From the Mouth of the Administration

Reprints can be obtained here

In case you haven't been following the news: Our Dear Dean of Students, Susan Art, denied one Mr. Kong readmission to the University after a particularly nasty episode of financial malfeasance forced him to take an extended (read: five year) hiatus, during which he took courses at Seoul University and the University of Korea for more than two years without completing a degree.

Now, the only explicit technical barrier that would preclude readmission is if an applicant has already obtained a degree from a peer institution, which Mr. Kong evidently did not do, but Our Dear Dean of Students nonetheless rejected said applicant, and on appropriately inane grounds, including suspicions that he would again be unable to defray the costs of his education. Granted that this is an understandable concern, Your Cartoonist nevertheless thinks that Mr. Kong is at full liberty to dispose of his income as he sees fit, a proposition in which the said individual will assume the full risks pursuant to his choice. Moreover, if price is a concern, then at least half of the students here should be expelled posthaste to save them the trouble of having to pay for college.

Needless to say, this was not the only asinine rationale that Our Dear Dean of Students furnished. Others included that his only discernible reason for wanting to attend the University was to secure "a degree from a prestigious university," an argument that, if applied elsewhere, would effectively, oh, bar everyone from this august institution. Anyhow, I should let her letter (the authenticity of which she has so far not denied), which was circulated by concerned students, speak for itself:

Dear Junwan,

Thank you for providing such complete information about your activities during the past five years. I have taken your request to resume studies in winter 2009 to the Deans Committee and we have considered it carefully. I am sorry to say that, for the reasons I am outlining here, we will not be approving your return to the College.

Our primary reason for denying your return is that you have clearly made an academic life for yourself in Korea. You have done well at the University of Seoul and have successfully transferred to Korea University. Since very little (possibly none) of the 2+ years of academic work that you did in Korea would transfer towards your undergraduate degree, it makes much more sense for you to complete your degree there. Further, though you assert that the University of Chicago would offer an excellent education for you, we cannot tell from what you have sent us why--apart from wanting a degree from a prestigious university--you really should return to Chicago. In other words, it is unclear how completing a degree here would better meet your academic objectives that completing one in Korea.

The other issue is financial. You have suggested that your family's resources are limited, and I really cannot see how investing over $150,000 to complete your undergraduate education can make any sense at all. You would need to register for three full years--and possibly for more than this--and this is a huge financial undertaking for any family.

We did open the door to your attending the College five years ago, and you were only able to take advantage of one quarter of registration with us. This record is hardly something that you can argue you should be able to build upon again. You have made a life for yourself in Korea, and you should work to complete your undergraduate degree there. If you eventually want to return to Chicago, consider applying as a graduate student.

I am sorry to disappoint you in this, but part of my role, as dean of students, is to evaluate whether requests such as yours make sense. It is pretty clear to me that there is no good rationale to return to Chicago to complete your undergraduate degree.

Sincerely,

Susan Art