The recent government announcement of a list of 43 poorly managed universities to face subsidy cuts or closure has not only spurred reform efforts but provoked resistance.

Forty-seven faculty members of Seoul-based Chugye University for the Arts on Wednesday announced their resignation in protest of the Education Ministry’s findings.

“We are 4disappointed with the unfair inquiry criteria that didn’t take into consideration the unique circumstances of arts schools,” said the faculty members in the school bulletin.

“We are very sad about the hostile situation to arts schools, and the result insults and disgraces artists and arts schools.”

Chugye University for the Arts was included in the list of schools to have their state-funded student loans restricted because it failed to meet criteria such as employment rate of graduates, the yearly enrollment rate and the number of full-time instructors.

The ministry listed the 43 universities after a two-month inquiry by a panel of experts as part of a drive to weed out uncompetitive schools and induce universities and colleges to lower tuition fees through restructuring.

The president of Seoul-based Sangmyung University had also said earlier he would step down, as did the president of International University of Korea in Jinju, southern Gyeongsang Province.

Blacklisted schools argue that there was a problem with the way the employment rate was calculated, which took up 20 percent of the total evaluation score.

They said many arts school graduates who work later as freelancers and graduates employed one or two years after the graduation weren’t counted in the assesment, which only reflected seniors who were about to graduate.

According to a university source, some schools are even considering legal suits against the Education Ministry.

“How can pure arts schools where most of majors are painting, music and literature achieve the employment rate of 45 percent?” a Chugye University professor asked.

“It’s unreasonable to judge school status by employment rate.”

However, most schools on the list are stepping up efforts to restructure their administrations and restore damaged reputations by investing more in education and recruiting highly qualified professors.

Wonkwang University, which will have government subsidies cut or denied next year, decided to implement its own restructuring measures, including reducing its intake of freshmen by 9.1 percent until 2015, recruiting 37 new faculty members for the fall semester this year and allocating an additional 5 billion won for scholarships, according to school officials.

Sangmyung University will also invest 50 billion won for college reform and start a counseling service not only for students but also for graduates, school officials said.

“This is to restore our reputation. We will continue to improve our schools by recruiting famous professors and support student employment even after graduation,” said a school administrative director.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)