Korea University (KU) will make students' assessments of their professors public. Officials from the university said the move is aimed at upgrading the quality of education through competition among faculty members.
"Students will be able to select professors for their courses based on the evaluations," an official said.
Under the plans, KU will disclose online evaluations of its professors, going back three years. The new system is being welcomed."Some professors often cancel classes without prior notice. With this new system, I expect them to conduct their classes more earnestly," said a KU business major.
Most universities here have already made public the evaluation results of their professors. They have also introduced incentives to faculty members who receive high marks, while poor performers are sidelined. Just a few years ago, professorship was regarded as a lifelong job and faculty members were paid according to seniority.
Dongguk University, which initiated the move two years ago, groups its professors into four categories, depending on their performance in lecturing, research, contribution to school administration and raising donations.
Those in the top 15 percent, get as much as 12 million won in incentives.
while part-time professors who are consecutively ranked in the bottom 10 percent in lecture quality are subject to dismissal.
However, some universities, including Seoul National and Yonsei, have yet to introduce the system due to severe faculty opposition.