Best Practices of KNOU in Distance and Lifelong Education in Cooperation with Koreas Ministry of...

Best Practices of KNOU in Distance and Lifelong Education in Cooperation with Korea’s Ministry of Education

Dr. Dongkook LeeVice-President, Korea National Open University

Introduction

Korea National Open University (KNOU) was established in 1972 by the government as the first distance educational in-stitution in Korea.

KNOU opens opportunities for higher education to those who

are not able to receive university education due to diverse reasons such as temporal and spatial constraints.

Based on the know-how and infrastructure for distance edu-

cation that have been accumulated over the last 40 years, KNOU is a constant companion for those who desire to learn throughout their lives.

Introduction

As the only national distance university in Korea, KNOU has achieved brilliant outcomes in the area of higher education. This growth has been possible because of Korean people's passion for education and the Ministry of Education's far-sighted policies that have actively reflected this passion.

Continued acknowledgement of President Obama's views on Korean education: “Our children __ listen to this __ our chil-dren spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea every year, … That’s no way to prepare them for a 21st-century economy” (2010)

The higher education graduation rate of the younger genera-tion (aged 24-35) reached 63% last year, which is the highest among OECD countries.

Changes in social environments

According to a world population status report published in 2011, due to low fertility and population aging, the birth rate of Korea in 2011 was recorded as the lowest in the world at 1.28.

The school age populations are expected to decrease from 10,575,000 (22.0% of the total population) in 2005 to 6,163,000 (12.7% of the total population) in 2030.

In particular, the ratio of elderly populations aged 65 years or

older is expected to increase from 11.8% in 2012 to 14% in 2018 and reach 20% in 2026. The speed of this increase is unprecedented.

Increased importance of lifelong learning and e-learning

With the advent of an aging society, demands for

opportunities for lifelong education are gradually increasing.

Because of the decrease in the working populations (aged 15~64), the issue of weakened potential labor force is com-ing to the fore: It is expected that the labor force will de-crease resulting in wide ranging effects such as economic slowdowns, aggravated social burdens and deteriorating quality of life.

Educational environments in Korea


Manpower supply policies are required in order to upgrade labor markets. National level policy alternatives for increasing opportunities for adults' continuing education are also ur-gently required to prepare for an aging society.

Following globalization and market opening, income inequal-

ity and gaps between industries, businesses and classes have been increasing.

Therefore, education welfare policies should be reinforced for

neglected classes in order to improve their adaptation to so-ciety and access to labor markets.


Restructuring of the university following the universalization of higher education

Because of the restructuring of universities and mergers of

national/public universities, strategies for specialization are required for each university to secure competitiveness.

The limitations of conventional universities are emerging be-

cause of their exclusive reliance on off-line systems, rigidity of operations, and insufficient systems to link higher education and

lifelong education.


Enhancement of the quality of distance universities At the national level, the activation of higher education

through e-learning has been established as a major policy. The government has allowed 22 private cyber/digital universi-ties to open since 2001.

Policies to make the operation of educational courses more

open, diverse and flexible are gaining momentum.

The infrastructure of distance education has followed the

development of IT industries and has increased demands for education of adult learners.


Good interactive quality distance education services are re-quired since learner support is more emphasized than ever.

The growing abundance and ubiquity of mobile learning have

been noticed in distance institutions (63.5% of the whole population have a smartphone).

Smart schools are gaining popularity; they deliver learner

customized education by means of smart solutions such as IT devices like the Galaxy Note 10.1.

KNOU’s educational outcomes

Contribution to the popularization and universalization of higher education in Korea

KNOU served the role of expanding higher education in Ko-rea in the process of shifting from higher education for elites in Korea in the 1970s to that for the public. The higher educa-tion admission rate last year was reported to be 72.5%.

KNOU graduated over 530,000 students which is the largest in number among Korean higher educational institutions.


As a national university institution, KNOU opened opportuni-ties for higher education to all people so that they can de-velop occupational abilities throughout their lives at low ex-pense while they maintain their work(its tuition is a mere 700 USD a year, which is less than 1/10 of other universities).

A low-cost quality distant education is made possible through excellent faculty and staff members, state-of-the-art ITC in-frastructure and the government support.


Equalization of opportunities for higher education for all peo-ple

Regarding the composition of enrolled students at KNOU, 80% of enrolled students have an occupation and these occu-pations are diverse.

[Table-2] Present status of KNOU students by the type of occupation (2012)Division Number of students(person) Ratio(%)Company workers 54,223 31.4Miscellaneous Jobs 38,375 22.5

Full-time homemakers 29,854 17.3Teachers 12,061 7.0

Self-employed 9,581 5.5Medical workers 7,491 4.3

Full-time students 5,085 2.9Politicians, journalists, artists, clergy, etc. 2,990 1.7

Farmers and fishermen 848 0.5Total 172,680 100.0


Unlike typical universities, the age groups of enrolled stu-dents show diverse distribution. The fact that students in their 30s and 40s account for at least 62% of all students shows that KNOU is a university for all people.

[Table-3] Present status of KNOU students by age (2012)

Division Number of students(person) Ratio(%)10s 1,920 1.120s 47,434 27.530s 65,522 37.940s 42,571 24.750s 13,242 7.7

60~70s 1,991 1.2Total 172,680 100.0


Settlement of lifelong education systems in Korea Social demands for lifelong education have been increasing

since 2000.

Graduates from vocational colleges have rushed to KNOU to continue their study and earn a bachelor’s degree. At the same time, graduates from 4-year universities have entered KNOU as a second or third year student to earn their second degree and widen their knowledge spectrum.

Those transfer students accounted for more than half of all stu-dents and placed KNOU as a viable alternative for higher educa-tion.


[Table-4] Present status of KNOU students by enrollment type (2012)

Division 2000 2003 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

New 62,689 52,449 43,313 42,107 45,225 43,946 39,699 40,153 37,318

Transfer 70,217 69,081 61,411 60,161 64,086 64,421 60,800 54,308 50,774

Total 132,906 121,530 104,724 102,268 1039,311 108,367 100,499 94,461 88,092


The pioneer of Korea’s distance educational system KNOU introduced teleconferencing classes for the first time in

South Korea, connecting the headquarters in Seoul with 13 re-gional campuses. The classes are bidirectional, so interactive. Recently, a pilot test of remote lectures linking 32 study centers nationwide via Google+ hangout was successfully conducted.


KNOU has its own TV broadcasting station. KNOU TV(OUN) is the only channel specializing in distance and lifelong edu-cation in Korea. It provides quality educational programs via such diverse media as cable TV, satellite TV, and IPTV.

The Digital Media Center(DMC) merges broadcasting media and e-learning contents, producing highly advanced educa-tional contents.

The Graduate School of KNOU was established in 2001, be-coming the first among distance institutions in Korea. The lectures are entirely web-based with 1,406 students in 18 de-partments including 201 in the new Business School.


KNOU’s mobile learning system “U-KNOU” began its service in 2008. Its upgraded version “U-KNOU Plus” enjoyed popu-larity with more than 56,000 students accessing it.


Global position secured KNOU has secured its internal/external position as a global

level e-learning hub university.

Through its performance of the role of the chair school of the AAOU (Asian Association of Open Universities) from 2002 to 2005, KNOU has contributed to the development and activation of distance education in the Asian region.

To promote the development of distance education in the Far East region, KNOU has participated in the ‘Korean-Chinese-Ja-panese Open Universities' Scientific Seminar’ every year since 2008.


Since 2005, KNOU has been designated and acting as a hub university in the ASEM lifelong education network project. Since 2006, KNOU has been playing the role of a coordinator in the ASEM e-learning networking project to lead the activa-tion of e-learning in the Asian-European regions.

KNOU's task for specialization in the areas of life-long education and distance education (2012~)

Social interest in lifelong education and distance education has been increasing recently and in line with these changes, the policies of the Ministry of Education are focusing on the role of KNOU. Last year, KNOU was officially designated as the first hub university of a new smart campus network.

In particular, in linkage with policies to advance occupational education, the public aspects of KNOU are being empha-sized. Recently, KNOU has been trying to enhance its social responsibility by developing more vocational and practical programs.


'Prime College' for retired generations In April 2012, ‘Prime College’ was established to provide diverse and flex-

ible educational courses in order to support the “second lives” of genera-tions in their 40s and 50s. The early retirement of the baby boomer gen-eration (those born in 1953~65 after the Korean War) is emerging as a major social problem. The government is making efforts to help them via KNOU’s on/off line programs by funding 3 million USD each year. The name ‘Prime College’ symbolizes KNOU’s intention to provide each age generation with the best education to achieve their prime.

Offering both degree and non-degree program and non department-based, ‘Prime College’ is a completely new type of higher education insti-tution different from existing regular colleges. Degrees, diplomas, and cer-tificates are offered according to which module or track students wish to take. Registration is done by program/course not by semester.


Last October, it launched 35 courses such as second age design, asset control, maintaining health, career developing and planning a rural life. Most courses are online, but some of them are offline or blended. It drew 3,500 students nationwide. It will offer another 28 courses this year includ-ing 8 which will be exclusively mobile.

The courses of the ‘Prime College’ are not only for generations in their 40s and 50s but for anyone who want to prepare for a life after retirement. More programs for seniors will be developed dealing with the issue of how to plan for a successful life in later years. Recently the President-elect emphasized the importance of education for people in their 60s and older.

This year, ‘Prime College’ will offer job-friendly engineering courses (in-cluding cyber lab courses) with the government funding of 5 million USD. These are aimed at technical or business high school graduate students who are employed but wish to continue their study.


Establishment of OER (Open Educational Resources) service sys-tems

Most of the ‘Prime College’ courses will be offered via its own OER. People can freely access them at its homepage http://oer.knou.ac.kr

Unlike other existing OER and open courseware services in Korea, KNOU’s OER contents are job-related, and old generation-friendly. They embrace social network functions, and are interactive. The contents are provided in diverse media types such as TV, AOD, VOD, WBT, and Flash.

It uploaded more than 90 contents including existing KNOU’s life-long programs. At present, only Korean language is available ex-cept for a few lectures by foreign scholars, but in the future more and more English versions will be provided.

http://oer.knou.ac.kr/

Activation of lifelong education of Koreans residing in foreign countries

In 2011, KNOU made agreements with consulate generals in New York and Los Angeles in the US to operate a 'nursing bachelor degree acquisition program' for Korean nurses re-siding in the US.

The nurses, who finished two-year nursing colleges in Korea

and emigrated, desperately needed a bachelor’s degree. KNOU’s superior e-learning system helped them accomplish their dream; 47 students will graduate this year.



This is a program that is the starting point of opportunities for lifelong learning to Koreans residing in foreign countries reaching 8 million in number.

KNOU is planning to extend this service to develop capabili-ties of Koreans overseas and to meet their demands for edu-cation through the utilization of global learning management systems (LMS). A face recognition system has been success-fully developed and tested, and will be implemented this year.


Smart campus hub university for the formation of ecosystems of entrance into school after employment

KNOU is considering the establishment of i-KNOU under KNOU, which will serve as a base for the formation of a post-employ-ment admissions “ecosystem”.

i-KNOU is an Internet-based education network system which is a virtual campus of KNOU for the operation of smart learning consortiums between educational cooperative institutions.

Based on cloud based learning networks, i-KNOU will develop guidelines for meta data standards and content quality control for content sharing, learner career management systems, net-work connection systems with hub universities and sensor net-work management systems.

Conclusion

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the perception of life-long education has been changing and interest has been in-creasing.

The development of ubiquitous education environments cre-ated by the epochal development of ICT has made distance and e-learning attractive alternative forms of future education.

In particular, with the concept of a lifelong occupation gradu-

ally disappearing, the need for effective lifelong learning is be-ing immensely examined by experts in higher education.

Conclusion

The Korean government is planning to create new educa-tional models to meet the demands of the time required for the start of the “second life” of the aging population as well as the rise of post-employment admissions.

In order to take the lead of these current trends and to pro-vide a capstone to the 'lifelong learning cycle', KNOU will op-erate diverse courses and programs. These will be carried out in line with the government’s quality and longevity of life poli-cies and smart campus projects.

Thank you for your attention

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