KHU GSA's Pledge Review Series

● Seoul Campus GSA KnocKH Pledge Review: Addressing Isusues Beyond Pledges

On November 24, Kyung Hee University (KHU) media outlets The University Life and Global Campus Voice of the University jointly conducted a pledge review of the Global Campus General Student Association (GSA), Core. The completion rate of the pledges stood at 50%, which was not high; however, the review revealed notable implications beyond the numerical result. 

The president and vice-president of Core, Park Byeong-jun and Kim Yun-jo

Overall Pledge Fulfillment Stalls at 50% 

The pledge review was conducted based on criteria independently established by the media outlets. Core presented its pledges across 11 major categories: academic affairs, interdisciplinary majors, convenience, finance, the Tuition Deliberation Committee, communication, dormitories, welfare, student cafeterias, student reserve forces, and the Essence of Kyung Hee. These were further divided into subcategories, resulting in a total of 84 detailed pledges, which were evaluated under four outcomes: completed, modified and completed, partially completed, and uncompleted. 

Based on the evaluation results, only half of the pledges were completed. Out of 84 pledges, 42 (50.0%) were fully completed, one (1.2%) was completed with modifications, seven (8.3%) were partially completed, and 34 (40.5%) were not completed. 

Among all categories, the pledges related to reserve forces, dormitories, and communication recorded high implementation rates. These categories achieved completion rates of 100%, 75%, and 85.71%, respectively. 

Following this, the categories of convenience, interdisciplinary majors, student cafeterias, and welfare exceeded the halfway mark. Each category recorded completion rates of 64.71%, 60.00%, and 50.00%. 

In contrast, several categories showed low implementation rates, including academic affairs, finance, and the Essence of Kyung Hee. Core only showed respective 20.00%, 20.00%, and 11.11% of completion rates for these categories. 

Park Byeong-jun, current President of the Core, commented about the results: “If we had only proposed pledges that were easy to complete, it might have appeared good on the surface, but I believed it would be difficult to raise voices that truly contribute to the University’s development. That is why, even if they seemed ambitious, we structured pledges that we believed Kyung Hee genuinely needed,” he said. 

57th Global Campus GSA Core’s pledge fulfillment status graph

Academic Related Pledges: Learning Autonomy Improved, but High Barriers of Faculty Authority Remain 

One pledge worth noting is interdisciplinary majors, which aim to address a long-standing inconvenience. Despite KHU offering a wide range of interdisciplinary majors, the number of courses available for credit recognition has been insufficient. For instance, students from the Convergence in Social Science track have faced difficulties fulfilling graduation requirements due to the limited number of courses offered, often being forced to earn credits through inter-university exchange programs. 

To address such issues, Core introduced a pledge to increase courses independently offered by interdisciplinary majors. This pledge included guaranteeing a minimum number of dedicated courses, abolishing the upper limit on the number of lectures, and increasing the number of available subjects to restore the original purpose and intent of interdisciplinary programs. Through these measures, students majoring in interdisciplinary programs are now expected to complete more of their required credits within KHU. 

These types of pledges are what Core hopes students will recognize. Park said, “Pledges related to academic affairs and welfare tend not to be visible on the surface. However, as they provide substantial practical support for campus life, I hope that students will pay closer attention to them. 

Another aspect that deserves attention is the reason for the low completion rate of academically related pledges. While pledges related to interdisciplinary majors achieved a completion rate of 60%, general academic affairs pledges showed a significantly lower completion rate of only 20%, marking one of the lowest levels of implementation among all categories. 

The main barrier has been identified as the authoritative faculty members. Park stated that bringing about change in academic-related systems requires the cooperation of the faculty. For example, enforcing mandatory grade input in the KHU system would require faculty members’ to agreement to the establishment of new regulations. However, he added that the University appears to place a high priority on faculty autonomy, making it difficult to introduce innovative adjustments in these areas. 

Failure of the Dual-campus Competitiveness Pledge Leaves Questions About KHU’s Future 

One of Core’s key pledges was to strengthen KHU’s competitiveness through its dual-campus system. Among the pledges under the Essence of Kyung Hee, large-scale academic restructuring and the establishment of a committee were central to this goal. This included detailed pledges to develop the Global Campus as a science and engineering-oriented hub, strengthening functional specialization between the two campuses. It also proposed establishing a Dual-campus Development Committee composed of the faculty, staffs, and students to redefine the roles of the dual-campus system. 

Although these pledges ultimately failed to be completed, they left KHU with important questions about the direction it should pursue in the future. Among the pledges classified under the Essence of Kyung Hee category, which recorded a completion rate of only 11%, all campus specialization-related pledges remained unfulfilled. 

Regarding the results, Park explained, “We held several discussions with the KHU president, and the issue is currently being shared with the University’s board. However, in order to significantly enhance campus specialization, it is necessary to persuade the College of Science, and the University president viewed this as a long-term institutional task, which made immediate implementation difficult.” 

He added that campus specialization goes far beyond short-term pledges and is a long-term task that KHU must continue to discuss and pursue. Park said, “As the University is expanding undeclared major students and introducing a mandatory multi-major system starting next year, KHU’s interdisciplinary exchange will become increasingly active. In this situation, if campus specialization is not realized, students will face the inconvenience of traveling long distances for their studies, failing to secure the efficiency of their learning. 

Although Core’s overall pledge implementation rate was relatively low, a closer look at the background of its initiatives reveals important tasks for KHU. In particular, the low completion rates in academic affairs and campus specialization highlight the need for greater faculty cooperation and the growing urgency of campus specialization. To advance and sustain the University’s fundamental values, it is necessary to continuously reflect on the questions Core raised.