Following a series of recent sexual harassment cases, the students at Seoul National University will now be required to take courses on sexual violence prevention along with cardiopulmonary resuscitation as part of new graduation requirements, the school said Monday.

The rule will take effect after reviews of departments and a deliberation by the education operation committee scheduled for Wednesday, starting with this year’s freshmen.

The decision comes after a string of incidents that have dented the standing of the country’s most prestigious higher educational institution.

Last year, some renowned professors at the mathematical sciences department, dentistry and business schools were sacked after being found to have molested female students for years. Early this year, a teaching assistant at the education college was expelled for having clandestinely taken pictures of female students’ bodies.

Since last year, the school has been running classes on human rights and gender equality but they have not gained much traction, mainly because they are not mandatory, according to Kim Jeong-han, dean of the Office of Student Affairs.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)