On February 13, the Ministry of Education announced that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act was passed at a Cabinet meeting. In particular, changing college majors, which was only possible for sophomores and above, is now possible for firstyear students as well. The Ministry of Education insisted the revision aims to create an institutional foundation to support university innovation.
As such, f reshmen can now change their majors, but there are criticisms about the revision. The Yeungnam Observer interviewed a student at Yeungnam University who had an unfavorable opinion of the revision. Student A argued that first-year students are in the stage of taking only basic classes instead of detailed major classes, and it is a reckless choice to change majors in such a state. In addition, student A said that when high school students apply to university, they are likely to use a strategy to apply for a low-level department that suits their grades and then change their major to a high-level department. He argued that giving freshmen a chance to change their major was unreasonable under these conditions.
What do first-year students think about the revision? The Observer interviewed a YU freshman. Student B responded positively to the revision. He argued that if a major does not suit an individual’s aptitude, quickly changing majors will be helpful in the future.
Amid such divergent opinions, the revision will take effect as early as the first semester of this year. Let’s observe what changes a freshman’s major change will bring to the university.
