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

Showa Women's 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 Showa Women’s University
Overview
Established as Japan Women’s Institute in 1920, Showa Women’s University (hereafter, theUniversity) adopted its current name and launched the Faculty of Liberal Arts in 1949.
Presently, the university for women based in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, features four
undergraduate schools (Faculties of Humanities and Culture, Global Business, Humanities andSocial Sciences, and Life and Environmental Sciences) and two graduate schools (Graduate
School of Letters and Graduate School of Life Sciences) and carries out education and research
activities in accordance with its founding spirit “Be a light to the world”, the idea of which wasinspired by “Ode to the founding of Japan Women's Institute”.
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA)
in 2010, the University has continuously performed self-study on areas requiring improvement
under the leadership of the University Directors' Committee consisting of the university
president, deans of the undergraduate and graduate schools, and other members.
In the latest review, the strong career support program featuring regular curriculum
career education, the working adults mentor program, and the collaborative project with privatecompanies and local governments designed to foster a regional learning center and to develop
students’ initiative and social skills were recognized as prominent features of the University.
A number of problems were identified in the review, namely the failure to provide
clear research instruction plans to students, the inappropriate conferral of the “course doctorate”
degree and student enrollment issues. The University is advised to continue with its
improvement activities, and JUAA looks forward to seeing further progress in the years leading
up to its centennial in 2020.
Notable Strengths
Student Support
Under the career design policy (policy on social and professional independence), theUniversity aims to develop skills and competencies through various career support
programs offered collaboratively by the Career Development Committee comprised offaculty members and the Center for Career Development staffed by non-teaching3personnel. Such programs include the working adults mentor program linked with regularcurriculum career education and Koyo Career Juku, a student-run career supportorganization. The mentor program invites women of all age groups with working
experience to sign up as mentors. Mentors and students are matched based on theirinterests and needs, and students are provided individual guidance. The University iscommended for its efforts to build strong career support programs and to instill
professional values in students.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
To deliver on its commitment to become a local learning center, the Universityimplements a collaborative project that brings together students, faculty members, privatecompanies, and local governments. Overseen by the Liaison Coordination Committee, theproject hosts many activities and events open to local citizens, for example, thedevelopment of innovative products using IPs licensed from the project’s partnercompanies, a study support initiative for international children living in Japan, and aninternational exchange support program. Students have the opportunity to present theirwork or findings at the end of the project cycle and receive academic credits for part oftheir work. To boost support for the scheme, the University established in 2016 the Showa
Liaison Center as an umbrella organization that coordinates the activities of different units
and centrally manages information gathering and administrative duties. The University iscommended for its efforts to develop students’ initiative and social skills and for carryingout these activities that fully embody its social cooperation and contribution strategies.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The University is advised to improve the way it provides research instruction plans tostudents in the Graduate School of Letters (master’s and doctoral programs) as well as thefollowing programs in the Graduate School of Life Sciences: Life Sciences and Culture(master’s), Psychology (master’s), Social Welfare (master’s), and Sciences and Culture(doctoral).

The Doctoral Programs of the Graduate School of Letters and the Graduate School of Life

4Sciences confer a “course doctorate” degree, a doctorate of the program-based graduate
school system, to former students who completed the required number of credits but
withdrew from the program after failing to earn their degree within the prescribed periodof study. Such students are awarded the degree upon submitting their dissertation despite
having lost their student status. This practice is inappropriate and should be revised. The
University is also advised to be more conscious of the purpose of the program-based
graduate school system and ensure that degrees are awarded within the appropriate
timeframe.
Enrollment
The average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over the past
five years and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap are high at 1.22
and 1.24, respectively, in the Department of Environmental Science and Design, Facultyof Life and Environmental Sciences, and the ratio of student enrollment to the student
enrollment cap is high at 1.26 in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature,
Faculty of Humanities and Culture. These ratios are too high and should be lowered.

The Department of Health Science of the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences has
set an enrollment cap for transfer students but has accepted no transfer students. Thissituation should be corrected.

The University is advised to improve the ratio of student enrollment to the student
enrollment cap in the Master’s Program of the Graduate School of Letters, which currently
stands at 0.33.

Area of Serious ConcernEnrollment
The average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over the past
five years and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap are high at 1.25
and 1.23, respectively, in the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social
Sciences, and the same ratios are high at 1.21 and 1.22, respectively, in the Department ofSocial Welfare, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. These ratios are too high and5should be lowered.