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

Tottori College of Nursing

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tottori, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2020
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.1.2021 – March.31.2028）

Tottori College of Nursing

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Tottori College of Nursing
Overview
The Tottori College of Nursing was established in 2015 in response to strong regional
demand for the training of nursing professionals and continues to create a University
rooted in the community based on the mission of “developing individuals that contributeto the region”. By promoting community-oriented education and research activities
alongside contributions to the region such as the Neighborhood Health Center, the 1stTottori College of Nursing Mid-Term Plan has significantly advanced University
management and increased the presence of the University in the area.
The Self-Inspection and Self-Assessment Steering Committee (hereafter the“Steering Committee”) conducts checks and reviews of internal quality assurance
initiatives every six months at the individual, education and research, and committee
levels. Those results are examined by the University Council that is a part of the corporate
body, the Board of Councilors, and the Board of Trustees. The University also employsa full-time auditor and a multilayered system to audit education as well as finances.
However, the junior college’s Self-Inspection and Self-Assessment Steering Committee
conducts checks and reviews for shared departments and so the University itself does notconduct appropriate checks and reviews. Also, the items within the University that are
subject to checks and reviews are limited to those items included in the mid-term goalsand plans and are not conducted for University-wide initiatives. Additionally, the actual
situation in the University does not reflect the Checks and Review Regulations, so theUniversity must re-create the internal quality assurance system and then ensure that it
functions effectively.
Regarding education, the University creates systematic community-oriented
courses based on the University's curriculum design and implementation policy(curriculum policy) and provides characteristic education with the region as its campus
based on the mission of “developing individuals that contribute to the region.” TheUniversity introduced a tutor system and a system where a faculty member oversees anacademic year to encourage student learning and provide effective education. Other
exemplary initiatives using portfolios in each undergraduate and graduate division areused to assist students, such as tutors and supervisors using interviews and guidance basedon student portfolios to provide detailed guidance each semester.
The University also works with local municipalities to provide social
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cooperation and social contribution activities based on the mission of “developingindividuals that contribute to the region” in order to support improvements in the healthof local residents through the Town Nurses Office and the Lesson Class of “Mamennakae”
Community Health Leader. These initiatives continuously return the outcomes ofUniversity research to the community and lead to developing professionals based in theregion and student evolution through social cooperation and social contribution activities.
However, there are several issues that should be addressed. First, theundergraduate divisions have not presented their basic ideas on design andimplementation and the graduate divisions have not presented their basic ideas on
implementation in curriculum design and implementation policies. They have also notadequately clarified metrics for measuring learning outcomes indicated in their degree
award policies (diploma policies) nor clarified how the measurement methods relate todegree award policies. Unique faculty development (hereinafter “FD”) activities in
graduate divisions are inadequate and must be improved.
Initiatives that work toward “developing individuals that contribute to the region”
by cooperating with organizations like educational institutions, local municipalities,
industry-government-university collaborations, and professional nursing associations toshare research outcomes, offer education, and revitalize the region, which are all excellent
endeavors that can be expected to lead to future developments. In addition to thesecommendable actions, having students actively participate in management activities thatcan lead to them acquiring the five principles listed in the degree award policy will also
contribute to the University’s future.
Notable Strengths
Educational Program and Learning Outcomes The undergraduate and graduate divisions take measures to promote student learningand provide effective education by actively using portfolios. They also have students
establish graduation objectives when they enroll and then use those goals to reflect
back on their educational career and establish new goals every six months, and record
the results of grades and mock national examinations, all of which leads to detailed
guidance each semester through meetings with tutors. Graduate students reflect backon their educational career, establish objectives on their own, and record advice fromresearch supervisors in their portfolio to review, etc. research work. This system isvalued for how the use of portfolios permeates University life and contributes to2Tottori College of Nursing

enriching educational activities.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
To help local residents live healthy lives, the University operates a Neighborhood
Health Center, holding discussions with the local municipalities. The activities there
include health counseling, body measurements, and the university faculties' shortlectures on topics related to health. All first-year and some upper-level students
participate in these activities as an opportunity to develop communication, etc. skills
through relations with local residents. The University offers courses to develop
leaders in local health promotion, which leads to the development of human resources
who can independently develop local health promotion activities. For example,graduates of the course actually become actively involved in the operation of the“town infirmary.” These unique and ground-breaking initiatives are valued for how
they continually return the results of University research to the community, connect
to developing professionals in the region and developing students, and achieve theUniversity’s objective of “A University that Walks Hand-in-Hand with theCommunity”.

Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance
The Self-Inspection and Self -Assessment Review Regulations establishes the items
for checks and reviews, but the junior college’s Self-Inspection and Self -Assessment
Steering Committee conducts checks and reviews for the Glocal Center, theAcademic Committee, the Research Ethics Review Committee, and other shared
entities, so the University does not conduct appropriate checks and reviews based on
their own regulations. Also, the Steering Committee’s checks and review activities
based on these regulations verify the status of the PDCA cycle in the items
concerning the mid-term goals and plans, but because they do not cover Universitywide initiatives, the University must make improvements by re-creating theUniversity internal quality assurance system and then ensuring that it functions asappropriate.

Educational Program and Learning Outcomes3

Tottori College of Nursing

The School of Nursing does not adequately present the basic ideas on curriculum
design and implementation in their curriculum design and implementation policy and
the Graduate School of Nursing Science does not present the basic ideas on
curriculum implementation in their curriculum design and implementation policy,and this should be improved.

Each undergraduate and graduate division must establish an assessment policy toascertain and assess learning outcomes. While each division uses a “Survey of Skills
Desired to be Acquired by Graduation,” the assessment standards for those surveys
neither provide an understanding of whether skills have been acquired by graduation
nor measure the learning outcomes indicated in degree award policies. They also do
not adequately clarify the relationship between the learning outcomes indicated indegree award policies and the pass rate for national nursing and public health nurse
exams, employment and advancement rates, and student lifestyle surveys. While thegraduate divisions survey student satisfaction to understand the learning outcomesindicated in degree award policies, the surveys only examine student satisfaction inlearning courses and do not measure learning outcomes indicated in degree award
policies. Therefore, each undergraduate and graduate division must make
improvements by measuring learning outcomes through multilateral and appropriate
measurement methods that include reviews of assessment policies.

Faculty and Faculty Organization
The graduate divisions do not conduct graduate school-specific FD activities relating
to educational improvement, so improvements should be made to ensure that they areimplemented appropriately.

University Management and Finance
The ratio of carried over expenditures for next year to imputed income is increasing
and the ratio of the financial assets to the required reserve fund is low. Therefore, theUniversity has not established the financial base necessary for securely implementing
education and research activities. Improvements must be made to the financial
situation through specific decisions and actions aimed at achieving the numericaltargets provided in the mid-term plan.
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