The Future of Education

The purpose of this study is to identify the success factors of the Catholic Metaversity*(a virtual university based on a digital platform) established by 12 catholic universities in South Korea and operated for two years. There are three success factors. First, the needs of students in the online generation were accurately identified to improve their participation and satisfaction with the curriculum. Following a 15-month preparation period starting in 2021, the Catholic Metaversity was developed, and its first semester began in February 2023. During the 2023-2024 academic year, 64 faculty members offered 181 courses, which were attended by 16,932 students. The student satisfaction score was 92.3 points. Second, the efficiency and convenience of curriculum operation were secured. When each university opens their strength courses in the Catholic Metaversity, other participating universities evaluate these courses based on their own needs and identify them as part of their curriculum. Beginning with the liberal arts curriculum, the scope was expanded to include major courses, along with extra-curricular programs. Students can freely enroll in courses on the Catholic Metaversity just as they would register for courses at their own university. Third, it contributed to securing the financial soundness of participating universities through the optimization of courses. Each university optimized the number of courses in a way that maximized the use of the Catholic Metaversity courses, thereby enabling financial savings. As follow-up research, we plan to expand the initiative into a global Catholic Metaversity by including overseas universities and to develop an AI-driven digital platform offering hyper-personalized curricula.  *Metaversity: A compound word of Metaverse and University