Reorganization of Colleges and Departments at BUFS

Students in certain departments cried out in anger

Managing Editor Seo Yun-chan

danseo123@naver.com

Cub-reporter Kim Kyu-young

Kyuyoung0409@naver.com

Every year, seniors in high school apply to their desired universities. They look for the best possible option that is available with the grades they earned throughout high school. Universities also have a busy time, promoting their achievements, historical records, and their reputation. All universities try their best to recruit as many freshmen as possible. If more freshmen apply to their universities, their reputation grows bigger.

These days, however, there are not so many students trying to apply to universities. Some decide to work right after becoming adults, and some just do not want to carry on with a life of studying. The main reason for the reduced number of students is that there are not a lot of students in the first place. Families in the 21st century no longer desire having lots of children, or in some cases, any children at all. Some married couples just live by themselves. This has led to a shortage of students throughout the whole country.

Accordingly, many universities are desperate to enroll as many students as possible. Unfortunately, just promoting the university is not enough. Some universities have failed to gain more students, and so have had to close as student numbers have become too low, whereas some universities have maintained the number of students enrolling.

As for Busan University of Foreign Studies, they have made some crucial decisions. Under the leadership of President Lee, the university decided to reduce the number of students in some departments, and reorganize them. The President wanted to add some new departments, too.

The BUFS administration discovered that there were many departments and divisions in our university that have failed to fill the target number of enrollments for freshmen. For example, while the Division of English easily filled its quota of seats, departments such as Portuguese or Italian have only attracted half of the students they were looking to enroll. The departments did not regard this as a serious problem, but the school did. To resolve this issue, BUFS decided to reduce the number of freshmen that can enroll, and some departments were to be bound together as one division.

When students heard about this through the news, they were enraged. From their perspective, it is more important to maintain the numbers of students enrolling and maintain their independent departments. They were already a little upset at the university for opening more departments that are not related to foreign languages. Departments like airline services made it seem like the administration was turning the university of foreign languages into a junior college. They asked for a response from the university, and the school prepared for the first public hearing.

At the public hearing, the university tried to explain the reasons why they thought that reorganization is the key. The student councils of the various departments and colleges strongly opposed the decision, and asked for the departments to be maintained. By the end of the first public hearing, it seemed like little progress had been made between the two sides. As such, the university and the student councils prepared for the second public hearing.

Students from the Division of Hotel, Tourism & Convention Management asked, "We choose our major after taking all of the classes of all majors. But, if we are unsatisfied with our major, the only solution is just to change major?"

The university answered, "Students are free to choose their major. A module system will open for students who choose the Division of Hotel, Tourism & convention Management. If you are not satisfied with your major, you are free to choose other options from the module system. The module system is part of the university's 'Big Outline' curriculum. It is a system that eases students' anxiety about the disappearance of a major. There are many module systems in each major. As soon as you enter the university, you can choose your major, and complete this major, or choose another major."

The president for the Department of G2 Convergence said, "We want to know the reason why our major is being combined with the College of Commerce & Business and is being integrated with the Department of Indian Business Studies."

The university answered, "When we think about the Department of G2 Convergence, it is related to language, so it can be changed from the College of Commerce & Business to the College of Asian Studies. The reason why it will be integrated with the Department of Indian Business Studies is because both majors have a convergence of marketing and language."

The College of European & American Studies president said, "The Division of Europe is the biggest problem. The combined standard is just a fill rate. The Division of German has been ruled out of the Division of Europe. For that reason, we thought that the acceptance rate was full. Furthermore, the Division of Europe should have 50 students. But each of the four majors has fewer than twelve students. In connection with the fill rate, the Department of French increased the number of students it can take by three percent. On the other hand, the Department of Russia decreased its student numbers by two percent. But, why were they combined? Also, if the students are not evenly distributed, can we be guaranteed the right to study?"

The university answered, "If the fill rate is less than 95 percent, we have to reduce the number of students. Frankly speaking, the fundamental problem is that the Department of Russia has to be removed Department of Russia. We do not want it to be that way, so this solution is the best way for the Department of Russia. We will continue to think about the number of people who can learn."

After the public hearing, the university ended with an adjustment that reflected the students' opinions. The reorganization plan was finally submitted by reflecting the opinions of the students as much as possible. It was a problem that would have been overlooked if the students had not spoken, but this is the result of students making their arguments and coordinating opinions with the university.