The financial health indicators of private universities, which had been on the rise, have sharply declined within a year. The basic asset securing rate for private four-year universities, which barely surpassed 100% last year, has dropped back to the 96% range this year. Additionally, the burden rate for government-mandated contributions, which cover employee pensions and health insurance, has also reversed its upward trend and decreased. Notably, the burden rate for private universities outside the capital region has fallen below 50%, highlighting the financial limitations faced by regional private institutions. Furthermore, the government's 'Glocal University 30' policy has led to actual mergers among universities, resulting in a decrease of six institutions in the total number of universities subject to disclosure over the past year.
The Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) announced these findings in the 'October 2026 University Information Disclosure Analysis Results' on the 29th. This disclosure covered 402 higher education institutions nationwide, with detailed analysis focusing on 316 universities (192 four-year general and education universities, and 124 junior colleges), excluding cyber universities, polytechnic universities, and graduate schools. Key areas of analysis included the status of private universities' basic revenue-generating assets and government contributions, dormitory occupancy rates and payment systems, university lecture disclosure status, per-student library material acquisition costs, and violence prevention education completion rates.
Private University Basic Asset Securing Rate Drops from 100.5% to 96.2%
The most significant change compared to the 2025 disclosure was observed in the financial indicators of private university corporations. This year, the basic asset securing rate for 154 four-year private universities stands at 96.2%, a decrease of 4.3 percentage points from last year's 100.5%.
The basic asset securing rate had steadily increased from 83.3% in 2023 to 96.9% in 2024, and then to 100.5% last year, but has now fallen below 100% again within just one year. Regionally, universities in the capital area saw a decline from 107.8% to 102.9%, a drop of 4.9 percentage points, while non-capital region universities fell from 88.9% to 85.4%, maintaining a significant gap of 17.5 percentage points with their capital counterparts.
Junior colleges also experienced a decline in overall securing rates, dropping from 130.3% last year to 127.2% this year. Notably, the securing rate for junior colleges in the capital region plummeted from 140.8% to 124.4%, leading the overall downward trend.
It is important to note that the total assets held by these corporations have not decreased. The total amount of basic revenue-generating assets for four-year private universities increased from 11.606 trillion won last year to 11.8459 trillion won this year, an increase of approximately 239.9 billion won.
However, the securing rate has declined because the 'securing standard amount,' which serves as the denominator in the calculation, has risen from 11.5469 trillion won to 12.3164 trillion won, an increase of 769.5 billion won in just one year. According to current university establishment and operation regulations, the securing standard amount is linked to the total annual tuition and fee revenue of the university.
In other words, while some universities have increased tuition and seen a rise in student enrollment (approximately 31,800 more students for four-year private universities), the corresponding growth in basic revenue-generating assets has not kept pace, resulting in a decline in the securing rate.
A similar trend is evident in the burden rate for government-mandated contributions, which cover employee pensions, national pensions, health insurance, and employment injury insurance.
For the 2025 fiscal year, the burden rate for four-year private university corporations was 53.1%, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous year (54.3%). This marks the first decline in four years, following a steady increase from 49.7% in 2021.
While the total amount actually borne by the corporations slightly increased from 360.9 billion won to 361.4 billion won, the mandatory contribution standard amount rose from 665.1 billion won to 680.6 billion won, an increase of 15.5 billion won.
Particularly concerning is the severe financial deterioration of private universities outside the capital region. While the burden amount for four-year private universities in the capital region increased from 209.4 billion won to 215.5 billion won, maintaining a burden rate of 55.8% (a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous year), private universities outside the capital region saw their burden amount shrink from 151.5 billion won to 145.9 billion won, resulting in a burden rate drop from 52.0% to 49.6%, falling below the 50% threshold.
For junior colleges, the situation is even more dire, with the overall burden rate for government contributions dropping from 22.2% to 21.3%. The burden rate for junior colleges outside the capital region is only 19.2%, indicating that over 80% of the government contributions are being covered by student tuition and other institutional funds.
University Mergers Reduce Total Institutions by Six
In terms of the broader higher education ecosystem, the restructuring of universities has become evident in the statistics, marking a clear distinction from last year's disclosure.
This year, the total number of universities subject to disclosure is 402 (222 general and education universities, 136 junior colleges, and 44 graduate schools), a decrease of six from the previous year. This reduction is attributed to the government's Glocal University 30 project, which aims to address the declining school-age population and has led to mergers among national universities, including the integration of Kangwon National University with Gangneung-Wonju National University, Mokpo National University with Jeonnam Provincial University, and Changwon National University with Gyeongnam Namhae University and Gyeongnam Geochang University. Additionally, the merger of Wonkwang University with Wonkwang Health Science University has taken place, and the financially troubled Gwangyang Health University was officially closed at the end of August.
Indicators reflecting students' living conditions in dormitories reveal a paradox: while the number of rooms has increased, occupancy rates have declined.
This year, the dormitory occupancy rate for four-year universities is 21.7%, down from 22.2% last year, while junior colleges also saw a decrease from 15.0% to 14.2%. Despite an increase in the total number of dormitory rooms from 156,624 last year to 158,204 this year, the occupancy rate has fallen due to universities reducing multi-person rooms and significantly increasing single rooms to cater to students' preference for privacy.
In fact, the number of single rooms in four-year universities increased from 16,145 last year to 17,169 this year, a rise of 6.3% (1,024 rooms), maintaining a high average growth rate of 6.1% over the past four years. Conversely, the number of multi-person rooms (four or more) decreased from 16,291 to 16,120, a decline of 1.1% (with a four-year average decrease of 4.9%). Junior colleges have also seen a significant annual increase of 24.4% in single rooms over the past four years, while multi-person rooms have decreased by an average of 5.1% each year.
Regionally, the dormitory occupancy rate for four-year universities is higher in non-capital regions (25.2%) compared to the capital region (17.3%). However, both regions experienced a decline of 0.5 percentage points from the previous year, indicating an urgent need for measures to alleviate the housing cost burden for commuting students in the capital region.
Fortunately, the payment methods for dormitory fees are becoming more student-friendly. This year, among 252 dormitories in four-year universities, 61 (24.2%) now accept card payments, an increase of eight from last year (53). Additionally, the number of dormitories allowing cash installment payments rose from 79 to 92 (36.5%), an increase of 13.
In contrast, the number of dormitories requiring full payment in cash via bank transfer decreased from 149 to 144 (57.1%). However, for junior college dormitories (112), 77.7% (87) still adhere to cash lump-sum payments, and the number of dormitories accepting card payments has decreased from 12 to 11 (9.8%), creating a stark contrast.
Online Courses and Library Investment Show Disparities
Indicators measuring digital education innovation and academic infrastructure investment reveal a stark contrast between the progress of four-year universities in the capital region and the stagnation of non-capital and junior colleges.
As of last year, the number of online courses offered by four-year universities totaled 2,805, combining 2,262 Korean-style Massive Open Online Courses (K-MOOC) and 543 resources from the Korean Open Course Ware (KOCW), marking a 12.9% increase from the previous year (2,485). Notably, K-MOOC courses surged from 1,892 to 2,262, driving the growth.
However, examining the regional growth rates reveals that four-year universities in the capital region increased their online courses from 1,264 to 1,496, an 18.4% rise, while non-capital universities only increased from 1,221 to 1,309, a modest 7.2% growth. The disparity is even more pronounced among junior colleges, where the total number of courses increased by 23.3% to 164, but capital region junior colleges saw a 29.6% increase from 98 to 127, while non-capital junior colleges only added two courses (5.7%) from 35 to 37.
The disparity in library investment per student, a fundamental measure of academic research capacity, has widened between general universities and junior colleges.
Last year, the average library material acquisition cost per student for four-year universities was 157,697 won, a 3.4% increase from the previous year (152,443 won). By type of institution, national and public universities (213,210 won, a 5.4% increase) significantly outpaced private universities (140,700 won, a 2.3% increase). Regionally, students at capital region universities (192,119 won, a 4.4% increase) spent approximately 63,600 won more on library and academic materials annually than their counterparts at non-capital region universities (128,508 won, a 2.4% increase).
In contrast, the average library material acquisition cost per student for junior colleges decreased by 3.2% from 24,971 won to 24,173 won, amounting to only 15.3% of the four-year university average. Particularly, non-capital junior colleges reduced their total library acquisition budget from approximately 4.63 billion won last year to 4.55 billion won, resulting in a decrease in per-student acquisition costs from 23,879 won to 22,561 won, a drop of 5.5%. This trend is attributed to the prolonged freeze on tuition and rising inflation, leading financially strained regional junior colleges to cut budgets for library acquisitions.
Meanwhile, the completion rates for violence prevention education addressing sexual harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence, and prostitution among university staff and students showed a gradual improvement. For four-year universities, staff completion rates reached 82.9% (up 1.7 percentage points from the previous year), while student completion rates were at 60.2% (up 1.9 percentage points). Notably, the completion rate for students at national and public universities, which had previously been relatively low, increased from 50.4% to 53.4%, a rise of 3.0 percentage points. However, this remains 8.9 percentage points lower than the completion rate for students at private universities (62.3%), indicating a need for effective measures to encourage participation in education among national university students. Conversely, junior colleges saw slight declines in completion rates for both staff (86.8%, down 0.9 percentage points) and students (69.4%, down 0.1 percentage points).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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