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

Hirosaki Gakuin University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PrivateAccreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2017
Accreditation Status: unaccredited

Location: Aomori, Japan

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
For Hirosaki Gakuin University

Overview
The University Standards of the Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) states“As an institution of higher education and pivotal organization in academic research that
respects academic freedom, the mission of the university is to advance science and contributeto social development by fostering capable human resources possessing a strong sense ofhumanity, enhancing the creation and application of knowledge and technology, and preserving
and passing on the arts and sciences. Each university is mindful of this mission, maintains
standards appropriate to an institution of higher education and strives to realize its own mission
and purpose by continual self-regulation of its organization and activities to improve andenhance its organizational potential.”
As a result of the evaluation based on the above university standards, JUAA foundthat Hirosaki Gakuin University (hereafter, the University) has a number of material issues
including the following.
First of all, with respect to faculty members and faculty structure, a lack of full-time
faculty members was indicated in the previous accreditation review by JUAA. Although thenumber of full-time faculty members required under law was satisfied at the time of the rereview, the full-time faculty members in the university as a whole was short by 1 in 2016 andthe number of graduate school assistant supervisors at the Japanese Literature Master's Course
at the Graduate Course of Liberal Arts was short by 1. Moreover, as of May 1, 2017, thenumber of full-time faculty members was short by 6 (3 of which were professors) in theUniversity as a whole, and the number of research supervisors was short by 1 at the Japanese
Literature Master's Course at the Graduate Course of Liberal Arts and by 2 at the Master's
Course of Human Welfare at the Graduate Course of Social Welfare. A professor was hired atthe Faculty of Nursing in October 2017, which resulted in a lack of five full-time faculty
members (two of which were professors) across the University as a whole, but there is still ashortage of research supervisors at the Japanese Literature Master's Course at the Graduate
Course of Liberal Arts and at the Human Welfare Master’s Course at the Graduate Course ofSocial Welfare. Recruitment including open recruitment has started to improve the situation,
but the lack of full-time faculty members is affecting the placement of faculty members andeducational activities and needs to be rectified as soon as possible.

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Secondly, issues with respect to student enrollment were pointed out in the previous
accreditation review, and despite signs of improvement at the time of the re-review, it waspointed out that fundamental reforms are required. As a result, the former Strategy Council
was renamed the New Strategy Council, in which faculty members consistently conduct
activities including analyzing the results of admission exams each year, verifying themodality of entrance exams by commendation and the effect of the media strategy, andvisiting high schools. Despite those efforts, the enrollment numbers at faculties and graduate
courses other than the Faculty of Nursing are still significantly below the enrollment quota.
Due to this, the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap of the University as awhole was low in both 2016 and 2017, so the University needs to make efforts to fulfill thequota.
Thirdly, with respect to administration and financial affairs, following the indication
related to financial affairs in the previous accreditation review and the re-review, theUniversity has made efforts to reduce labor costs and expenses and made the corporation-widebalance between operational revenue and expenditure positive since 2013, but it has not beenable to establish a financial basis sufficient to conduct education and research. The university
also established the “Four-Year Plan (from 2013 to 2016) Marking the 130th Anniversary of
the Foundation of Hirosaki Gakuin University” and worked for improvement, but since thecompletion of that plan, no mid- to long-term financial plan has been formulated. The
University is currently taking measures such as reducing tuition fees to enhance the admissionof students, so it needs to formulate future financial plans with a proper grasp of the current
situation to consolidate its financial basis.
Based on the above, the University is expected to use the recent accreditation review
as an opportunity to ensure that all of its faculty members and staff work together to bringabout dramatic improvements. Further, the University stated in January 2017 that it will
formulate a mid-to-long-term goals implementation plan (2017-2019) under the New Strategy
Council and will confirm annual plans based on that implementation plan and implementation
status in connection with self-study. However, since the implementation plan mainly relates togoals for the improvement of issues in educational aspects at each faculty and graduate school,
it is desirable that the University will formulate drastic improvement plans based on personnel
and management plans examined by the corporation and work for improvement.

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Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
In addition to the University’s signature Foreign Missionary Residence and the chapel,
which are open to the public, the hand bell choir made up of volunteer students and faculty
members under the Religion Department performs at university entrance and graduation
ceremonies, open campuses, university festival concerts, church services and Christmas, aswell as at churches, missionary stations, schools, hospitals and other facilities, and thatprovides opportunities for cultural exchanges with local and other community residents.
These activities are commendable as a contribution to society based on the schoolfounding spirit rooted in Christianity.

Suggestions for Improvement
Faculty and Faculty Organization
No FD activities have been conducted other than the improvement of courses, and it isdesirable the University will conduct FD activities to improve the quality of faculty
members.

Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

No degree award policy or curriculum design and implementation policy has been
established at the Graduate Course of Liberal Arts or the Graduate Course of SocialWelfare. This issue should be addressed. .

Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome
The maximum number of credits for which students can register in a year is as high as 50
credits at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and 52 credits at the Faculty of Social Welfare. Thisissue should be addressed in light of the purpose of the credit system.

No systematic training courses or research, etc. are provided for academic staffs at theGraduate Course of Liberal Arts or the Graduate Course of Social Welfare that are5

designed to improve the educational programs and methods of those graduate courses.
This should be rectified.
Enrollment
With respect to the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap in 2017, there
were no enrolled students at the Graduate Course of Liberal Arts and the enrollment ratioat the Graduate Course of Social Welfare was low at 0.15. This needs to be addressed.

Education and Research Environment
The University has regulations related to research ethics such as the “Hirosaki Gakuin
University Code of Ethics” and the “Hirosaki Gakuin University Rules related toAdministration of Public Research Spending,” but it has no provisions related to dealing
with research misconduct and no systematic efforts are being made such as providing
workshops for full-time faculty members and students. This issue needs to be addressed.

Internal Quality AssuranceOf the information required to be disclosed under the Ministerial Ordinance for
Enforcement of the School Education Act, the criteria for assessment of learning outcomes
and certification of completion at graduate courses is not made public on the University’s
website or elsewhere. This should be rectified.

Area of Serious Concern
Faculty and Faculty Organization
As of October 2017, the University’s overall full-time faculty members are short by five,including two professors required in principle under the Standards for Establishment ofUniversities. Moreover, the research supervisors required under the Standards for
Establishment of Professional Graduate Schools are short by one at the Japanese Literature
Master’s Course at the Graduate Course of Liberal Arts, and two at the Human Welfare
Master’s Course at the Graduate Course of Social Welfare, and that must be rectified.

6Enrollment
As of 2017, the average of ratios of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment capover the last five years and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap arelow at 0.72 and 0.71 respectively in the University as a whole, both 0.68 at the Faculty ofLiberal Arts, 0.56 and 0.55 respectively at the Department of English Language andLiterature, 0.79 and 0.82 respectively at the Department of Japanese Language andLiterature, and 0.58 and 0.55 at the Faculty of Social Welfare. These ratios must beimproved.

Administration and FinanceAlthough the University has been in a situation for some time where the ratio of theExcess Expenditure Carried forward to the Next Year to Operational Revenue (imputedincome) is extremely high and the “ratio of financial assets to the required reserve account”
is extremely low, since the Four-Year Plan (from 2013 to 2016) Marking the 130th
Anniversary of the Foundation of Hirosaki Gakuin University ended in 2016, no mid- tolong-term financial plan has been formulated. The University needs to formulate a plan assoon as possible and work to improve its financial status.