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

Bunsei University of Art

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tochigi, JapanAccreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2017
Accreditation Status: limited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2018 – March.31.2021）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Bunsei University of Art
Overview
Bunsei University of Art (hereafter, the University) was founded in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi
Prefecture, in 1999 based on its predecessor Utsunomiya Bunsei Junior College. The University
conducts education and research activities as an art university comprised of the School of Fine
Arts and the Graduate School of Arts.
In light of the findings in the previous accreditation review by Japan University
Accreditation Association (JUAA) with respect to student enrollment and financial status, theUniversity formulated a five-year management improvement plan under the Bunsei Universityof Art Improvement Plan Review Committee (the “Improvement Plan Review Committee”) in2011 and has worked toward making improvements. However, the latest accreditation review
found no evidence of improvement with respect to these issues, and self-study is alsoinsufficient, so it cannot be said that an internal quality assurance system is in place.
Specifically, with respect to student enrollment, the average of ratios of freshmanenrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over the last five years and the ratio of student
enrollment to the student enrollment cap remain low, and securing a sufficient number ofstudents in a stable manner is a pressing issue. With respect to reinforcing its student
recruitment activities, the University is conducting various activities to attract students andincrease the number of applicants mainly through the Improvement Plan Review Committee.
The University must verify the effects of those activities and continue working to improve thesituation.
Furthermore, due to the low enrollment of students, the University’s financial situation
remains difficult. The University has worked to deal with this issue by, for example,
combining the fine arts majors and reducing the number of faculty members and other staff,
but it still has not secured an adequate financial basis. The Improvement Plan Review
Committee will formulate a management improvement plan for a five-year period from 2017
in order to improve the situation, and it is necessary to consolidate the University’s financial
basis as soon as possible.
Under these circumstances, organizations such as the Self-Study Steering Committee
and the Future Planning Committee have been established as initiatives to secure education
quality, but no organization other than the Improvement Plan Review Committee isfunctioning properly, and no regular self-study has been carried out other than responses to3

external public agencies. It is essential in the future to clarify the division of roles andcoordination among the committees, implement periodic self-study, and develop a mechanism
to use the results of these activities for improvement.
Despite the major issues mentioned above, the Improvement Plan Review Committee
has been playing the central role in formulating the Improvement and Reform Road Map inaccordance with the five-year management improvement plan, which clearly sets out theprocedures to promote a realistic plan focused on management improvement. JUAA has
determined that the University should work on improvement activities consistently in linewith those procedures and rated the University as “accreditation with limitation.”
The University also conducts social contribution activities such as repairing local
shrines and temples by making the best use of its characteristics as an art university and works
actively as a university deeply rooted in the local community. It is desirable that the University
continue these activities.
With this accreditation review as an impetus, the University and its faculty members
are expected to exert every effort in the initiatives for improvement and continue to conduct
education and research activities and develop.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
The University undertakes initiatives in which the Bunsei Art and Culture Regional
Cooperation Center acts as a contact point for the execution of agreements with prefecturalgovernments, and faculty members and students continuously work on restoration andrepair projects, including ceiling paintings and other artworks in shrines and temples inNikko City. The University informs society of these initiatives by summarizing andpublicizing their results in booklets. The University also utilizes its technologies in various
art fields within the University, such as paintings, design and cartoons, and strives tocontribute to society by, for example, working with local companies and undertakingadvertisements and product package designs. It is commendable that through these
initiatives the University is able to promote community development through art andculture and return its art and cultural knowledge and technology, which are theUniversity’s assets, back to society.

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Suggestions for Improvement
Faculty and Faculty Organization

No qualification review criteria related to the screening of graduate school supervisors are
set at the Graduate School of Arts. This issue needs to be addressed.

Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

No activities are conducted at the Graduate School of Arts to improve the educational
content and methods focusing on the perspective of the graduate school’s uniqueeducation. This situation needs to be addressed.

There are no clearly written dissertation or thesis examination criteria in the Master’s
Program or Doctoral Program of the Graduate School of Arts, and the Master’s Program
has no expressly specified examination method, etc. for artwork related to awarding
degree. The University needs to address this issue by clearly stipulating the criteria in theStudent Handbook or other materials.

Enrollment
The ratio of transfer student enrollment to the transfer student enrollment cap at the Schoolof Fine Arts (the entire university) in 2017 was low at 0.20. This issue needs to beaddressed.

The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap at the Graduate School ofArts is low at 0.30 for the master’s program and 0.13 for the doctoral program. Thissituation needs to be addressed.

Education and Research EnvironmentWith respect to research ethics other than public research funding, no regulations orsystems are in place, and no training is provided to prevent misconduct. This issue needs
to be addressed.

5Administration and Finance
The Bunsei Art and Culture Regional Cooperation Center Establishment Guidelines
stipulates that the center has its secretariat in the University’s Secretariat Planning Policy
Office, but this office is not stipulated in the Utsunomiya Gakuen Office Management
Organization Regulations, which provides for matters including office managementorganization. This is one example of regulations not being reviewed in accordance withorganizational changes. This situation needs to be appropriately and promptly rectified.

Area of Serious Concern
Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomeNo research guidance plan has been formulated in the Master’s Program of the Graduate
School of Arts, and this situation must be addressed to ensure that research guidance,
dissertation or thesis drafting guidance, etc. are conducted based on a research guidance
plan.

Enrollment
At the School of Fine Arts (the entire university), the average of ratios of freshmanenrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over the last five years in 2017 is low at 0.59,
and the ratio of student enrollment to the enrollment cap is also low at 0.62. This situationmust be addressed.

Administration and Finance
The ratio of the excess expenditure carried forward to the following year (excessconsumption expenditure carried forward to the following year) to operational revenue(imputed income) has been worsening, and the ratio of financial assets to the required
reserve account has been extremely low with only cash deposits since 2012. The
improvement of the University’s financial status is a pressing issue, and the University
must work to improve the situation by periodically verifying the feasibility of themanagement improvement plan formulated in 2017 and establishing a solid financial basis

6as soon as possible.
Internal Quality Assurance
Although regulations stipulate that the Self-Study Steering Committee conducts review, inreality no self-study of the University’s activities is being conducted, except when theImprovement Plan Review Committee prepares management improvement plans forexternal submission. The University must promptly address this issue by reviewing itsregulations, regularly conducting appropriate self-study of the overall activities of theUniversity, and developing a system to use the results of the inspections and evaluations
for improvements so that the internal quality assurance system is fully functioning.