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A Study of MET Programs in Korean Two-Year Colleges Sung Hwan Cho, Young Hoon Kim Dongyang Technical College

Abstract

Mechanical engineering programs are offered by 138 departments of 66 two-year colleges in Korea during the academic year 1998. The curricula of 71 ME programs by 58 departments of 37 colleges are collected and analyzed. The programs are classified to 7 areas: Mechanical Engineering Technology, Machine Design, Automotive Technology, Automation, Die and Mold Technology, CAD/CAM, and the others. In order to compare the characteristics of each program, all courses offered are arranged into 253 typical course codes, which are classified to 6 categories, 22 sub-categories, and 164 detailed ones. The comparison between the 10 most common courses, drawn separately from 7 areas, was made and each program was characterized by a suggested model curriculum composed of 27 courses.

I. Introduction

The current system of junior colleges in Korea was formed by Education Law in 1979 after several changes. Their mission is stated as “to train and educate middle level professionals for national industrial developments”. In 1979 there were 127 colleges with an enrollment of 78,455 students. In 1998 there are 158 colleges (143 private, and 15 public) with 801,681 students. There are 2,643 departments (1,021 technical, 138 mechanical related) in Korean junior colleges with 530 different kinds (213 technical, 44 mechanical related) [Table 1] 1. Junior colleges offer 2-year regular programs in technical areas, which require 80 credit hours for an associate degree. Nursing and some of the medical related programs require 3-year and 120 credit hours for a similar degree. Some short term, non-degree programs are offered regularly, but limitedly.

Table 1. Overview of Korean junior colleges (1998) Types of Number of Annual Student Number of Faculties Department Departments Quota (1997) Total 530 2,643 278,630 12,468 Technical 213 1,021 141,480 4,554 Mechanical 44 138 24,935 N/A

The purpose of the study is to understand the characteristics and problems of mechanical related majors in Korean junior colleges by analyzing various curricula, and to use the results for future developments.

II. Classification of Courses

Sixty-six colleges had 138 mechanical engineering related departments in 19982. Authors sent a request for curriculum data to 116 department heads of 65 colleges, and received from 58 departments of 37 colleges. Thirteen departments offered multi-major programs, so the total

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Kim, Y. H., & Cho, S. H. (2000, June), A Study Of Met Programs In Korean Two Year Colleges Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8727