lies in self enforcing system design which in this case would clearly imply removal of striuctural and overall scarcities through increased capacities. The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) report talks of setting up 50 National Universities (over a period) with augmented resources leading to capacity enhancement.

There is the private universities’ bill which should help too. There is a scope for great enhancement of capacity in the PPP mode, for which the regulation has to be more welcoming if not friendly. Whilst there is a need to think out of box, there is no denying the fact that the traditional state funding mode will however continue to be of importance for at least some time to come. We must once and for all put an end to view that improvements are possible witn Just non-monetary means.

This implies a self binding commitment on the part of governments at all levels to provide the necessary financial resources. The urrent spending on higher education that is pegged at around 0. 7% of GDP must be doubled. This will require a serious lobbying effort. In this context, it may be noted that there is much that can be done by the institutions on their own in terms of raising resources. Alumni represent a huge potential source, so also setting up of off shore campuses and attracting foreign students are other obvious sources.

However, this will require some amendments in the existing provisions of the ‘Act’, also, experience suggests that such efforts are ‘rewarded’ by cut back in aid, instead of matching incentive grants being proffered. Such efforts in the past have been – post facto – subjected by the government, to severe restrictions on the use of monies so collected. Clearly there is a governance issue involved here. This apart, the required enabling (through regulatory changes) of private sector is a must for the purposes of raising supplementary resources.

The private endowments which at one time were significant, have to be restored through incentive based legislation. At the same time the interference – as distinct from engagement – of the State in all aspects of education has to be significantly reduced, especially in the ‘operations’ and rocedural aspects. This has been a major cause that led to the Universities being converted into patron saints of mediocrity! The state must truly practice private enablement with ‘oversight from a distance’. Of course, the processes involved in the setting up in the national universities (or even investing in old ones! are so long drawn and convoluted that with the given absorption capacity of the institutions it will be some time before the plan becomes a reality. Also, and more importantly, the paucity with regard to the attendant requirement of quality faculty (which we shall ook at later) is so great that even with physical infrastructure the delivery will not be assured. This requires some bold and innovative thinking and application which requires a key governance initiative. The external agencies like the corporations and industries will have to play (be enabled to do so) a major role.

In the interim, I would suggest that IT enabled distance learning mode as well as the platform for e-learning have to be exploited to the fullest extent. This will require huge organization and collaborative effort of the best minds. It is especially required to mention this here ecause these avenues (particularly the first mentioned) are pretty much have received step treatment and have been left to the whims and fancies of the second raters. This has created sections of milch cows that fraudulently extract money from the hapless students and give nothing in return.

With more college graduates than jobs, the government wrestles with what to do with themSouth Korea is beginning to wrestle with the unappetizing fact that too many of its young are in college. Despite the very real success of its economy, the country can’t manufacture enough jobs for its graduates – of which it produces a lot. Singapore, Taiwan and other Asian countries to some extent face the same glut. However, South Korea seems in a class by itself.

Some 86 percent of all high school graduates go on to college, and most expect to graduate with a degree. About 3. 3 million students are enrolled in 347 universities – by one calculation one of every 14 South Koreans is a university student. A full 80 percent of parents fully expect their children to graduate with a degree. According to a study by the Samsung Economic Research Institute, the number of students in college is actually lowering gross domestic product by a full percentage point.

The country is regularly faced with the odd phenomenon of newspaper stories about many of its brightest graduates who are forced to enroll in vocational schools in order to get a job after graduation – including a recent story in the Korea Herald about a young woman with a degree in French who enrolled in a course to become a Starbucks barista. Other tales have philosophy graduates learning to become bakers. Fewer than half of those who graduated in 2010 had found full time jobs by the end of 2011.

That has pushed the South Korean government to promote vocational skills as an alternative to college, with President Lee Myung-bak turning up to open the Sudo Electric Technical High School in 20. Sudo is one of 21 so-called Meister Schools modeled on German vocational schools, that are being funded by the government and which guarantee graduates jobs. However, critics say lots more must be done and that in fact the entire education system must be redesigned. The 21 Meister schools are hardly enough, and the practical training aspects of their curricula mean funding must be increased considerably over that of academic high schools.

Certification systems for the students must also be introduced. According to the SERI study published last week, “it is estimated that 42 percent of the nation’s college graduates are over-educated. ” Had those 42 percent bypassed college and started working immediately after highs school, according to the study, South Korea’s gross domestic product would have been as much as a full percentage point higher. In addition, according to the study, maximum opportunity costs — tuition plus forgone income — from attending college total an estimated W19 trillion per year (US$16. 8 billion). That is W14. 77 trillion for four-year university graduates and W4. 24 trillion for two-year graduates. The average university graduate spends W119. 6 million (US$102,000) on his or her education and W53. 6 million for two-year college graduates.

A college degree defines success, however, marginalizing high school graduates despite the fact that during the era of Korea’s double-digit growth era, skilled technicians and craftsmen with high school degrees were credited with building the nation’s infrastructure and lifted manufacturing up to global standards. But today, even those better suited for technical skilled jobs right after high school feel compelled to pursue a university degree,” according to the report. “Over the past 10 years, corporate executives with only a high school degree have plunged to 2. 6 percent from 7. 2 percent. ” It is relatively easy to see why the young opt for college despite the crowded campuses. If half the graduates are on the street, the odds are about the same for those with a high school diploma, and after being hired they are often headed for low-skill jobs.

In 2011, according to SERI, the employment rate of young people with a high school degree only was 59. 1 percent and those who were working were employed in low value-added industries and hold sales, services, technical and other such positions. Mechanical jobs and sales account for 38 percent and 32. 8 percent of working high school graduates, respectively. Consequently, high school graduates in 2011 had average monthly incomes of W1. 46 million (US$1250) — 77 percent of that of university graduates and 90 percent of two-year graduates.

Job security among high school graduates also is considerably lower compared to young college graduates, according to SERI. In 2011, 72. 4 percent of all employees with a university degree or higher were in permanent jobs while only 47. 3 percent of high school graduates had them. The job of righting the situation basically almost means turning South Korean society, if not the education system, upside down, according to the SERI report. One of the big problems, according to a study by Clark W.

Sorenson for the Comparative Education Review, “Vocational schools, whether public or private, are generally considered less desirable than academic high schools by the public. ” At one point during the 1960s and 1970s, according to Sorenson, the government hoped to educate up to 70 percent of students in vocational schools to provide technically trained factory workers only to have parents rebel. Thus, changing both parental and student attitudes will require comprehensive measures, including developing jobs in the base industries that are the cornerstones of Korean manufacturing competitiveness .

SERI recommends that a specialized organization be established to connect high school graduates to the companies that would seek to hire them. The high school curriculum also needs to be redesigned to equip high school students with what the study calls ready-to-use skill sets, teaching problem-solving skills and a sense of responsibility. The SERI study recommends borrowing an idea from the United Kingdom, which in in 2008 introduced a diploma system that requires work experience for students 14-19 years in age to strengthen their career and job education.

Companies must also be brought into the equation to identify jobs graduates can fill and to expand open recruitment of high school graduates. It will also be necessary to address discrimination against applicants who have not yet fulfilled the nation’s compulsory military service requirement, the study notes. Businesses tend to avoid these applicants because of concerns over lost productivity. However, recent policy reforms should assuage their worries. For example, high school graduates now may defer their military service for four years.

The point that needs to be made, however, is that Korean society has astonished the world with its ability to pivot and go in entirely new ways. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the country will go ahead and institute the reforms with the alacrity that got it this far, this fast. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 5741Comments (2)Subscribe to this comment’s feed Re Graduate Unemployment written by Rob Schackne, June 11, 2012 We are seeing a similar situation in urban China today, where the masses of graduates face an increasingly alarming dearth of jobs.

Where vocationalization, rather than education, has also got a bad smell. University graduates are waiting tables… though poorly. But I wonder what government initiative was it that beckoned forth all those young people into a dream of white-collar office work. Was it prosperity, the Tiger miracle? Don’t get me wrong, education is a beautiful thing. I’d prefer to ride in a taxi driven by a well-educated French major than a taxed cretin. The conversation will be much better, and all that resentment is a good story that passes the time.

Big vs. Small colleges For the prospective student, size can be a major factor in choosing the precise college. The size of a college not only suggests a greater student population, it can also affect the learning style and environment of the college. In picking a college, one must consider the kind of environment each college size offers, and if that type of setting is right for him or her. Your own personality and academic goals play a crucial role in choosing a college.

Small and big colleges are diverse in that each has its own benefits and drawbacks with their expenses, facilities, and campus life. Smaller universities, such as community colleges for the most part are cost effective for the financially struggling college students; on the other hand, small private universities are much more expensive. Financial aid usually covers the majority of expenses at the community college level, leaving the student more time to focus on their studies and less time worrying about tuition.

However in most cases these campuses may not offer on-campus housing. Paying rent, food and car expenses may be more costly than paying for room and board at a large college level, leaving the student to fend for themselves or forcing them to choose a college close to home. Smaller colleges offer fewer courses and academic programs, whereas large universities have multiple degree programs. Community colleges offer two-year associates degree programs, but not much beyond that. Smaller colleges have fewer and smaller libraries, professors, school staff, and class sizes.

Bigger college campuses have larger classes, which many times employ famous professors who have written books, or become celebrated in academic circles, unfortunately they lecture to hundreds of students at a time, so the one-on-one relationship with the student and professor does not develop like they do at smaller campuses. Smaller classes are designed for more student- teacher interaction, which benefits the student, thus creating more opportunity for the student to expand their knowledge.

Another plus for attending a small college is the advisors know the students very well. It is almost impossible to make an appointment for your advisor at a major university. They see a hundreds of students a day and it would be impossible to remember all of their students, much less who may be in one of their classes. Also, there is a greater sense of community at a smaller school. The student is not just a number on an ID card; here the student is a person with a face and a name. The larger the campus is, the more student culture there is.

More parties, more university events, and more athletic choices are available. Small schools may not have the funding available for extracurricular activities for students, leaving a large part of the college experience missed for these students. One of the major advantages of going to a large university is their athletic programs. If you are a sports fan, or an athlete, then attending larger school might factor into your decision. Televised games, pep rallies, homecoming parades, and rivalries are all part of the student culture at large university.

Both college programs have their own benefits and drawbacks, each ensuring a unique college experience to the student. The major factors the student must take into consideration are their expenses, the college facilities, and campus life when selecting a college. The student ultimately must weigh their goals while making this decision. In the end the student really cannot make an incorrect decision regardless of which college he or she chooses as long as they are choosing to further their education to further their life goals.