Pusan National University (PNU) has decided to freeze undergraduate tuition again this year. PNU has never raised tuition since 2009. Except for a 5.3% cut in tuition fees in 2012, the price has been maintained for 15 years. Recently, there have been many opinions on the tuition increase, especially among private universities, and “Channel PNU' intends to follow the PNU's public opinion surrounding the freezing of tuition fees, the tuition policy so far, and future prospects.

On January 13th, PNU decided to freeze undergraduate tuition at a meeting of the Tuition Deliberation Commission. Graduate school (general∙professional∙special) tuition II will be raised by 2.7%, Graduate School of Business Administration tuition II by 4.05%, and law school will be maintained. 

The most significant difference this year is the increase in tuition fees for the seasonal semester. Until last year, it was 25,000 won per credit based on theoretical subjects, while it was set at 29,000 won this year. In general, considering that it is three credits per subject, an additional 12,000 won is paid compared to last year. This increase in tuition fees for the seasonal semester is carried out for the first time since 2008. 

Financial difficulties have been raised continuously, but things will change slightly this year due to the freezing of undergraduate tuition. This is because a unique account for higher education support has been established. According to an official from PNU's finance department, PNU got subsidies available for facilities and equipment budgets, and such changes made the university's financial operations valid, so it is possible for PNU to put a freeze on the tuition fees. One of the reasons for the tuition freeze is that the national scholarship type II will not be supported if tuition is raised. However, seasonal semester tuition fees have been increased due to inflation and instructor fees in 2012 and 2016.

■Tuition Freezes, Majority Welcome

PNU students generally welcome the freeze on tuition fees. Most of them say that students never should feel burdened as PNU is a national university. Student A (Dept. of Architecture Engineering, 21) said, “Even though prices have risen a lot, tuition fees have been frozen, which seems to ease the burden on students and parents. Since it is a national university, PNU must decide carefully about raising tuition fees as it operates using the national budget.” Student B (School of Mechanical Engineering, 18) said, “I think freezing tuition fees is the right direction. It is necessary to reduce some poor private universities due to the decrease in the school-age population, and to reduce the burden on students by distributing the support to other schools.” 

On the other hand, some students are concerned about freezing tuition fees that could hinder the long-term development of schools. Student C (School of Economics, 21) said, “Since it has been frozen for the past 15 years, I think a tuition increase is inevitable considering wage hikes and inflation. Students should not experience inconvenience due to insufficient budget.” In fact, PNU library is having difficulty in supplying electronic data. In 2021, the library budget also decreased as the university's overall budget was reduced due to the tuition freeze and additional expenditure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but electronic journals and academic DB subscriptions among electronic materials are rising every year. (Channel PNU Reported on June 7th, 2021)

PNU student council takes the position that projects for students should not be reduced due to insufficient financial resources. The student council said, "We requested the establishment of a reflux system between PNU and the student council so that the current budget can be used efficiently." Regarding the increase in tuition fees for the seasonal semester, the student council said, "As the tuition fees for the seasonal semester will be raised, we will ask the Office of Educational Affairs to improve the quality of classes" The student council will continue to monitor whether the increased tuition is being used properly.

■Increase in Some Private Universities

The financial difficulties of universities are getting worse. According to the "Status of Financial Management of Private Universities in Korea" released by the Korea University Education Council in last November, the total income and expenditure to operate private universities amounts to 155,500,000,000 won. Since 2011, operating profit has continued to decline, and the operating balance deficit began in 2017. 

On top of that, as the inflation rate is soaring the financial resources secured by the tuition hike exceeded the government's subsidies due to the tuition freeze, so the tuition increase has become beneficial to the school's finances has also been a factor in determining the tuition increase. With the revision of the Higher Education Act in 2010, the upper limit on tuition hikes has been implemented since 2011, saying, "Each university should not allow the tuition increase rate to exceed 1.5 times the average consumer inflation rate in the previous three years." Instead, since 2012, the government has implemented a system to support type II national scholarship only to universities that have lowered or frozen tuition fees, effectively suppressing tuition hikes. However, the total amount of type II support this year is 38,000,000,000 won, the same as last year, and it does not meet the legal upper limit tuition increase rate announced by the Ministry of Education. 

According to a survey of 148 presidents of universities conducted by the Ministry of Education's press corps on January 31st, 49.1% of them said they were considering raising tuition fees this year or the following year. The timing of the increase appeared in order that 39.5% of the next year, 8.77% of the first semester of this year, and 0.88% of the second semester of this year. 

The situation in Busan is not better than in other provinces. On January 27th, Dong-A University (DAU) unanimously decided to raise the undergraduate tuition by 3.95% and graduate school tuition by 3.86%. This is based on the results of the Tuition Deliberation Commission. DAU expects to raise about 500,000,000 won in additional funds due to the tuition increase. Even if they cannot receive 200,000,000 won in national scholarship type II due to the tuition increase, DAU will have 3.000.000.000 won in extra funds. DAU plans to use 2,400,000,000 won in conservation funds to support students who cannot receive the National Scholarship Type II. A TF, including student committee members, will be formed and will discuss how to use the finances. Busan National University of Education (BNUE) also held the Tuition Deliberation Commission on January 31st and unanimously decided to raise tuition fees for undergraduate and graduate schools by 4%. According to the finance department of BNUE, about 200,000,000 won in additional funds will be raised. BNUE plans to prepare a session on tuition fees to build a consensus with students. 

■Ministry of Education "Please Join the Freeze"

The Ministry of Education's policy of freezing tuition fees is expected to be maintained at least this year and the following year. On February 8th, the Ministry of Education said in a press release that it will ease the burden on households in tough economic situations such as high prices and high interest rates and maintain a freeze on tuition so that the young generation can receive a college education without worrying about tuition. Lee Ju-Ho(Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education) said, "We thank the university for freezing and lowering tuition fees this year despite difficult conditions, and we express sorrow that some universities raised tuition fees without participating in the Ministry of Education's policy stance." Then, at a press conference on February 14th, he said, "I have no intention of discussing tuition fees again this year and the following year." They say that they should focus on fiscal and structural reforms rather than raising tuition fees. 

■An Annual Rise in Graduate Tuition

Meanwhile, graduate school including general, professional, and special graduate schools have raised tuition fees every year since 2021. Graduate tuition II increased by 0.6% in 2021, 1.65% in 2022, and 2.7% in 2023, compared to the previous year. Unlike the undergraduate studies abolished in 2018, admission fees still remain, which is a heavy burden on students. Student D (Master of Mechanical Engineering, 22) said, “I think it is inevitable to raise tuition fees, but I hope that the burden on graduate students will be reduced by diversifying the way to secure a budget that is biased toward tuition."

An official from the finance department of PNU said, “We inevitably decided to raise the price due to the recent increase in labor costs and inflation, especially public utility charges. The maximum upper limit is 4.05% based on the Ministry of Education's notification, but it has increased (2.3%) below the average inflation rate 2.7% over the past three years, considering that students can feel a burden."

Reporter Jung Hye-Eun

Translated by Lim Chae-Kyung