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

Aichi Medical University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Aichi, Japan

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

Aichi Medical University

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Aichi Medical University

Overview
The mission of Aichi Medical University, which also forms its founding principles, is “totrain well-rounded clinicians who possess medical expertise and skills for the new era,
especially doctors who can serve the local community in response to the demands of thetimes, and to train medical instructors who can further develop and improve medical care”.
This founding principle is also summed up in the school motto, “Gugan-Kokyu(discernment and deliberation)” A medium-term plan has been drawn up in order to fulfil
these founding principles and objectives, and it can be said that the University is working
to enhance its educational and research activities.
With respect to internal quality assurance, in addition to the fact that policies
have not been sufficiently developed, issues can be seen in the development of andfunctioning of systems, such as the lack of clarity in the division of roles between theCouncil for University Administration and the Check and Review Committee, theorganizations that conduct internal quality assurance, and the lack of sufficientmanagement and support at the respective faculties and graduate schools. Since eachfaculty, graduate school, and university-affiliated facility operates an improvement cycle,
it is hoped that a university-wide improvement cycle will be established and appropriatelyinterlinked to further enhance education.
Regarding education, all faculties and graduate schools have organized theircurricula appropriately in accordance with the degree award policy (diploma policy) andcurriculum design and implementation policy (curriculum policy). The School ofMedicine and the College of Nursing have introduced a course numbering system so thatstudents can take courses in a systematic and sequential manner. In addition, theUniversity has established Medical Education Center to improve medical education andfacilitate medical education activities, while outstanding efforts have been made toactively incorporate students’ opinions when making improvements to the curriculum.
In terms of social cooperation and contribution, it is highly commendable that
the University has established strong and multilayered relationships with local
governments and high schools, such as by developing cohort studies and health promotion
activities for local residents and providing training in disaster medical coordination.
Conversely, some issues can also be identified, such as the number of students
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enrolled in the School of Medicine exceeding capacity, and insufficient faculty
development (referred to below as “FD”) activities to improve the quality of faculty
members in the Graduate School of Nursing.
Going forward, we hope that the University will solve these issues throughinternal quality assurance efforts and make further progress by further developing
distinctive university-specific initiatives.
Notable Strengths
Student Enrollment
 The University is striving to take in a diverse range of students, and in AY 2019, it
became the first private medical university in Japan to admit one student through theInternational Baccalaureate Examination, which was introduced in the School ofMedicine in AY 2017. The enrollment of internationally-minded students has served
as inspiration for others, and this is a commendable development in light of thevarious benefits it is expected to bring.
Education and Research Environment
 In AY 2016, the University formalized a “University Research Unit Creation Support
Program” to support researchers from different departments in conducting groupresearch for the integration of basic and clinical medicine, thereby invigorating
research activities. This program requires applications for Grants-in-Aid for
Scientific Research to be made and for the principal investigator to provide active
research guidance to several young researchers. Although there are variations fromyear to year, the number of applications for Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research byyoung researchers has been increasing since AY 2017. Given the further results
expected in the future, this is to be commended.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
In developing various programs relating to local partnerships and to regional
cooperation and community service, the University places a particular emphasis on
activities to prepare for disasters. Taking Nagakute City, which has been designatedpart of a priority recipient prefecture in the event of a Nankai Trough Earthquake, as2

Aichi Medical Universitya model district, a “Regional Network Disaster Preparation Study Committee”
consisting of experts from Nagakute City was established in AY 2018. This
committee conducts surveys of citizens’ awareness and of actual conditions in areas
affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kumamoto Earthquake. Basedon the results of these studies, the University is examining the ideal form for local
networks during disasters, preparing action manuals for individual organizations,holding training sessions and drills, drawing up a local action plan as a model forawareness-raising, and using lectures and similar events to communicate it togovernment agencies and medical and welfare institutions. These activities are to becommended.
Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance
The policy on internal quality assurance consists only of the implementation ofchecks and reviews, indicating that policies and procedures have not been properlydeveloped. In additions, it is the Council for University Administration and the Checkand Review Committee that are conducting internal quality assurance, the divisionof roles between these two bodies is insufficiently clear, and the Check and Review
Committee only responds to evaluations by external agencies, failing to fulfil its role
as a body for actually conducting internal quality assurance. In addition, the fact that
there are few cases in which the University Administrative Council has been involvedin the operation and support of academic management at faculties and graduate
schools, it is difficult to say that its has been sufficiently implemented. Improvements
are required to ensure that the internal quality assurance system functions. This will
involve properly developing the system and periodically checking and evaluating its
suitability, in line with the policy of developing such in AY 2020 and publishing it onthe website.

Student Enrollment
At 1.04, the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap in the Schoolof Medicine is high, and improvements are required in order to ensure proper
management of student quotas.

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Faculty and Faculty Organization
 The FD activities in the Graduate School of Nursing have been insufficient, and are
yet to progress to initiatives for improving the teaching abilities of faculty responsible
for Graduate School classes or stimulating research activities. As such, improvements
should be made to ensure that they are implemented appropriately. In addition,although the Graduate School of Medicine conducts its own FD activities, thepurpose and aim of these activities are unclear. Going forward, therefore,
improvements are needed to make the intentions of these activities known and to
make them more useful in improving faculty members’ skills.
Recommendation
Educational Program and Learning Outcomes The Graduate School of Nursing has not formulated criteria for reviewing theoutcomes of research on specific subjects. This should be rectified so that they canbe determined and made public.

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