Data Governance, Student Rights, and Inclusive Digital Universities: A ComparativeLegal-Institutional Analysis of Higher Education Reform in France and South Korea

Abstract

The expansion of data-intensive higher education has transformed universities into legally regulated digital
institutions where student information, algorithmic systems, platform governance, and institutional
accountability increasingly shape educational opportunity and economic development. This article
comparatively examines France and South Korea to analyze how data governance frameworks regulate digital
higher education and influence student rights, institutional trust, and inclusive human capital development.
France represents a rights-based European governance model shaped by the General Data Protection
Regulation, republican equality, public accountability, and institutional autonomy. South Korea represents a
developmental digital governance model shaped by national innovation strategy, strong state coordination,
high digital infrastructure, and workforce modernization. Using comparative institutional analysis and sociolegal governance theory, the study argues that digital university governance depends on the interaction
between legal safeguards, institutional coordination, technological capacity, and equity-oriented public
policy. The findings show that France provides stronger formal protections for data rights and educational
equality but faces bureaucratic fragmentation and uneven institutional innovation. South Korea demonstrates
stronger implementation capacity and rapid digital transformation but faces governance risks related to
surveillance, platform dependence, and limited participatory accountability. The article contributes to law,
education, governance, and development scholarship by showing that student data governance is a core
mechanism linking educational legitimacy with digital economic resilience.