The Study on the Current Status and Improvement of Liberal Arts Education for Adult Learners : Focusing on Universities Participating in the Lifelong Education at Universities for the Future Education 2.0(LiFE2.0)

This study examines the current provision of liberal arts education for adult learners at general universities participating in the LiFE 2.0 project and discusses its educational implications. Accordingly, this study analyzed liberal arts education at 27 LiFE 2.0 universities. Data were collected from October 1 to December 16, 2025, through official university websites, including pages dedicated to adult learner colleges and departments. The collected data included credit requirements, course titles, and modes of course delivery. Course titles were coded according to the Standard Model for University Liberal Arts Education developed by the Korea National Institute for General Education. Courses were categorized into Basic Literacy Education, Liberal Arts Education, and Experiential Character Education, with an additional “Other” category for courses not aligned with the model. First, liberal arts credit requirements accounted for an average of 20.2% of total graduation credits across the 27 universities. Second, a total of 337 courses were identified. Based on the classification model, 36.5% were categorized as Liberal Arts Education, 26.1% as Basic Literacy Education, 3.9% as Experiential Character Education, and 33.5% as Other (percentage based on total courses). Within the “Other” category, courses were further distributed as follows: Job Competency and Practical Skills (36.3%), University Core and Major Foundations (25.7%), Global and Humanities Literacy (14.2%), Business and Asset Management (14.2%), and Everyday Law and Health Management (9.7%) (percentages based on the total number of courses classified as Other). Third, the most common curriculum structure involved offering both required and elective liberal arts courses (55.6% of universities). The most prevalent delivery format (70.4% of universities) involved offering courses identical to those in undergraduate programs but in separate sections exclusively for adult learners. The most common credit unit was three credits, accounting for 50.7% of all identified courses. Variations were observed according to LiFE 2.0 project types, and the study proposes policy and curricular implications based on these findings.