University Accreditation Results(Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for university)

Kanazawa Institute of Technology

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PrivateLocation: Kanazawa, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2015
Accreditation Status: Accredited（Accreditation Period: April.01.2016 – March.31.2023）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Kanazawa Institute of Technology
Overview
Kanazawa Institute of Technology (hereafter, the Institute), whose predecessor wasHokuriku Radio Wave School (founded in 1957), was established as a college with asingle Faculty of Engineering in 1965. After a series of additions and reforms to thefaculties and graduate schools, the Institute currently has four faculties (College ofEngineering, College of Information and Human Communication, College ofEnvironmental Engineering and Architecture, and College of Bioscience andChemistry) as well as two graduate schools (Engineering, and Psychology). Aside fromits Ohgigaoka Campus in Nonoichi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, the Institute operates theYatsukaho Campus in Hakusan City Ishikawa Prefecture as well as the Tokyo
Toranomon Campus in Minato Ward, Tokyo. The Institute is carrying out education andresearch activities based on its founding mission of “Fostering Ideal Character,”“Profound Technological Innovation,” and “a Large-Scale Industry-AcademicCooperation.”
The faculty and staff have worked together to cultivate persons of talent, and,in accordance with the contemporary requirements, have made efforts to achieve the“Visions for the Academy,” which are “to be the best educational value in Japan,” “therealization of education and research through cooperation and co-creation,” and “thedevelopment of a self-study system.” In 2012, the Institute underwent an accreditation
review by Japan Institution for Higher Education Evaluation (JIHEE).
Notable features of the Institute include its implementation of Project DesignEducation, which focuses on group activities for the purpose of supporting students’
independent learning inside and outside of the curriculum, as well as the building of theLibrary Center and a study room that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the“YUMEKOBO (Factory for Dreams and Ideas) Campus.” Also, the Institute has activelyengaged in improving its quality by conducting appropriate self-study, receiving
accreditations from external institutions, and joining external organizations. However,the Institute still has several issues to address. It is expected that the Institute will
improve issues in enrollment management, admissions, and the education systems in thegraduate schools.
Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

Given the Institute’s missions and purposes, it is commendable that the Institute hassystematically placed Project Design Education classes in each faculty’s curriculum
for first-year through fourth-year students so that they can experience active
learning in a group environment. By providing group activities wherein students
discover and resolve society-based problems in cooperation with the community,
these classes have helped develop not only practical skills in presentation andcommunication, but also students’ ability to act independently.

It is commendable that the Institute has helped students learn actively andsystematically by requiring them to prepare detailed Learning Support Planning
Reports on each subject in all the faculties. This facilitates students’ learning by
making them aware of the “CLIP Learning Process,” wherein students gain
knowledge and skills, think from a variety of viewpoints, and create presentations
about, and express what they have learned. Students also receive comprehensive
feedback, indicating assignment for reviews and previews and the estimated time to3complete them, and specifying the “action purposes students should achieve” and“concrete standards for achievements,” which are specified according to levels.
It is commendable that the Institute offers students the chance to express the resultsof their learning to these companies through Stakeholder Exchange Events, inwhich both undergraduate and graduate students have direct access torepresentatives of local companies. Due to yearly increases in the number ofparticipating companies, these events have allowed students to receive real-world
evaluations of their opinions and research.

Student Support

It is commendable that by establishing the Student Leadership Award System as aspecial scholarship system to foster “engineers who think and act independently”(one of the Institute’s stated purposes), the Institute has offered fruitful economic
support to students selected in the entrance examinations as being likely to becomeleaders. Given the Institute’s missions and purposes, the Institute instructs
scholarship students to develop their skills by setting mandatory project activities
while they are in school, which encourages them to work in a proactive manner
toward their goals.

In addition to offering special guidance for students who failed to earn credit andrepeats the same class by assigning faculty members as learning advisers in eachclass of each grade, it is commendable that the Institute has conducted individualinterviews with students who have learning difficulties, and has built a system toshare the contents of the interviews with the faculty and staff in the Learning
Record Information System. The Institute has also made use of the system for earlylearning instruction for students with low attendance rates.

Education and Research Environment
It is commendable that the Institute has built an environment to support students’
independent activities, and has made use of the environment to foster students’ fieldawareness from the perspective of safety. For example, the Institute has establishedthe YUMEKOBO Campus, which consists of a study room that is available 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year; the Library Center; the YUMEKOBO, a lounge and open
space in each lecture building; and other facilities to support its educational
curriculum focusing on group activities. Aside from the study room, where students
are encouraged to do group activities, the YUMEKOBO, offers professional andtechnical engineers from a wide range of fields that are present at all times to advise
students, as well as a trained student staff to oversee its management.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is commendable that the Institute has made efforts to increase students’
understanding of community issues. For example, in the Community-Oriented
Education and Research Project, the Institute, in cooperation with Nonoichi Cityand Kanazawa City, has introduced community-oriented learning content related toclass projects and also it is commendable that the Institute has cultivated students’comprehensive skills by offering chances to tackle grounded issues in thecommunity through interactions with innovators outside the campus.

It is commendable that the Institute participates in the “CDIO Initiative,” and, in
accordance with that initiative’s mission, has developed an international social

4innovation project, Learning Express, to foster internationally successful engineers.
In particular, the Institute has conducted fieldwork with students from Singapore,
Vietnam, and Indonesia. Students of the Institute learn about community
development and environmental issues and work out strategies to resolve them.
Internal Quality AssuranceIt is commendable that the Institute has built a functional institution-wide system
for internal quality assurance by reviewing the results of self-studies in the KIT(Kanazawa Institute of Technology) Evaluation Improvement Committee and using
the reviews to formulate a list of improvements and implementation policies foraction in the next academic year. Under the initiative of the KIT Evaluation
Improvement Committee, seven subordinate committees have been formed, andeach subordinate committee conducts reviews in its assigned field. Furthermore, theCommittee for Self-Study in Education has worked to examine and review
improvements in education and faculty development training in each course,
department, and graduate school, and has made efforts to share such information
across the Institute. It is also commendable that the Institute has actively worked forfurther improvements in its quality through receiving accreditation from external
institutions and joining external organizations.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomeWhile the policy on degree award and the curriculum design policy forundergraduate programs are indicated comprehensively, there are not any policieswhich reflect the specific features of each college and department. Each college anddepartment should develop its own policies. The master’s and doctoral programs in
the Graduate School of Engineering do not have separate policies on degree award orcurriculum design policies. This should be improved.

The curriculum of the doctoral program in the Graduate School of Engineering does
not appropriately combine research work and course work. Considering the purposeof a credit-based degree granting system, the doctoral program should offer
appropriate educational content.

In the Graduate School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Psychology,
criteria for examining degree seeking theses have not been clearly stated for students.
This should be improved.

In the doctoral program in the Graduate School of Engineering, some students
complete all the requirements except the dissertation, and leave the university before
completing their dissertation requirement within the time limit set by the Institute.
Later, when these students submit their dissertations, even though they do not havethe enrollment status, they are granted doctoral degrees in the same manner as thosestudents continuously enrolled. This is an inappropriate use of the system that should
be corrected. In accordance with the purpose of having doctoral program, theInstitute should create measure to enhance the degree completion within the required
time frame.

Enrollment
The admission policy does not reflect the features of each college and department

5and college despite there is a policy for undergraduate program comprehensively.
Each college and department should develop its own policy. In the Graduate Schoolof Engineering, the master’s and doctoral programs do not have separate admission
policies. This should be improved.
The ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.19 in theGraduate School of Engineering. This number should be improved.

Area of Serious ConcernEnrollment
The average of the ratios of the last five years of enrolled freshmen to the freshman
admission cap is high at 1.27 in the Department of Robotics, 1.25 in the Department
of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 1.25 in the Department of Electronics,
Information and Communication Engineering, 1.23 in the Department of MediaInformatics in the College of Engineering, 1.22 in the entire College of Engineering,
1.28 in the Department of Media Informatics in the College of Informatics andHuman Communication, and 1.30 in the Department of Applied Bioscience in theCollege of Bioscience and Chemistry. Also, the ratio of enrolled students to thestudent enrollment cap is high at 1.23 in the Department of Robotics, 1.21 in theDepartment of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 1.20 in the Department ofElectronics, Information, and Communication Engineering in the College ofEngineering, and 1.25 in the Department of Media Informatics in the College ofInformatics and Human Communication. These numbers must be improved.