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

Nihon University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2017
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2018 – March.31.2025）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Nihon University
Overview
Nihon Law School was founded in 1889 and renamed Nihon University (hereafter, theUniversity) in 1903. Through establishment and reorganization of its colleges andgraduate schools, the University has evolved into a large-scale university currently
comprised of sixteen colleges in the First Division (Law, Humanities and Sciences,Economics, Commerce, Art, International Relations, Risk Management, Sports
Sciences, Science and Technology, Industrial Technology, Engineering, Medicine,Dentistry, Dentistry at Matsudo College, Bioresource Sciences, and Pharmacy), onecollege in the Second Division (Law), twenty graduate schools (Law, Journalism andMedia, Literature and Social Sciences, Integrated Basic Sciences, Economics, Business
Administration, Art, International Relations, Science and Technology, Industrial
Technology, Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry, Dentistry at Matsudo, Bioresource
Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Social and Cultural Studies (distancelearning), Law School, and Intellectual Property), and four colleges for distancelearning programs (Law, Humanities and Sciences, Economics, and Commerce). With
its head office located in Chiyoda-ward, Tokyo, the University operates a total oftwenty campuses in Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture; Tokorozawa in Saitama
Prefecture; Funabashi, Matsudo, and Narashino in Chiba Prefecture; Chiyoda,Setagaya, Itabashi, and Nerima Wards in Tokyo; Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture; andMishima in Shizuoka Prefecture.
In FY2007, the University introduced “self-independence and creativity”
stated in the purpose of its school code and mission as its new educational philosophy,
striving to realize integrated collaborative education from its affiliated kindergartens tograduate schools established by the same corporate entity based on this educational
philosophy. In addition, the University specified its vision for human resource
development by adopting the three aims of cultivating “the capacity to understand andcommunicate the national characteristics of Japan,” “the ability to accept diverse
values and recognize one’s own position and role,” and “a spirit of contributing tosociety” as the “Nihon University Mind.”
Following the Japan University Accreditation Association’s (JUAA) FY2010
University Accreditation (Certified Evaluation and Accreditation), the University has

3formulated an improvement plan based on JUAA’s remarks and carried out
improvements initiated primarily by the University Evaluation Committee formed
under the University-wide Self-Study Committee and by the Self-Study Committee setup in the head office and each college and graduate school.
This latest University Accreditation indicates that the College of Industrial
Technology has adopted distinctive educational programs in its curriculum to enhancestudents’ interests in social engagement and learning motivation through the “Global
Human Resource Development Program” (Glo-BE) for first- and second-year students
and the compulsory “Internship” for third-year students; these programs are designed
to deepen students’ understanding of the future direction of studies and the importanceof work. On the other hand, the Graduate School of Business Administration’s
Doctoral Program in Commerce lacks the appropriate number of research supervisors
required in the Standards for Establishment of Professional Graduate Schools. Thissituation needs to be corrected immediately. In addition, in terms of quota management,
many colleges and graduate schools either exceed or fall short of their admission
capacity. This situation should also be improved. Moreover, regarding educational
programs, the colleges’ initiatives in syllabuses and credit validity are insufficient,while the graduate schools have not implemented faculty development (FD) activities.
These issues should be addressed to ensure the quality of education the Universityprovides.
Despite the above-mentioned issues, considering the need to transform its
single college-based education into education involving all of the University’s colleges,
the president took the initiative in formulating the “University-wide Basic Policy on
Teaching and Learning” in FY2015. The University has initiated comprehensive
governance reforms throughout all campuses, for example, reviewing its diploma,
curriculum, and admission policies, and establishing a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act)
cycle. These initiatives are expected to produce positive outcomes in the coming years.
Nihon University Law School and the Graduate School of Intellectual
Property received JUAA’s Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Professional
Graduate Business Schools in FY2013 and FY2014, respectively. Based on theprogress of improvements since then, JUAA evaluated both schools from theviewpoints of University Accreditation (Institutional Certified Evaluation andAccreditation).

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Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome
The College of Industrial Technology has introduced the “Global Human Resource
Development Program” (Glo-BE) for first- and second-year students with the aimof developing thinking skills with a comprehensive perspective and acquiring
basic knowledge that can be applied to any engineering field in the future. It iscommendable that this program provides e-learning and small-group English
conversation lessons as well as visits to global companies for interviews andstudents’ group work, with many participants realizing their own growth,enhancing not only their practical English conversation skills but also theirinterests in social engagement and motivation to study.

The College of Industrial Technology’s “Internship,” a compulsory subject for
third-year students as a career design education course, requires students to internat companies, offering them the opportunity to learn firsthand how knowledge
acquired during their first and second years can be utilized in society throughactual work. It is commendable that this training course helps the students deepen
their understanding of the future direction of studies and the importance of work,in addition to contributing to low turnover rates within the first three years aftergraduation.

Suggestions for Improvement
Faculty and Faculty Organization
The qualification standards for graduate school faculty members are not defined in
the Graduate Schools of Science and Technology, Medicine, Bioresource Sciences,and Veterinary Medicine. This situation should be improved.

Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The intended learning outcomes after completing the programs are not specified inthe diploma policies of the Master’s and Doctoral Programs of the Graduate

5Schools of Law, Business Administration, Science and Technology, andEngineering, Graduate School of Dentistry, and Graduate School of Dentistry atMatsudo. This situation should be improved. In addition, the diploma policy is notspecified for each program in the Graduate Schools of Integrated Basic Sciences
and Industrial Technology. This situation should also be improved.
The basic approaches to educational content and methods are not specified in thecurriculum policies of the College of Law (regular and distance learning courses);
College of Humanities and Sciences (regular course), Departments of Sociologyand Physical Education; College of Commerce (regular and distance learningcourses); College of Art; School of Dentistry; Master’s and Doctoral Programs ofthe Graduate School of Art; Master’s and Doctoral Programs of the Graduate
School of Science and Technology; Graduate School of Medicine; Graduate
School of Dentistry; Graduate School of Dentistry at Matsudo; and Graduate
School of Pharmacy. This situation should be improved. In addition, thecurriculum policy is not specified for each program in the Graduate Schools ofLiterature and Social Sciences, German Literature, Integrated Basic Sciences,Economics, and Industrial Technology. This situation should also be improved.

The doctoral program curriculums in the Graduate Schools of Law, Literature andSocial Sciences, Integrated Basic Sciences, Economics, Business Administration,
Science and Technology, Industrial Technology, and Engineering do not properly
combine research work with coursework. The educational content appropriate forthese doctoral programs should be provided in accordance with the objectives ofthe Program-Based Graduate School System.

The distance learning course syllabuses in the Colleges of Law, Humanities andSciences, Economics, and Commerce do not state annual lesson plans and gradingstandards. This situation should be improved. In addition, the syllabuses of theGraduate Schools of Integrated Basic Sciences and Science and Technology do notprovide lesson plans for the “Advanced Research and Colloquiums” and“Advanced Research,” while the some syllabuses of the Graduate School of Art
lacks adequate descriptions in the content of lesson and teaching plans for“Advanced Courses” and “Special Research.” These situations should also beimproved.

6The standards for the maximum number of credits students can register for isestablished according to grades in the Colleges of Science and Technology(excluding the Department of Architecture) and Engineering; the College ofScience and Technology (excluding the Department of Architecture) allows ahalf-semester maximum of 30 credits for students with a GPA of 1.5 or higher inthe previous semester, while the College of Engineering accepts up to 60 credits ina year for students with a GPA of 2 or higher in the previous school year. However,these standards actually apply to most students. This situation should be improvedin light of the purpose of the credit system. In addition, the College of Industrial
Technology caps the number of credits at 48, but teacher training courses andcompulsory subjects meeting graduation credit requirements are exempt from thecredit cap for second- to fourth-year students. This situation should also beimproved in light of the purpose of the credit system.

The research guidance plans are not explicitly stated for students in the Master’s
Program of the Graduate School of Bioresource Sciences (excluding NaturalEnvironment Studies). This situation should be improved.

Systematic training and studies aimed at improving educational content andmethods are not conducted in the Graduate Schools of Literature and SocialSciences, Integrated Basic Sciences, Business Administration, Art, Science andTechnology, Dentistry, Bioresource Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine. Thissituation should be improved.

The dissertation screening standards are not defined for the Master’s Program ofthe Graduate School of Art, Doctoral Program of the Graduate School ofInternational Relations, Graduate School of Medicine, Graduate School ofDentistry, Master’s Program of the Graduate School of Bioresource Sciences, andGraduate School of Pharmacy, while the dissertation screening standards are notestablished for each program in the Graduate Schools of Law, Literature andSocial Sciences, Integrated Basic Sciences, Business Administration, andEngineering. These situations should be improved by specifying the standards inthe Graduate School Guidebook and other guidance materials. In addition, thedissertation screening standards in the Doctoral Program of the Graduate School of7

Journalism and Media, Doctoral Program of the Graduate School of Bioresource
Sciences, and Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine are inadequate for
examining whether dissertations meet the standards required for academic degrees.
This situation should be improved.
Enrollment
The admission policy is not defined for each program in the Graduate Schools ofIntegrated Basic Sciences, International Relations, Industrial Technology,Engineering, and Bioresource Sciences. This situation should be improved.

For the colleges, the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap ishigh at 1.25 and 1.2, respectively, in the Departments of Education and Psychology,
College of Humanities and Sciences; 1.26 in the Department of Broadcasting,College of Art; 1.26 in the Department of Architecture, College of Science andTechnology; 1.25 in the Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering;and 1.06 in the Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry. These ratios shouldbe improved. In addition, the average of ratios of freshman enrollment to thefreshman enrollment cap in the past five years and the ratio of student enrollment
to the student enrollment cap are low at 0.64 and 0.48, respectively, in theDepartment of Law, College of Law (Second Division), and high at 1.07 and 1.12,
respectively, in the Department of Dentistry, School of Dentistry at Matsudo.
These ratios should also be improved.

For the graduate schools, the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment
cap is low at 0.27 in the Master’s Program of the Graduate School of Law; 0.4 in
the Master’s Program of the Graduate School of Literature and Social Sciences;0.28 and 0.15, respectively, in the Master’s and Doctoral Programs of the Graduate
School of Business Administration; 0.2 in the Doctoral Program of the Graduate
School of Science and Technology; 0.22 in the Doctoral Program of the Graduate
School of Engineering; and 0.24 in the Doctoral Program of the Graduate Schoolof Bioresource Sciences. These ratios should be improved.

8Education and Research Environment
The libraries on Sangenjaya Campus and in the Colleges of Industrial Technologyand Engineering are not staffed by full-time qualified librarians. This situation
should be improved

Areas of Serious Concern
Faculty and Faculty Organization

As of May 1, 2017, the Graduate School of Business Administration (doctoralprogram) is short two research supervisors (including one professor) to meet theStandards for Establishment of Professional Graduate Schools. This situation
should be corrected.

Enrollment
The average of ratios of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap in
the past five years and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap
are high at 1.03 and 1.05, respectively, in the Department of Medicine, School ofMedicine. These ratios should be lowered. In addition, the ratio of student
enrollment to the student enrollment cap is high at 1.3 and 1.31, respectively, inthe Department of Law, College of Law (First Division) and the Department of
Physical Education, College of Humanities and Sciences. These ratios should also
be lowered.