On May 6, the School of Business made changes on its restriction regarding the approval of double majors. As the issue of the approval of double majors has been a controversial issue for the past few years, this change has sparked discussion among Ewha students.
Three major changes were made. First, while the required cumulative grade was 3.0 in the past, the requirements have now been increased to 3.3. This condition is to be applied until the spring semester of the year 2023. Second, students who completed the following courses, Statistics for Business and Principles of Accounting Information, are only allowed to apply for a double major in Business. Finally, students are to be selected in order of a cumulative score within 50 percent of the admission quota. These three modifications are to be applied from the fall semester of the year 2023.
Such changing requirements are a hotbed topic for these students: those majoring in Business, double majoring in Business, and attempting to double major in Business.
A student preparing to declare a double major in the Business Administration, who wished to stay anonymous, mentioned that the issue was indeed unanticipated yet somewhat reasonable.
When asked about the selection of students in order of a cumulative score within half of the entrance portion, she answered that such modification is in fact concerning but at the same time enables her to become a hard-working student. She also highlighted that there will be more students committed to the administration itself due to the modified requirements.
Ewha Voice sat down with a student currently majoring in Business who also wished to remain anonymous.
“Compared to other universities, the minimum prerequisites to apply for a double major in Business has been quite low,” she said. “Students majoring in Business have already made several suggestions regarding the approval of double majors in the administration. Even though this solution does not meet everybody’s interest due to the different circumstances, I think it is the best alternative that the school can provide at this point.”
The difficulty of registering classes also affected those majoring in Business. Even though she was a student who entered the HOKMA College of General Education in order to major in Business, it was almost impossible to find her interest during her freshman year due to the fierce competition rate regarding the course registration. Even after she became a Business major, the anxiety and stress of not being able to take classes did not go away.
“The endless number of students double majoring only led to the increase in the divisions of prerequisite courses required for graduation,” she said. “That’s not all. Professors have undertaken the problem of taking in more students in classes and these problems led to another issue: not being able to choose from majors which are not compulsory for graduation. Since many students want a wide-range of subjects and segmented tracks, the lack of diversified majors lead to their discontent.”
However, she mentioned that forthcoming changes will not be the ultimate solution to the problems regarding the course registration system.
“The newly made adjustment is definitely a sign that the school is taking action by listening to students’ voices,” she said. “However, in order to enable students to freely choose their desired courses, I think the school should recruit enough professors to handle the countless number of students.”
She also shared her opinions on the upcoming modifications regarding the selection of students in order of a cumulative score within half of the entrance portion. She remarked positively because this change means that students with sincerity can be given the opportunity to take classes. Having seen cases where students drop out of competitive courses with good evaluation, she felt sorry for other students who had to give up their opportunities of taking such classes due to high competition