Students of Ewha Womans University hold signs calling for tuition fee refunds at the campus in central Seoul on June 29. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki

By Lee Hyo-jin

Disputes over tuition fee refunds are likely to reignite in universities as many have begun the fall semester with online classes due to the resurgence in COVID-19 infections mainly in Seoul and its metropolitan area.

The refunds have been at the center of debate on campuses during the spring semester. Many college students were unhappy with the quality of online classes that replaced face-to-face lectures and demanded universities refund their tuition fees.

After experiencing the first week of the fall semester online, Friday, it seems students are still dissatisfied with the quality of the online lectures.

"I expected that the university would have come up with measures to improve the quality of classes by upgrading internet servers," said a junior student surnamed Hong at Korea University. "A lot of students have complained about technological errors in the program during the spring semester, but apparently nothing has changed.

"A student joint committee has been urging the university for months to cut the tuition fee or provide financial support, but we haven't been offered any type of compensation yet. I am annoyed that another 3.5 million won ($2,940), my tuition fee, might go to waste."

In a recent survey by JobKorea, a recruiting site, 91 percent of 2,555 college students wanted a full or partial refund of their fall semester tuition.

The main reasons for the demand were the poor quality of online classes and denied access to school facilities such as libraries or laboratories. Regarding the online lectures in the spring semester, only 21 percent were satisfied with the quality. Some 38 percent found the lectures "substandard."

Following student complaints about ill-prepared online classes, some universities have introduced "blended learning" for the fall semester. This combines online education material with traditional face-to-face lessons. But students who have experienced blended learning are skeptical of its effectiveness.

"I took a blended-learning class last semester, but it was virtually the same as an online class," a third-year student at Sungkyunkwan University said. "Offline lessons took place only two times during the whole semester, for midterm and final exams.

"Online classes without interaction between professors and students will never be the same as face-to-face ones. If the university can't provide offline lectures due to the pandemic, it must compensate students in ways such as scholarships or reduced tuition fees."