Now, "Sharing" permeates into our lives as a culture even though it does a bit slow because of the COVID-19. It also has a wide range of meanings, from a share house and car-sharing to data sharing. Recently, there have been school sharing using empty school spaces in broadcasting and recruitment tests. We share many things to all get their benefits and joy. Not only material sharing but also experience and knowledge sharing have a positive impact on us. Do you want to study together and share your experiences? Chung-Ang University has a 'University Consortium.' A University Consortium provides students with more diverse educational opportunities by allowing them to share courses and programs from different universities. Let's find out more about what a University Consortium and credit exchange is!
1. What Is the University Consortium?
The University Consortium shares educational resources with several universities through credit exchanges, joint programs, and the opening of online Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The University Consortium has already progressed in some universities in the U.S. and Japan. In Korea, the University Consortium platform went into effect in the fall semester of 2018 based online. The Seoul Forum of University President (SFUP) expects that the University Consortium will not only help students expand their choice of subjects and increase the efficiency of the universities' curriculum operations but also they develop together by sharing physical and educational resources. They also said the University Consortium program includes courses for all people, which could help the nation's lifelong education. Recently, various MOOC platforms have been developed, and the importance of online lectures has increased, leading to the growth of MOOC platforms.
2. Let’s Find Out More About the University Consortium.
The first program is a credit exchange. Credit exchange is a system that accepts course credits from other colleges and universities. As of 2020, there are 22 SFUP Credit Exchange Universities, including the University of Seoul, 18 Individual Agreement Universities, including Seoul National University, and 28 Seoul-Incheon Area Agreement Universities. If you want more and detailed information, you can find it on the Chung-Ang University portal. The second is the United University Program. With various universities, they develop the subjects or camps through mutual exchange. There is a plan to launch a subject 'Understanding the 4th Industrial Revolution Technology.' It is the United University Program that is researched and developed together by the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Chung-Ang University and the Seoul National University of Science & Technology. The last is MOOC. MOOC is an online open class. In foreign countries, several universities, including Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, are participating. The MOOC platforms continue growing. In Korea, there are some open lectures from various universities in K-MOOC. You can also take classes such as online pre-learning and flipped learning, including the discussion.
3. Shall We Apply for a Credit Exchange?
There are several requirements and precautions to know before you apply for a credit exchange. First, undergraduates should complete at least a specific semester that each university agreement appointed. The student should have a total GPA of 3.0 or higher and have no record of being disciplined. Besides, prospective graduates are not eligible to apply. If you are eligible for the application, you need to prepare some documents such as a credit exchange complete plan and application form. Significantly, the number of credit exchanges is not limited, but credits received from other universities are only accepted as one-half of the credits needed to graduate. Re-taking the lectures that are completed at other universities is not allowed, and you must take essential subjects for graduation from Chung-Ang University at CAU. If the department approves the required and basic subjects, students can take the relevant credits. In the case of double majors, they require approval from the head of a department. Next, one of the most significant things is credit transfer. The credit transfer will progress by calculating other universities' scores as a percentage based on the criteria of Chung-Ang University. At this point, the score is recorded separately from the credits received from other universities. After writing a plan and applications, you should obtain approval from the head of the department and submit documents to the Academic Services Team (floor 1 of Building 201). The application period is two months before the start of the regular semester, and one month before the beginning of the seasonal semester.
The University Consortium not only provides opportunities for students to study in various places but also has a positive impact on the development of education in those universities. In the case of credit exchanges, students should plan their courses. Therefore, students need to carefully check where and what they want to study and make a plan to complete the credit exchange. For the MOOC, you can find and listen to lectures on the K-MOOC website. Unfortunately, the University Consortium program will be suspended for about a year to reorganize due to the lack of participation of students. A new University Consortium will open up again next year. Why don't you think about what you want to learn next year and where you want to study? How about using the University Consortium program?
