Kyung Hee Cyber Education Kyung Hee Cyber University's advanced model of cyber education contents puts it in world level league With its unique cyber education contents development that differentiates it from other cyber universities, Kyung Hee Cyber University (KHCU) (www.khcu.ac.kr) is forging an advanced model of cyber education contents for online higher education in Korea. Through such advanced contents development by its own technological expertise, the Cyber University is contributing to enhancing Ubiquitous education as well as advancing the knowledge level of the Republic of Korea one notch higher. Against the backdrop of this renewed confidence lies above all Kyung Hee Cyber University's abovementioned superiority in educational contents and competitiveness in education, according to President Park Kun-woo of KHCU who has been leading it for over two years and has served in the diplomatic arena during almost 40 years, including as the Korean Ambassador to the United States as well as the chief delegate of the four-way talks. "As for superior contents development of our cyber education, we have instructional designers who plan education and support professors in the Dept. of Online Education Support, web designers as well as programmers who design contents and programming, and up to media developers who are in charge of image production, contents editing and management", Park elaborated. Its staff of 60 experts cooperates with professors and lecturers in doing research and developing cyber educational contents, according to Park. In comparison with another cyber university which relies on outsourcing, KHCU produces approximately 200 contents a year in its six studios corresponding to about 200 pyeong (approx. 660m2) with its own technology, unique among cyber university circles. In addition, he pointed out "Besides hardware elements needed for cyber education, we support software related to lecture development and supply studios (including a virtual studio) for a sound environment for lecture development." In a nutshell, Kyung Hee Cyber University's superiority is set apart in that it offers supporting functions for professors' online teaching (video chatting, realtime seminar, chatting room, asynchronous discussion room, SMS, mail, note, one-toone counseling, blog, community etc.) and learning management, as well as evaluation function that makes students possible to evaluate not only learning process but outcomes from educational programmes through LMS (Learning Management System) developed by KHCU. Way forward for an advanced country First of all, President Park proposed that cyber education can pave the way for an advanced country, explaining that carrying out online and offline education simultaneously is a global trend and in that regard there are areas where cyber education in Korea still is not activated. Concerning doubts about the university's education quality or degree recognition, the president forcefully brushed off such misgivings, pointing out that for example, the matriculation rate into graduate school is pretty good in the case of Kyung Hee Cyber University and cyber education provides intensive courses without any waste rather than off-line education provided by general universities. Showing the excellence of the education competitiveness of Kyung Hee Cyber University, the ex-diplomat president added that KHCU has started credit exchange with Kyung Hee University, its mother University, since the first semester of 2004. With this, students can attend lectures up to 24 credits, 3 credits per semester without extra fees in Kyung Hee University. President Park, who believes that the credit exchange program gives the most efficient synergy effect in boosting students' satisfaction, mentioned that 75 percent of Kyung Hee University students indicated in the questionnaire that asked credit exchange satisfaction they would recommend KHCU's lectures to their friends & colleagues. He also added that it is undeniable that thanks to such reciprocal credit exchange program with Kyung Hee University, KHCU made great strides despite of its five years' short history. Plus expanding and beefing up a 'Ubiquitous learning system' which makes their students attend lectures wherever and whenever they want through PDA or wireless handy PC, the Cyber University operates on one hand flexible and elastic educational courses and school affairs such as a curriculum map through which students can get information about subjects more indepth, in order to meet more diverse students' needs. Hong Bong-hwa, the Dean of Department of e-Learning Support who sat in on the interview, said, "In the light of facts that we can't meet their needs with uniform education and school affairs since the students of cyber university come from various ages, professions and experiences, Kyung Hee Cyber University is noteworthy by activating double major, minor major, change of major and early graduation system and by abolishing core courses to broaden student selections." Pivotal role of top cyber education About carrying out the pivotal role of the best cyber education that represents Korea, President Park is proud to say that approx. 150 students out of 600 first graduates in Feb. 2005 at KHCU went on to graduate school providing an example to new comers who were planning to enter KHCU. The president deserving the title of Cyber University missionary has a firm belief: "If we pursue education that utilizes characteristics and merits of cyber education, we can solve the restraints on the time and space which are the offline universities' limitations, and we can seek after learner-centered education." In conjunction with this, President Park points out: "For cyber education to occupy its firm position thoroughly, negative factors must not appear so that student can study free from all anxiety". He continued, "I would say the future of cyber university is considerably bright considering Korea's world best IT infrastructure", adding that cyber education has high probability that it can solve diverse problems of offline universities in Korea and present the possibility of a new model of university education. In relation to Hanryu (Korean Wave) fever too, KHCU shows big enthusiasm with its plan to establish a Department of Korean Culture and Language from the forthcoming Spring semester, 2006 plus setting up a study hall and installing 'Cyber Korean Language Programme' as part of a global cyber campus at Hanoi University of Foreign Studies in Vietnam, Ulaanbaatar University in Mongolia, 4 universities in the Philippines and the National Association for Korean Studies (NAKS) in U.S.A. With dissemination and development of Internet market in Korea, cyber education will become a learner-oriented education system, more systematically and diversely, he said. To develop KHCU as one of the world best cyber universities is likely to be the top priority task for it this year.