Handong Global University (President Chang Soon Heung) was selected for the fourth consecutive year by the Ministry of Education's “Support for Higher Education-Sponsored Universities, 2017."
In 2008, Handong was selected to be part of the Admission Control Service Project, going on for the next ten years.
Established in 2014, the Higher Education Contribution University Support Project is meant to simplify the university entrance exam by centering it on high school curriculum, and to reduce admission-related burden placed on students and their parents.
Since Handong’s selection this year, Handong University will receive KRW 844 million ($750,000 USD.) from the Ministry of Education. Handong plans to continually improve the student admission screening process, admissions and screening for faculty wellbeing, and ensure the internal stability of student life, academics, and extra-curricular activities.
In addition, the program will help selected universities expand, hold college-related activities that reflect students' dreams and talents, and even operate high schools. This year, the Support Project will invest about 54.3 billion KRW ($48.5 million USD) in supporting 60 colleges and universities.
Handong Global University is already minimizing the admission process, and has turned more attention towards student assessment. By the end of the project, (year 2018) Handong plans to select 611 students, or 83.6%, of the total number of applicants, via this program, and 120 applicants, or the remaining 16.4%, will be selected per the regular processes.
Moreover, the program-scheduled recruitment will involve evaluating transcripts of the students’ school records, and the normal scheduled recruitment will consist of the regular college entrance exam. Also in particular, to reduce the burden of admission for examinees, the lowest requirements of academic criteria have been removed from the regular recruitment process.
In order to fulfill the university's social responsibilities, Handong will select 13.4% (103 applicants) of the applicants so that an equal opportunity is presented for students from rural areas and/or low-income families. So far, 60 students, all possessing valuable talent, have been selected.
Doo-Pil Kang, Dean of Admissions, states, “We will do our best to provide more opportunities for those who have dreams and talents, through continued cooperation between high schools and universities. We will strengthen the fundamental foundation that university admissions should be centered on high school transcripts. And we will do our best to continue to normalize higher education through our college admission system.”
Additionally, in 2015, Handong was selected as part of a software-centered university-sponsored project, and a Korea Massive Open Online Course (K-MOOC) sponsored project, as well as receiving an A grade rating from the university structural innovation evaluation by the Ministry of Education. Lastly, Handong Global University has been selected for one of the government’s many major financial support entities, such as the University for Creative Korea (CK), Advancement of College Education (ACE), Women in Engineering – undergraduate Leading Program (WE-UP), and the Program for Industrial needs-Matched Education (PRIME).
