The New University for Regional Innovation (NURI) is one of the South Korean Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development's key projects supporting regional universities. NURI aims to develop areas of specialization in regional universities and link universities to local industries. In 2004, the South Korean government pledged to invest 1.24 trillion Korean won (approximately US$1.24 billion) in the project over a 5-year period. This study examines the NURI policy and implementation process from the bottom-up perspectives discovered during semistructured interviews with key stakeholders. The results indicate an overall consensus that NURI has contributed to the improvement of education in regional universities. Yet, skepticism lingers concerning the potential for the program to achieve structural reform. This study suggests there is an urgent need for a comprehensive central intervention that can deliver structural reforms and balanced development.
BogdanR., & BiklenS. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods.Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
3.
BrayM. (2003). Adverse effects of private supplementary tutoring: Dimensions, implications, and government responses.Paris: UNESCO International Institute for Education Planning / UNICEF.
4.
BrayM. (2006, December). Private supplementary tutoring: Comparative perspectives on patterns and implications.Compare, 36(4), 515–530.
5.
ChoiS. (2007). Schooling in South Korea. In PostiglioneG. A. (Ed.), Schooling in East Asia (pp. 320–343). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press.
6.
ChoiY., & ImC. (2007). Customer satisfaction survey on NURI (New University for Regional Innovation) project [jibang daehak hyukshin yuk'nyang kanghwa (NURI) sa'up e dae'han go'gaek man'jok'do josa yon'ku].Collection of Academic Papers, 28(1), 163–188.
7.
ChunH. (2006). Innovation of regional universities through e-learning: Analysis of the New University for Regional Innovation (NURI) project performance.Korea Education & Research Information Service, 2(1), 12–15.
8.
ChungI. H. (2004). Accomplishment and prospect of higher education on reform in Korea [hanguk godeung gyoyuk gaehyeokui seonggwawa jeonmang].Korean Journal of Comparative Education, 14(3), 43–66.
9.
ClarkB. (1978). Academic differentiation in national systems of higher education.Comparative Education Review, 22, 242–258.
10.
ClarkB. (1983). The higher education system: Academic organization in cross national perspective.Berkeley: University of California Press.
11.
DosiG. (1988). The knowledge factor: Sources, procedures and microeconomic effects of innovation.Journal of Economic Literature, 26, 1120–1171.
12.
GayL. R., & AirasianP. (2003). Educational research: Competences for analysis and applications.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
13.
GibbonsJ. T. (2000). The role of Stanford University: A dean's reflections. In LeeC. M. (Ed.), The Silicon Valley edge: A habitat for innovation and entrepreneurship.Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
14.
GinsburgM. (Ed.) (1991). Understanding educational reform in global context: Economy, ideology, and the state.New York: Garland.
15.
HendersonG. (1968). Korea: The politics of the vortex.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
16.
HwangW. (2004). NURI and fostering of regional universities [NURI sa'up kwa jibang daehak yukseong].College Education, 11(12), 5–9.
17.
JeongI., & ArmerM. (1994). State, class, and expansion of education in South Korea: A general model.Comparative Education Review, 38(4), 531–545.
KimS., & LeeJ.-H. (2001). Demand of education and developmental state: Private tutoring in South Korea.Seoul: Korea Development Institute, School of Public Policy and Management.
20.
LeeB., HeoM., & LeeG., (2005). Reliability of NURI project team selection [jibang dae'hak hyuk'shin yuk'nyang kanghwasa'up sunjung pyung'ga ui tadang'do mit shilloe'do gumto yon'gu].Journal of Korean Education, 32(2), 275–296.
21.
LeeC. (2005). Korean education fever and private tutoring.Korea Education Development Institute (KEDI) Journal of Educational Policy, 2(1), 99–107.
LeeJ.-T., KimY.-B., & YoonC.-H. (2004). The effects of pre-class tutoring on student achievement: Challenges and implications for public education in Korea.KEDI Journal of Educational Policy, 1(1), 25–42.
24.
MaskellP., & MalmbergA. (1999). Localised learning and industrial competitiveness.Cambridge Journal of Economics, 23, 167–185.
25.
Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, Republic of Korea. (2005). Reports on NURI project team selection [ji'bangdae hyukshinsa'up sa'up'dan sunjeong kyulkwa]. Retrieved April 19, 2010, from http://bnc.krf.or.kr/home/nboard.do
26.
MOEHRD. (2006). Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MOEHRD).Seoul, Korea.
27.
NelsonR., & WinterS. (1982). An evolutionary theory of economic change.Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
28.
OECD. (1996). The knowledge-based economy.Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
29.
ParkN., & WeidmanJ. (2000). Battlefield for higher education. In WeidmanJ., & ParkN. (Eds.), Higher education in Korea: Tradition and adaptation (pp. 177–196). New York: Falmer Press.
30.
SethM. (2002). Education fever: Society, politics, and the pursuit of schooling in South Korea.Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
31.
TrowM. (1975). Problems in the transition from elite to mass higher education.Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
32.
WolfeD. (2006). The role of universities in regional development and cluster formation. In JonesG. A., McCarneyP. L., & SkolnikM. L. (Eds.), Creating knowledge, strengthening nations: The changing role of higher education (pp. 167–194). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
33.
YiP. (2002, March). Household spending on private tutoring in South Korea. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Orlando, FL.
34.
YooY. H. (2002). Economics of private tutoring: In search for its causes and effective Cures.Seoul: KDI.
