Student groups protest National Intercollegiate Athletic Games volunteer work tied to graduation, NCU: No mandatory participation
Student organizations at National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan are protesting the university's decision to link National Intercollegiate Athletic Games (NIAG) volunteer work to their service-learning graduation requirement. While NCU states participation is not mandatory and alternatives exist, students also highlight a personal data breach, which the university has acknowledged and committed to fixing.
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(Central News Agency reporter Hsu Chih-wei, Taipei, 5th) The 115th National Intercollegiate Athletic Games are hosted by National Central University (NCU). Today, the NCU Student Association and the Taiwan Student Union stated that they are protesting the university's decision to mandate participation in NIAG volunteer service as part of the "service-learning" graduation requirement. The university responded that it has clearly stipulated diverse alternative options and there is no mandatory participation.
The National Central University Student Association and the Taiwan Student Union issued a press release today, pointing out that according to statistics from the NCU Student Association, at least 8 departments and over 400 first-year students are required to serve as full-time volunteers for the NIAG this year. If they fail to participate or have insufficient hours, they will face the consequence of "failing service-learning," meaning students might not be able to meet the graduation threshold.
Xiao Shan-yu, president of the NCU Student Association, stated that service-learning should be voluntary and must involve actual instruction. The university's practice, lacking substantial instructional content and being tied to graduation requirements, runs counter to the Ministry of Education's guidelines. The university is using its degree-granting authority to shift the volunteer labor shortage needed for the NIAG onto first-year students, which is not service-learning but outright forced labor.
Huang Liang-teng, chairman of the Taiwan Student Union's Student Rights Committee, added that according to the Ministry of Education's 2024 official letter, if labor education and service-learning are non-curricular school activities, students should not be forced to participate or have it set as a graduation requirement. If it is course-based, teachers must be present to provide instruction, and except for special cases approved through due process, it should not be held on holidays or during winter/summer breaks. However, the NIAG service is not a course, and no teachers are present for instruction, violating the Ministry of Education's directives on labor education and service-learning.
Furthermore, the NCU Student Association stated that the university failed to properly protect student volunteer personal data, publicly placing personal information including students' "full names, mobile phone numbers, and email addresses" on the NIAG official website without encryption. They called on the university to immediately remove the data, inform affected students, and propose a concrete compensation plan.
National Central University issued a statement indicating that incorporating the NIAG into service-learning courses this semester is based on overall educational planning, aiming to enable students to participate in service practice for large sports events, engage in public affairs operations, cultivate teamwork skills, and accumulate interdisciplinary learning experience. From the initial design of the course, diverse "alternative options" were clearly stipulated, allowing students to choose other service methods to complete the course according to their personal wishes, thus having no mandatory participation.
Regarding concerns about personal data protection arising from the volunteer schedule, National Central University responded that it has immediately removed the relevant data and completed a comprehensive review of internal processes. Moving forward, they will adopt de-identification processing and tiered access control mechanisms to strictly manage data access, ensuring the necessity of information use and personal data protection principles. The university expressed sincere apologies for the concerns and unease caused by this incident and pledged to continuously improve its system design in the future. (Editor: Lee Heng-shan) 1150505
The National Central University Student Association and the Taiwan Student Union issued a press release today, pointing out that according to statistics from the NCU Student Association, at least 8 departments and over 400 first-year students are required to serve as full-time volunteers for the NIAG this year. If they fail to participate or have insufficient hours, they will face the consequence of "failing service-learning," meaning students might not be able to meet the graduation threshold.
Xiao Shan-yu, president of the NCU Student Association, stated that service-learning should be voluntary and must involve actual instruction. The university's practice, lacking substantial instructional content and being tied to graduation requirements, runs counter to the Ministry of Education's guidelines. The university is using its degree-granting authority to shift the volunteer labor shortage needed for the NIAG onto first-year students, which is not service-learning but outright forced labor.
Huang Liang-teng, chairman of the Taiwan Student Union's Student Rights Committee, added that according to the Ministry of Education's 2024 official letter, if labor education and service-learning are non-curricular school activities, students should not be forced to participate or have it set as a graduation requirement. If it is course-based, teachers must be present to provide instruction, and except for special cases approved through due process, it should not be held on holidays or during winter/summer breaks. However, the NIAG service is not a course, and no teachers are present for instruction, violating the Ministry of Education's directives on labor education and service-learning.
Furthermore, the NCU Student Association stated that the university failed to properly protect student volunteer personal data, publicly placing personal information including students' "full names, mobile phone numbers, and email addresses" on the NIAG official website without encryption. They called on the university to immediately remove the data, inform affected students, and propose a concrete compensation plan.
National Central University issued a statement indicating that incorporating the NIAG into service-learning courses this semester is based on overall educational planning, aiming to enable students to participate in service practice for large sports events, engage in public affairs operations, cultivate teamwork skills, and accumulate interdisciplinary learning experience. From the initial design of the course, diverse "alternative options" were clearly stipulated, allowing students to choose other service methods to complete the course according to their personal wishes, thus having no mandatory participation.
Regarding concerns about personal data protection arising from the volunteer schedule, National Central University responded that it has immediately removed the relevant data and completed a comprehensive review of internal processes. Moving forward, they will adopt de-identification processing and tiered access control mechanisms to strictly manage data access, ensuring the necessity of information use and personal data protection principles. The university expressed sincere apologies for the concerns and unease caused by this incident and pledged to continuously improve its system design in the future. (Editor: Lee Heng-shan) 1150505