Korean Educational Development Institute(KEDI)

Policy Diagnosis and Strategies for Higher Education Innovation (III):

With a Focus on Improving National University Governance

This study was conducted in the last year of a three-year study titled "Policy Diagnosis and Strategies for Higher Education Innovation," with the purpose of helping make the autonomous management of universities easier on a macro level. Globally, university governance is emphasized as a key task in higher education reform. Even in Korea, there is great interest in policies on the democratic and cooperative management of universities. In particular, the need for the cooperative governance of national universities is rising, as they face conflicts among the members due to passive management or other governance issues. Therefore, comprehensive research on improving national university governance is needed with a view to establishing a reasonable governance system and more effective operation.

This study suggested the following four research questions based on its necessity and purpose. First, what are the concepts, structures, and components of national university governance? Second, what are the current conditions and issues of national university governance? Third, what are the perceptions and needs of members regarding national university governance and how does society perceive it? Fourth, what are strategies and challenges for improving national university governance? The research methods included a literature survey, international case study, Delphi survey, focus group interviews (FGI), text big data analysis, and conferring with an expert council.