2021 has certainly been challenging. Many of us began the year believing it would bring the end of the pandemic. Instead, we continue to live with loss and uncertainty. It’s important for us all, I believe, to acknowledge the stress nearly two years of pandemic conditions have caused.
And yet when I look back at 2021, I remain proud and encouraged by all that our students, faculty, and staff have accomplished at Mason Korea this year, despite the challenges of COVID-19.
- We had a record number of new students joining us over the year—216—and a record 142 study abroad students from Mason’s Fairfax campus.
- We added a new major in Computational and Data Sciences which will complement our offerings in social science and business, and which after just one year has already nearly reached its expected annual enrollment.
- Our students continued to find post-graduation success, with a one-year employment rate of 80%, around 15 points higher than the Korea national average.
- Our faculty looked for new possibilities that the online mode could enable, including an innovative course in global studies conducted through synchronous video between a class here at Mason Korea and another section of the same class taught on the Fairfax Campus.
- Our advisors increased advising sessions by over 25%, to 1,159 over the year, and a newly created student care position provided additional support to help students navigate the challenges of our pandemic environment, and of university life more generally.
- Also to support students, we added $120,000 in student scholarships from Mason Korea’s own funds, and raised an additional $25,000 in philanthropic funds to support need-based travel scholarships.
Add in awards, conferences, service to the community, research, internships, new partnerships, and more. Our building was too empty, but the year remained full!
As we close out this year, I want again to thank everyone—faculty, staff, students, friends and supporters in government, industry, and the community, donors, alumni, and advisory board members—who helped Mason Korea fulfill its mission of educating students for our globalized world.
We plan to be back in-person for the Spring 2022 session and can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.