Domestic Students Exchange Program
DESP- Domestic Students Exchange Program
WHEN IT comes to the matter of students exchange program most students think of a foreign exchange student. It’s quite sure that not many of us may ever have heard of domestic students exchange program provided by Yonsei University as opposed to FESP (Foreign Students Exchange Program). Only the foreign students exchange program is introduced on Yonsei’s internet site. This time we will be going to look closely into what’s been settled for domestic students exchange program at Yonsei
What’s DESP?
As soon as the 5275th canon on accrediting system was enacted in January 1997, Yonsei’s domestic cross registration system with the KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) in 1999 cut the ribbon, the very first cross registration system started at Yonsei. Currently Yonsei has formed a relationship with eleven universities (Choongang Univ., Ewha Woman’s Univ., Joenju Univ., KAIST, Korea Univ., , Kyemyung Univ., Sungkyunkwan Univ., Ulsan Univ., Seoul National Univ., Seoul National Univ. of Technology, Sogang Univ.,) and it’s still increasing. There were several aims of this act when it was first established such as bridging the gap between the universities inside and outside of Seoul. The ultimate object universities all over the Korea is to expand the range of courses provided and elevate the standard of the competitiveness of universities in Korea. Universities are on their way of increasing their number of domestic exchange universities.
DSEP- YES League
Many factors are influencing in students’ choice which university to apply. Distance is one of the decisive factors of competitiveness which determines which schools to have active exchange relationships. More students tend to apply the closer the school is. Some attention was given when Yonsei started an students exchange program with Seoul National University but soon it left something to be desired; the disadvantages of distance.
Those who overcame the barrier of distance are Yonsei University, Ewha Woman’s University, and Sogang University which is gathered around the same district, Shinchon. They are now forming a special students exchange program excluding other universities and it’s called YES League, which is coined after its initial letter from each university. “Now universities in Korea are not capable enough to improve their university with the limited government assistance in grants and other financial aid. So I wondered what could be the best and most efficient way to compete with the other eminent universities around the world. Finally we concluded that developing and investing into established specialized divisions of each school in YES League would be the key to the ultimate answer. This was the purport of the beginning of the YES League at the same time,” said Cho Joon-sik, the Former Dir. of Office of Planning and Management in Yonsei University, who first planned setting up a YES League which started the spring semester of 2004.
Unlike other schools having an students exchange program, YES League provides the same registration system of process used at Yonsei Univ. Considering that there were more than 600 students exchange were from Ewha Woman’s University out of total 1,145 people who have come Yonsei Univ. as an exchange student, it means that YES League is turning out to be quite successful at least in its quantity.
Advantages of DSEP
Including the YES League, and other partner schools using the cross registration system, provides many advantages. First of all, opportunity to meet with many other students from partner school through participating in various academies held, **hakhoe*, and **dongahree*s. Many lectures and related symposiums can also be an interesting part for finding multifarious affairs in the partner schools.
Secondly it helps a lot in following cases; home university is lack of faculty who’s providing corresponding major, subjects haven’t established related major, not have been long enough to provide superior quality in home university, and partner university is eminent work of research in certain field that draws other students.
Finally, some of students can mitigate some of their burden when taking courses in their major. The subject that a student takes in partner school doesn’t count as a major course credit but as a general selection unless student oneself ask for it. When a student thinks taking certain subject as a major course to be burdensome and its contents are too hard to go through, one can just try using the cross registration system. In a different aspect of lightening one’s burden on taking courses, it sometimes can be helpful for a particular gender, especially women, who prefer to take an all female course such a swimming classes in Woman’s University.
Shortcoming of DSEP and way to improve
Not all the good purports brings only good results and so does the cross registration system. It resides some of its problems of shortcomings in its system and leaves much to be desired.
The proportion of sent and received by approximately 1:10, Korea Univ. shows 1:7.5 in its proportion. It means the program is not known as publicly as students to have interest in it and to apply for it. Yonsei Univ. internet site doesn’t even have room for introducing the cross registration program unlike to the other universities.
Another is unique system of admitting the credit that one went through in partner school. As it’s slightly mentioned before, the subject taken in partner school doesn’t count as a major credit even if you completed the some credits of major courses there but it counts as a general credit which means that those must complete major credit doesn’t afford cross registration system. Somewhat complicated procedure is arranged for those who want their major unit taken from partner school admitted as a major credit, asking approval for it to the dean to the each department. Practically few of these are actually attained and rest of them is not even asked for approval because of its intricate process.
School authority is now confronting the difficulties of confirming the identity of major subjects offered in partner schools which is being one of the reasons why the dean shows perplexity in approving the unit as though the same subject was taken. There should be prepared criteria on deciding whether the major course offered from partner school could be admitted.
The last thing is that what students get from the office of academic affairs is the only tight minimum support for them. The office of academic affair is the department that takes complete charge of the cross registration program, and this is the only pathway to be connected and be opinioned to the partner school for students who are applying to this program. And this department is showing shortage in providing practical help for the students because they only do what they only have to do, forbearance. For instance, for those are planning to cross register the subjects to university in certain provincial students have to take all of this burden themselves. The office of academic affair should be keeping the cycles of students and take care of them more like keep providing necessary information on related registration mattesr.
Overall DESP
Looking into the overall domestic students exchange program which is now performing in Korea doesn’t help at all to estimate the whole acted program related to its purport at the very beginning. As we all know it was firstly put into practice hoping to expand subject ranges and to make university enlarged competitiveness at most among the world. In other words, deviate from the original purport it is rather likely to be substantial to its literally formalized definition itself of domestic exchange
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Box 1.
How to apply
It is not always same to check out the Yonsei portal site regularly around the registration period.
1. Qualification of applicant
i) For Sogang Univ. and Ewha Woman’s Univ.: Those who are attending the school in Seoul campus for three to seven semesters
ii) Except those two universities: Those who are in their Junior and Senior grade, having GPA over 3.00
2. Application
Application for cross registration system is accepted per a semester
i) For Sogang Univ. and Ewha Woman’s Univ.: Up to six credits. Applicable from Yonsei Portal site during the period of applying
ii) Except those two universities: Up to 18 credits. Applicable from each university’s portal.
3. Recognition
The credits what you completed the course in cross university is recognized as a general selection even if you took the major courses. In case you want the credits to be recognized as substituted major courses, submit application for substituted subject recognition or call 2123-2099 for further and latest information.
Lee Sang Jin (Sr., Dept.of Astronomy)
Exchange student to KAIST on spring semester of 2006
“I came to see the official announcement of school authority and I applied it because I thought it could be a good experience for me. And truly it was. Students per professor are far less in KAIST which makes lecture very lively and equipment for experimentation is well installed so that we could have one lab per person. Rather Yonsei Univ. is developed centering convenience facilities KAIST had centered on facilities needed for studies.”
Box 2
Here are some of the introductions for those whom might be giving a thought in applying for cross registration program offered from each university and who want to have more information in which university is specialized.
Ewha Women’s University
Ewha Women’s University has a quite a quality and quantity as well in providing lectures related on women. Here are followings.
Comparative Women’s Studies
Psychology of Sexual Difference
Women & Mass Communication
Women & Public Policy
Women at work
Women and Leadership in the Age of Globalization
Women in Management
Korea University
Korea University especially provides broad and much specialized part of law other than Yonsei. Especially the copyright act is now
Copyright Law
Environment Law
International Organization Law
America Corporation Law
Seoul National University
As long as Yonsei Univ. doesn’t have the department of art is established there are many lectures provided on this in Seoul national Univ. It is also famous for art critic where produced eminent reviewer Jin Joong-gwon for his writings “Art Odyssey”
Hyun Ye-rim Reporter
pring_yasmin@yonsei.ac.kr