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An investigation confirms that campus-less universities essentially sell credits and degrees. The Ministry of Education said Monday an investigation of 17 online universities revealed many instances where schools gave credits to students they recruited through agencies regardless of whether they turned up for online classes.
The investigation uncovered 21 brokerages for the online universities, which with a few exceptions are finding it difficult to get students. This year's recruitment rate for new students was no more than 52 percent on average.
The brokers pull students with frank promises like, "We give you credits as long as you just register" and by sending spam mail. Working people who were unable to attend college and now wish to make up for the gap are easily trapped. The brokers make W30,000-50,000 (US$30-50) in commissions per credit for every student they introduce to the school. Registration fees are W60,000-80,000 per credit. The ministry says agencies made W16 billion (US$160 million) in commissions so far.
A ministry official said, "With schools receiving no more than W10,000-25,000 in registration fees per credit, the content is bound to fall." The ministry believes that few of the 4,479 people with degrees from online universities have earned their credits the hard way. It has informed investigators and the National Tax Service of the results of its investigation.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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