One thing that hasn’t changed at Mason Korea since COVID-19, Tuition Fee

A photo of entrance to Office of Finance in George Mason University Korea.

Photo by Yoonbin Nam.

Many things in George Mason University Korea (GMUK) have changed, as the pandemic has prolonged for almost two years. Classes and exams have been turned into an online format, and still, every school building entrance has been locked, except the basement entrance. In addition, there are restrictions on the use of campus facilities such as study rooms, libraries, and cafeterias, limiting the number of users for maintaining social distance. Thanks to these measures, there have been only a few confirmed cases within GMUK. However, many students complain that the ‘tuition fee,’ which is the most crucial, has not changed, despite restrictions on the use of campus facilities. The student body indicates that they cannot accept this preposterous circumstance, demanding a confident action from GMUK.

Since most universities started to transform their courses online at the beginning of 2020, the class quality decline has arisen due to unexpected changes in teaching methods and difficulties in communicating with faculty. According to the National University Student Association Network (Korea) survey results, 91.3% of students agreed to the tuition reduction in the first half of 2021. Besides, there were some cases that students from various universities filed class-action lawsuits against universities and the Ministry of Education. Hence, some Korean universities decided to make tuition adjustments or offer financial supports for students. This instance is not only related to Korean universities but also universities worldwide, including GMUK.

For observing the issue from GMUK students’ standpoint, The Voice interviewed several students who attended school during the pandemic. A student of GMUK (Business, ‘23) said, “When the COVID-19 began, I [he] thought it was somewhat understandable as it was unprecedented. But now I’m [he’s] a little disappointed that tuition fees are the same as before pandemic, and there were no noticeable measures or improvements for this issue.” Another freshman (Global Affair, ‘25) explained, “As classes are conducted online, I [he] don’t feel the differentiating features of GMUK from others, but the tuition fee of GMUK is much more expensive than any other university in Korea.” The other sophomore student (Global Affair, ‘23) shared some real-life problems that she experienced, saying: “Last semester, I [she] needed to borrow academic materials from the school’s library, but the IGC library was closed at the time. Since it was a book that could not be found in general libraries in Korea, I [she] had to buy it at my [her] own expense. We [Students] want the school to consider that the burden on students may increase due to the inability to use the school facilities.”

In addition, The Voice reached out to the Office of Finance & Planning for inquiring based on these students’ opinions, and it was able to verify the school’s official stance. The faculty pointed out, “Even though the campus of GMUK is located in Korea, it is practically the same as a university in the United States. Therefore, it is inappropriate to make a direct comparison with universities in Korea.” He added that it would be complicated to lower tuition fees due to the existing fixed expenses. So, they are continually making support, changing the way from refunding everyone $500 of tuition to providing scholarships $1700 worth (₩2,000,000) to students in need.

Due to the unique character of the global campus, GMUK has maintained significantly higher tuition fees than most other Korean universities, in spite of the pandemic. And it seems there is a high chance that the tuition will remain the same regardless of many students’ demands. Although supports in the COVID-19 crisis, such as offering an emergency scholarship or refunding tuition fees by $500, were established, those were considered not enough to convince many GMUK students. In order to arrange a compromise for settling dissatisfaction, the university needs to enhance more communication with students and transparency in tuition fees. Above all things, students are supposed to pay more attention, ensuring if the tuition fees are being used efficiently in such unprecedented circumstances.

Written by Yoonbin Nam, staff writer

Revised by Yu Bin Kwon | Managing Editor