The public will select the final scenario for the 2022 college admissions reform. Graphics by Cho Sang-won



By Kim Hyun-bin



The Presidential Committee on National Education has released four 2022 college admissions reform scenarios, which will affect current ninth grade students when they apply to colleges of their choice.



Thirty-five people consisting of education experts, public opinion committee members and related professionals held a two-day workshop and narrowed the options to four models, one of which will be chosen for the 2022 college admissions.



"The 35 participants shared diverse opinions through in-depth discussions during the two-day workshop which focused on the direction of the reform. We have narrowed it to four reform scenarios," said Kim Young-ran, the head of the public opinion committee.



The group discussed a wide array of issues, but they put more emphasis on three key issues: setting an ideal ratio of non-scheduled and regular admissions, re-evaluation of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and re-adjusting minimum requirements for non-scheduled admissions. However, just the three issues alone could result in dozens of scenarios. To reduce the chaos, the group was in charge of reviewing and narrowing down possibilities.



At the workshop there were groups that strongly opposed and favored the government plans to increase regular admissions and both of their views were considered when selecting the final four models, according to the committee.



Four reform scenarios



The first scenario was favored by parents and civic groups who wanted to increase regular admissions. The model is structured to maintain both regular and non-scheduled admissions, but it aims to increase regular admissions to over 45 percent. The current average stands at 24 percent.



"Most of the selective universities in the nation accept students through non-scheduled admissions which are based on students' GPA, their specialty and how well it fits the major they apply for. The move gives no chance for mid- to low-level students to enroll at the institution. Their only chance is regular admissions, but the window of opportunity is too small," said the group in favor of increasing regular admissions.



However, the second model is in direct contrast to the first. It aims to leave the admission procedures to the institutions and switch all subjects on the CSAT to an absolute grading system. If this is implemented it will reduce the importance of the CSAT and make it even more difficult to increase regular admissions, which rely heavily on CSAT scores.



"Evaluating a student by CSAT inevitably creates fierce competition and depends heavily on repetitive problem-solving to prepare for the test. That is why we need to change all subjects to an absolute evaluation system," said the group in favor of the model.



The third model is similar to the current college admissions system, which leaves the decision to the institutions to set the percentage of non-scheduled and regular admissions, which means the current 8:2 ratio will likely be maintained.

The last model is similar to the first which aims to increase regular admissions and keep the relative grading for the CSAT unchanged. However, the minimum requirements to apply for non-scheduled admissions will differ slightly from the first model.



Recruiting personnel for public participation group



The public opinion committee will conduct a phone survey on around 20,000 people in order to pick out participants that are willing to take part in the public participation group. The committee is scheduled to finalize the list by early July.

"The public participation group will consist of people over the age of 19 and will be screened through surveys to find out their age, gender, location and college admissions preference. We are expected to pick out over 400 participants," said Han Dong-sup, spokesperson for the public opinion committee.



The group of 400 non-experts will discuss the selected reforms. After conducting surveys and gathering opinions, they well select a reform model by late July.



The group will take into consideration televised debates, public hearings and online and offline opinions before making a decision.