Overcrowded Course Registration Frustrates Business Administration Students

Pusan National University (PNU)’s Department of Business Administration has recorded a remarkably high competition rate for course registration in 2025. Although it has long been a popular department in the business and economics field, the department is also struggling with the recurring phenomenon of course registration saturation.

According to the competition rates for core courses of the Department of Business Administration this semester as of March 14th, they have doubled compared to 2024. According to PNU’s course catalog, its major elective course, “Business History,” had 249 students registering for the class with 48 seats during the recent course wish list period, resulting in a competition rate of 5:1. This is more than twice the rate of 2.3:1 during the same period in 2024. Some sections of “Management Information Systems” (3:1) and “Operations Management” (2.6:1) also recorded high competition rates. This marks an increase of 10-20% from 2024, when the rates were 2.8:1 and 2.2:1 respectively.

These rates are similar to or higher than those of other popular humanities and business departments. The most representative course of the School of Economics, “Microeconomics,” showed 2.4:1, while the School of International Trade’s “International Commercial Transactions” showed 2.2:1. The gap widens when compared to that (1.6:1) of the “Introduction to Advertisement” course in the Department of Media & Communication, a popular major in the College of Social Sciences. PNU Student B (Dept. of Business Administration, 18) said, “I applied for automatic registration for seven major courses, but all of them failed,” adding, “Even courses with poor reviews become fully registered just a few minutes after registration began.”

Student complaints were also notable during the course registration period. On February 12th, numerous posts questioning the possibility of increasing enrollment in popular departments, such as “Is it easy to get an additional registration quota for the [Course Name] course?” appeared on “Everytime,” PNU’s anonymous online community app, receiving responses from many students. Among them, the Department of Business Administration faced the most severe overcrowding issues. PNU Student A (Dept. of Business Administration) failed to register for any major elective courses this semester. A said, “I’m a senior, but I couldn’t register for any major courses. I requested a registration quota increase from the department office, but my request was rejected because they were major elective courses, so I won’t be able to take them.”

This phenomenon is attributed to overcrowding in the business and economics majors. Students have a tendency to pursue double majors and minors in business-related fields, believing that they are advantageous for employment. The Department of Business Administration has been determining the number of course sections and a registration quota per section based on the average number of students over the past five years, which has proven insufficient.

As a result, students frequently cannot take required major courses. Although additional slots for registration are available, cases such as for graduating students are limited to this availability. Students are also frustrated because mandatory classes such as major electives are full. PNU Student B, who was only able to secure 6 credits during course registration, said, “A few major required courses were expanded, but the quota increases were meaningless to me, as I needed major electives.” PNU Student C (Dept. of Public Administration, 21), who returned from a leave of absence this semester, said, “I tried to complete my Economics minor courses that I had applied for before my leave, but failed to register. I’m considering canceling my minor and looking for other options.”

From the beginning, students have criticized that the number of courses offered is woefully inadequate compared to the number of students. PNU Student D, who is specializing and is from the Department of Business Administration, said, “There weren’t many course options, so I was forced to choose courses based on available class seats and time slots rather than what I want to learn, focusing on my wish list. A request to be able to take courses of interest is reasonable, as I came to college to study a field of my interest.” Park Da-Won (Dept. of Business Administration, 21) said, “This might sound like complaining about not being able to take so-called ‘easy courses,’ but in reality, it’s difficult to register even for major required courses.”

Double major and minor students also lament being overlooked compared to students specializing in various fields. While the Department of Business Administration allocates four seats per course for double majors and minors, this allocation is too insufficient to accommodate needs. The Department of Business Administration conducted a survey for students who failed to register this semester and processed registration quota increases, but that process was communicated only to students from the Department of Business Administration, leaving double major and minor students unaware. Ann Hye-Won (Dept. of Archaeology, 23), who is double majoring in the Department of Business Administration, expressed her frustration, saying, “To increase quotas, you have to contact professors directly, and it’s technically impossible unless you’re a senior. Also, I was not informed about the survey.”

While students majoring, double majoring or minoring in the Department of Business Administration complain about the challenge of course registration, the department is in a tough situation. The Department is endeavoring to meet student demands, but there are circumstantial limitations. Currently, the Department of Business Administration avoids organizing large lectures to ensure communication between professors and students and to maintain the quality of education. According to the “School Course Establishment Guidelines,” a maximum of 40 students for each theoretical course is in principle but the course capacity has grown to 50 students. A department official explained, “We are adjusting the enrollment based on faculty members and classroom availability, but limited current resources prevent us from meeting student needs,”

It also mentioned that they are continuously requesting professor recruitment and lecture spaces from the Head Offices. Its official stated, “If many students are encountering issues with graduation due to difficulties in taking major foundation and required courses, we can consider offering courses during summer/winter seasonal course periods to minimize disadvantages for students if the necessity is proven through department faculty meetings. We will continue to discuss with the Head Offices and galvanize effort to find the best possible solutions and work hard to improve.”

Regarding this chronic registration problem, Yoon Min-Jong (Prof. of Education, PNU) said, “The concentration in business and economics fields is intensifying due to social structure and the job market conditions,” adding, “However, the problem itself is a structural issue at the university administrative level, so the Head Offices needs to step in to secure additional faculty members and classrooms.”

Reporter Lee Bo-Young

Translated by Thadar-Soe