Chungbuk National University signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU) with Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(MEST) on February 29th.
MOU is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in situations where the parties cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement.
By signing an MOU with MEST, CBNU will revise its school rules and prepare the new process of electing the university president before May. In addition, CBNU’s decision on accepting the University Advancement Plan made the title of restructuring university withdrawn. CBNU will be exempted from the national university assessment for 2 years.
MOU includes new processes of electing the president of university, specialization of the university by connecting it with local industries, managing complex courses of education, improving the process of lecture and teacher assessment and developing financial  efficiency.
This can make CBNU become a leading-local university which has future global competitiveness.
Lee Ju-ho, who is a minister of MEST, said, "I am thankful that CBNU decided to sign MOU with MEST after a long discussion. This new challenge is a big and significant one for academia. I am expecting that it will be a good example for other national universities, reconstruction.
When the news that CBNU signed MOU with MEST became known to students, some students wore masks to hide their faces and started one-man demonstrations on the street.
Park Seol-hee(Dept. of Psychology' 09) who was doing one-man demonstration in front of the Gae-sin Culture Center said, "I am here to express my opinion. The process of voting seems unfair. In addition, the fact that MEST forced the university to abolish the direct election system of the university president by using university assessment seems to be unjust. In addition, the school neglected the students` rights to vote. Students comprise 96% of the school. Considering these facts, the result of the election is totally wrong.
Although there is much criticism regarding election fairness, the school does not think that it will be a problem. The school said, "Mobile voting had already been used in Hanyanag University to elect the university president. In addition, this method is used for other elections nowadays. And many school members were usually out of town during the vacation. Mobile voting can increase participation rate."
The school insists that school members of our university are highbrow in Korean society. There was no problem about voting fairness unless some school members tried to spoil the election.
What is the good reason for MOU?
Both students and school agree that standards which were used for university estimation were wrong. The majority opinion was that we have to elect someone who can be dedicated to the school without interference of government. However, the school claims as long as the government has authority over human resources, we have to find realistic alternatives.
One of the school staff said, “To operate a national university, it is necessary to depend on the government.” In addition, he added, “If we did not sign MOU, we would not receive support from the government, like the Educational Capability Enhancement Fund, because CBNU was selected as a restructuring university.”
It means that, if CBNU rejected the MEST offer, CBNU would incur huge damages and this damage would go directly to the students. The government supports lots of activities for students: volunteering, club activities, studying abroad, and camps and classes which help students to get jobs. If the budget for the national university decreases, support for the students will be much smaller than now.
Moreover, the evaluation for the national university this September is a problem. After CBNU was selected as a restructuring university this year, freshmen’s learning performance was lower than before. In this situation, being re-selected as a restructuring university will be critical damage for the future of the school. One of the school staff said, “We became flexible as the evaluation was postponed for 2 years by signing of MOU with Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Other national universities are also trying to revoke the direct election system of the university president to avoid being a restructuring university.”
The way CBNU has to go
It is time for all CBNU people to make an effort for school. CBNU has to increase its support for students. Keeping up with the times, students should change. CBNU students have to know why they entered the university and acquire what they need from school. A staff member of CBNU said, "CBNU should also seriously agonize over how to strengthen the school's competitiveness during the three-year grace period. By all CBNU people pushing for positive changes, CBNU will be above the average level for the next evaluation of the national universities. Making full use of MEST is also needed for CBNU. MEST decided to give administrative and financial support which is needed to implement the University Advancement Plan. Another staff member said, "From the point of view of MEST, they will need good results from investing universities. Therefore, until the end of March, CBNU should draw a big picture that CBNU will pursue, and the school has to require administrative and financial support from MEST to supplement the shortage which school already noticed. It is time to prepare for the future.