사립대학의 자율성과 책임성에 대한 탐색: 자체감사의 역할 및 제도적 시각에서

Abstract

This study examines the current state of self-audit bodies established within private universities in South Korea by conducting a perception survey of members of self-audit organizations in these higher education institu- tions, along with in-depth survey. The analysis indicates that, overall, the self-audit systems in private universities are insufficient to be regarded as fully autonomous. While there is an expectation for the Ministry of Education to provide support in terms of financial resources, personnel, and auditing expertise, private universities do not appear to strongly recognize their own responsibility for these self-audit functions. Further- more, although there is consensus on the necessity of comprehensive audits conducted by the Ministry of Education, concerns have also been raised regarding potential infringements on the autonomy of private universities. Regarding changes in the Ministry of Education’s audit approach for private universities, there is a positive perception of evolving from the current comprehensive, compliance audit model toward a performance audit that emphasizes identifying root causes and offering improvement recommen- dations. Therefore, in order to activate and enhance the quality of self-audits at private universities, it is expected that a systematic establishment of independent self-audit audit bodies will enable schools to resolve issues autonomously and, in return, lead to the relaxation of comprehensive audits by the Ministry of Education. It is also necessary to encourage the introduction of a self-audit type of preventive and pre-audit inspection rather than post-audit approaches, and to establish institutional and educational support systems for strengthening the self-auditing capacity of private universities by the Ministry of Education.