In 2016, the Global Career Development Center (GCDC) established an undergraduate guidance system to supervise students and support them with their future career. Previously, each department operated this system, but the university decided that the GCDC should take control of the entire program. However, many students find this system unnecessary and not of much help. This is mainly because of the unorganized structure and the lack of information. Consequently, students claim that it is challenging for them to utilize and benefit from the system.

The Problem of the Current System

Students are assigned to a supervisor through the ‘Career Development I’ course, which is mandatory during their first year. The irony of the system is that this career development course is compulsory, but the guidance system is not. Therefore, students only focus on receiving good grades on the career development course and are not really interested in the fact that the course is just a buildup process for the guidance system. Also, lack of interest causes a vicious cycle. As not many students are interested in the system, it is less active. This will reduce direct feedback from students, making it difficult for the system to develop. Furthermore, due to the absence of a clear structure of the guidance system, students face difficulty attaining information. Compared to other universities, the Hanyang University (HYU) does not provide enough information about the system. Many students struggle accessing the system and arranging meetings with their supervisors.

Possible Solutions to Improve the System

One possible solution is making each department take care of the guidance system. Most of the universities in Korea are utilizing this system. The advantage of this system is that students could have more in-depth feedback related to their major. Additionally, the GCDC could focus more on providing information about the system to students. Having more students using the system will allow the center to be more active with more feedback, eventually improving on its weak points.

Students’ Stance

The Hanyang Journal (HJ) surveyed to inspect students’ thoughts on the guidance system. Out of 181 students surveyed, 69 percent of the subjects were unaware of the undergraduate guidance system before the survey, which proves the shortage of information related to the system. 50.3 percent of students claimed that the ‘Career Development’ course was inefficient. Han Ji-won, a senior at the School of International Studies, claimed, “If the purpose of the guidance system is to strengthen student counseling, I think that the current system is inefficient. According to the current system, supervisors are assigned randomly so the supervisor might be unrelated to the career the student wants to pursue. This makes it difficult for the professors to give realistic advice. Also, many students are unaware of the guidance system. The school does not provide clear guidelines for students to follow, making the system difficult to operate efficiently. She also mentioned the problem of the ‘Career Development I’ course. She specified, “Most of the courses are very vague, so it is not really helpful for the students. Rather than assigning supervisors during the freshmen year, I think it would be more beneficial for students if the school assigned supervisors during the sophomore or junior year when the students have a clearer thought on their future careers.” Regarding the question about the possible solutions, she mentioned “Having a clearer structure and providing guidelines for students would definitely help.” 35.9 percent of the survey respondents also claimed that strengthening the system’s structure is essential to develop the system.

Professors’ Stance

Professors are also struggling in arranging the courses of career development. Each supervisor is responsible for organizing the career development courses. However, there are no explicit instructions for the professors to follow. Professor Kevin Stadt stated, “I try to organize the course to support my students to write cover letters, resumes and mock interviews. Recalling my experience as a university student, no one really taught these strategies, so I thought it would help my students.” He mentioned the problem of students facing difficulty arranging meetings with their supervisors: “I think the reason why students find it difficult is because they are unfamiliar with the system. Students will definitely benefit from it further if the school informs students by providing a clear explanation about the system during the orientation week or a specific guideline on the website.”

HYUʼs Stance

The stance on the undergraduate guidance system differed between the two campuses. ERICA campus attempted the guidance system utilized in the Seoul campus but found out that it was inefficient for students. So instead, they have successfully implemented a new system. Ryu Jae-heung, a professor at the ERICA campus’s GCDC, said, “We have also tried the system that the Seoul campus is currently operating. However, we wanted to use a system that could benefit students further. Therefore, unlike the Seoul campus, we decided to assign supervisors during the senior year. We also have professional employment support counselors from off-campus, so students can freely apply for counseling sessions.” He further explained, “After changing to this system, students were generally more satisfied with the system. This year, our center plans to invite various alumni to our campus and operate a mentoring system. We believe these alumni could act as a stimulus for students making our career guidance system more effectual.”

Conclusion

To conclude, not all systems could satisfy the demand of each individual. However, it is somewhat clear that the guidance system is not operating proficiently. The system’s original purpose is to help students to find their future career. Yet not many students feel that the system is operating efficiently to meet their demands. Therefore, it is essential to improve the current system to make it work more proficiently. The career development center should focus on the reinforcement of the structure. As pointed out, the center should focus on providing guidelines for students as many students lack information. By doing so, the guidance system could improve to provide more extensive support for students as students could easily access it.