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

Aomori Public University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PublicLocation: Aomori, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2018
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2019 – March.31.2026）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Aomori Public University
Overview
Aomori Public University (hereafter, the University) was established with the threeeducational principles of “assuming responsibility for education to assure its quality forsociety,” “devoting itself to undergraduate education rather than faculty education,” and“contributing to local community development as a university open to society.” To theseends, it strives as a public university to cultivate graduates with expertise in businessadministration and economics and return its educational outcomes to the local community.
It also focuses on the basic educational policies of “avoiding excessive teaching,”“consistently teaching what should be learned,” and “developing creativity throughintellectual training that encourages students to constantly ask ‘why’ and think
independently.” The University’s second medium-term goals and plans adopted sincefiscal 2015 set the targets of verifying and reorganizing its educational programs,
promoting pioneering research on problem solving in partnership with the city of Aomori,and providing qualified human resources to the local community, with educational andresearch activities initiated by the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics andthe graduate school based on these themes.
The University attaches particular importance to community contribution andcooperation, with the Career Center playing a central role in career support activities
involving faculty members by, for example, planning and organizing bus tours to regional
companies and public institutions. It is highly commendable that these efforts have led toa high percentage of students being employed in local areas and the neighboring Tohoku
and Hokkaido regions. The University also undertakes initiatives befitting a universitythat contributes to the local community, with students conducting surveys andparticipating in event planning and management under partnership agreements withprefectural municipalities to help solve problems and promote regional development.
In addition, the University introduces various educational programs for regional
studies and has strived since its establishment to maintain its educational quality by, forexample, using a grade point average (GPA) for graduation requirements. Apart fromthese efforts, however, there are several issues the University needs to address. The
University needs to work toward improving its curriculum design and implementation
policy and monitoring and evaluating learning outcomes from multifaceted perspectives.
Challenges for the graduate school include insufficient quota fulfillment and the lack of3fundamental approaches to enhance the quality of its faculty members.
As for internal quality assurance, the Academic Affairs Meeting, the StudentAffairs Meeting, and the upper-tier School Administrative Meeting conduct inspections
and evaluations. These meeting bodies are under the control of the Directors’ Meeting,which is responsible for carrying out the final analysis and making improvements basedon the inspection and evaluation results. The Directors’ Meeting implements
improvement initiatives after hearing opinions from the Educational Research Advisory
Council, the Faculty Council, and other groups. The Strategic Meeting was also formed
as an institution that monitors and examines key items with cross-sectional approaches.
When dealing with items related to contact and arrangements with corporations overbudgetary measures and other issues, the Strategic Meeting deliberates on improvements,
with decisions made by the Board of Trustees through the Management Advisory Council
based on their deliberations. However, the development of a mechanism to verify theeffectiveness of this system and the University’s fundamental policies regarding internal
quality assurance are not explicitly stated, and the policies and procedures should beclarified to develop a more effective system.
The University has undertaken the training of experts in business administrationand economics, and committed itself to producing qualified graduates, thereby enhancing
its significance as a university that contributes to regional development. In the comingyears, the University is expected to further advance its educational and research activities,
assure its educational quality to enhance students’ learning outcomes, and fulfill its
accountability as a higher education institution dedicated to regional contribution.
Notable Strengths
Student Support
 The Career Center plays a central role in introducing various career support activities
with faculty members actively involved in visiting companies and communicatingclosely with representatives of recruiting service companies, and organizing andexpanding bus tours for students to local companies, public institutions, and otherorganizations. The University also actively offers career support, including publishingthe “Job Hunting Handbook,” providing job search guidance, and sharing information
with parents or guardians. It is commendable that these efforts have helped improvethe employment rates and maintain a high percentage of students employed in local
areas and the neighboring Tohoku and Hokkaido regions in recent years, thereby4

contributing to local communities and attaining the outcomes connected to theUniversity’s mission.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
 The University has built partnerships with local municipalities through its continuoussocial contribution and field research activities conducted by students from theDepartment of the Regional Frontier. In the village of Sai, for example, the University
has equipped each household with communication network terminals to disseminate
news, alerts, and announcements to residents and confirm their safety, with students
conducting hearings and door-to-door surveys to monitor equipment use. TheUniversity has received more requests for partnership agreements from othermunicipalities, and mutual partnership agreements are being implemented over thelong term. In addition, students visit partner municipalities in the prefecture to workwith local residents to host the “Marutto Yoidokoro Festival,” where communities arepromoted through specialties jointly researched and planned for sale at festival stalls.
It is commendable that this festival, currently hosted by the University, has become amajor event in Aomori City involving students connecting universities and residents.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Outcome
 The basic concepts related to curriculum design and implementation are not specified
in the curriculum design and implementation policy of the Faculty of Business
Administration and Economics, and the Master’s Program and the Doctoral Programof the Graduate School of Management and Economics. This issue should be
improved with the content of their degree award policies reflected in specific terms.
 The Faculty of Business Administration and Economics measures learning outcomesusing GPA, questionnaire surveys by graduates, and qualification examination results,
but it is difficult to describe the use of these measurements as effective in monitoring
the learning outcomes stated in the degree award policy. This issue should beimproved.

5Student Enrollment
 The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.38 in theMaster’s Program of the Graduate School of Management and Economics. This ratio
should be improved with the graduate school’s student quota thoroughly managed.
Faculty and Faculty Organization
 Faculty development (FD) as the graduate school’s primary function is not conducted.
This issue should be improved so that FD can be implemented appropriately.