Per-student education spending at junior colleges fell 1.2%

Four-year universities spent 7.91 million won more per student than junior colleges

Research funding per full-time faculty at junior colleges dropped 9.9%

Scholarships per student rose about 5% at both types of institutions

Per-student education spending rose at four-year universities while falling at junior colleges, according to data released by the Ministry of Education. [Ministry of Education / Image generated with ChatGPT]
Per-student education spending rose at four-year universities while falling at junior colleges, according to data released by the Ministry of Education. [Ministry of Education / Image generated with ChatGPT]

Per-student education spending rose at four-year universities last year while falling at junior colleges, widening the gap between the two types of institutions from 7.24 million won ($5,230) to 7.91 million won in a single year.

According to an analysis of university disclosure data for August 2026, released Thursday by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education, per-student education spending at 192 four-year general and education universities last year came to 20.73 million won, up 526,000 won, or 2.6 percent, from the previous year. The figure is calculated by dividing a university's total education investment — covering personnel costs, operating expenses, scholarships, and purchases of books and equipment — by the number of enrolled students.

At 125 junior colleges, however, per-student spending fell 150,000 won, or 1.2 percent, to 12.81 million won. The previous year's disclosure had shown increases at both four-year universities and junior colleges, but junior college spending reversed course this year.

Among junior colleges, spending fell 0.9 percent at public institutions and 1.1 percent at private ones. Junior colleges in the Greater Seoul area saw a 2.0 percent decline, while those outside the metropolitan area fell 0.5 percent.

Within the four-year university sector, the gap between metropolitan and non-metropolitan institutions also widened. Per-student spending at universities in the Greater Seoul area rose 3.5 percent to 22.29 million won, while those outside the metropolitan area grew just 1.7 percent to 19.39 million won. The regional gap expanded from 2.47 million won to 2.9 million won.

Research funding trends also diverged between the two sectors. Per-faculty research funding at four-year universities rose 7.4 percent to 123.64 million won, while the figure at junior colleges fell 9.9 percent to 2.3 million won. Public junior colleges saw a particularly sharp drop of 28.9 percent, and those in the Greater Seoul area fell 12.1 percent.

Scholarships per student increased across the board. At four-year universities, the figure rose 201,000 won, or 5.2 percent, to 4.03 million won, while junior college students received 202,000 won more — a 4.8 percent increase — bringing the total to 4.38 million won.

Total scholarship disbursements reached 5.4 trillion won at four-year universities, up 7.3 percent, and 1.57 trillion won at junior colleges, up 8.4 percent. Government scholarships accounted for 65.3 percent of total scholarships at four-year universities and 74.6 percent at junior colleges.

The number of four-year university students using student loans rose 2.3 percent to 463,764, though the utilization rate held steady at 14.3 percent. At junior colleges, 107,021 students used loans, up 0.5 percent, while the utilization rate edged down 0.4 percentage points to 14.9 percent.

Reserves held in the educational accounting funds of private universities grew 6.3 percent to 9.62 trillion won, while donations rose 6.7 percent to 753.5 billion won. At private junior colleges, reserves increased 4.1 percent to 2.58 trillion won, and donations climbed 16.3 percent to 47.9 billion won.


brunch@heraldcorp.com