Decrease in Full-Time Faculty Leads to Reduced Lecture Proportion
Increase in Small Classes with 20 or Fewer Students
Revenue-Generating Assets Decline, Legal Obligations Rise
As the number of full-time faculty members at universities decreases, the proportion of lectures taught by full-time faculty at four-year universities has also declined for the fourth consecutive year. Both four-year universities and junior colleges saw an increase in the proportion of small classes with 20 or fewer students, while the rate of securing basic property for profit at private universities decreased.
On the 31st, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Council for University Education announced these results in the "2023 October University Information Disclosure Analysis." The analysis covered a total of 411 universities, including 193 four-year general and education universities and 132 junior colleges.
According to the university information disclosure, the proportion of lectures taught by full-time faculty in the second semester of this year was 64.8%, down 1.1 percentage points from 65.9% in the second semester of last year. The proportion of lectures taught by full-time faculty refers to the ratio of lecture credits taught by full-time faculty to the total number of lecture credits offered. This figure has decreased for four consecutive years, from 67.8% in 2019 to 66.7% in 2020, 66.3% in 2021, 65.9% in 2022, and 64.8% this year. The proportion of lectures taught by adjunct instructors was 20.3%, down 0.3 percentage points from 20.6% in the second semester of last year.
On the other hand, the proportion of lectures taught by full-time faculty at junior colleges increased this year. In the second semester of this year, the proportion was 50.5%, up 0.6 percentage points from 49.9% in the second semester of last year. However, this also reflects a rebound after three consecutive years of decline until last year. The proportion of lectures taught by adjunct instructors was 18.1%, down 1.2 percentage points from 19.3% in the second semester of last year.
The downward trend in the proportion of lectures taught by full-time faculty is attributed to the decrease in the number of full-time faculty members themselves. According to the "2023 Basic Education Statistics Survey" released by the Ministry of Education and the Korea Educational Development Institute, as of April 1 this year, the number of full-time faculty members at universities decreased by 1.2% (1,092 people), while the number of non-full-time faculty members increased by 1.3% (1,896 people).
The proportion of small classes with 20 or fewer students at four-year universities in the second semester of this year was 42.8%, up 0.6 percentage points from 42.2% in the second semester of last year. For junior colleges, the proportion of small classes was 43.3%, an increase of 3 percentage points from 40.3% in the second semester of last year.
This year, the rate of securing basic property for profit at private four-year universities was 83.2%, down 3.9 percentage points from 87.1% last year. For junior colleges, the rate was 100%, down 0.1 percentage points from 100.1% last year.
Last year, the legal burden rate for private four-year universities was 51.2%, up 1.5 percentage points from 49.7% in 2021. For junior colleges, it was 19.7%, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from 17.2% last year. The legal burden includes private school pensions, national pensions, and health insurance.
This year, dormitory occupancy rates also decreased. The dormitory occupancy rate at four-year universities was 22.8%, down 0.2 percentage points from 23% last year. Junior colleges also saw a decrease to 16.7%, down 0.4 percentage points from 17.1% last year.
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