Recent cuts to the Office of International Affairs (OIA) budget have led to a decrease in financial support for Ewha students who are willing to participate in school programs.
OIA holds Faculty-led Study Abroad Programs every summer and winter vacation in which a professor plans, leads, and instructs a team of students to go abroad and experience diverse aspects of the professor’s area of expertise. Although students cover the majority of the expense, OIA has provided partial financial support so far.
However, according to Professor Yang Hee-dong of Ewha School of Business, the amount of OIA funding has decreased significantly in recent years. Professor Yang’s Faculty-led Study Abroad Program “The Travel Study of the Economic Progress and Social Welfare of Northern European Countries” is estimated to cost about 5.3 million won this year, yet the funding from OIA is expected to be lower than last year’s 700,000 won, which was down from 1.4 million won the year before.
When the OIA was asked the reason for the falling budgets, Cheon Mi-heun of OIA answered, “Government funding has decreased, hence the decrease of the financial support for students.”
Due to the high cost of such programs, some students have hesitated to apply. In response, the program will undergo a careful review, and changes are to be made before the plans are set.
In order to decrease students’ burden, Professor Yang has requested Hana Tour to cut at least one million won from the total cost of the trip.
“I am also working on increasing the transparency of the budget to lessen any financial stress for students,” Yang said. “Soon, there will be a notice about the new cost.”