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

Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Fukuoka, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2022
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2030）

Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing
Overview
Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing defines its educational
philosophy and purpose as “imparting a broad range of knowledge in the field ofnursing, and teaching and researching specialized arts and sciences in depth toachieve as its founding spirit the humanitarian ideals of the Red Cross, along withthe cultivation of nursing professionals with intelligence, morals, and appliedabilities who can play an active role both in Japan and abroad, and the developmentof nursing science.” To achieve the College’s founding spirit, the graduate school sets
forth the philosophy and purpose of “teaching and researching theory and expertise
related to nursing practice, education, and research as a center of academic nursing;fostering advanced nursing professionals with deep academic knowledge as well astrue sensitivity and humanity; and contributing to the development of nursing
science, the improvement of health and welfare, and the creation of affluent lives ofpeople around the world.” The College strives to achieve these principles andpurposes based on an action plan comprised of five projects specified in its school
corporation’s third medium-term plan. To enhance its educational and research
activities, the College has laid out the visions of classifying medical functions,enhancing comprehensive community care, implementing a new curriculum
designed to meet the growing demand for cross-cultural nursing in Japan and abroad,and providing practical education using information and communications technology(ICT).
In terms of internal quality assurance, the College has set out its collegewide policy and procedures, with the Management Meeting, Quality Assurance andIR Office, and Self-Study Committee formed as organizations responsible forinternal quality assurance. The Management Meeting is specifically positioned as aquality assurance promotion organization, but the meetings’ overlapping members
due to the College’s limited number of faculty have clouded the roles of the threemeeting bodies. In addition, the president and the Management Meeting are onlybriefed on the divisions’ improvement efforts based on their inspection andassessment results, with no feedback provided as stated in the regulations. Thissituation should be addressed with the structure reviewed to ensure effective
operation of the internal quality assurance system. Moreover, the College should1

Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International College of Nursing

develop and articulate an improvement process to respond to the items pointed out
by government bodies, certified evaluation and accreditation agencies, and otherexternal organizations.
As for the College’s education, both faculty and graduate school haveappropriately established and published diploma and curriculum policies in keepingwith the mission and purpose, educational objectives, and basic guidelines forformulating the diploma, curriculum, and admissions policies. The curricula aresystematically designed according to the curriculum policies, with appropriate lesson
subjects organized for each degree program. Specifically, the College’s original“Diploma Supplement (degree certificate supplementary materials)” was created as
an indicator for student learning outcomes, and the master’s program uses
competency indicators at the time of completion. It is highly commendable that theCollege is monitoring and evaluating student learning outcomes in a multifaceted
way, incorporating the perspective of employers by visualizing students’ campus lifeand levels of achievement before graduation while analyzing the results of employer
surveys in combination with the Diploma Supplement.
Furthermore, the College has introduced the Academic Advisor System toprovide students with comprehensive support from learning to campus life. Faculty
members serving as advisors offer continuous support through seminars to students
of all years from enrollment to graduation, and coordinate with various organizations
on campus to actively assist students. To support student learning, advisors interview
individual students using the Diploma Supplement, and these approaches based on
student learning outcomes are particularly notable. As an additional outstanding
initiative, the College is fulfilling its social cooperation responsibilities throughactive involvement in regional cooperation activities in response to the requests ofMunakata City in Fukuoka Prefecture, where the College is situated.
There are several issues the College needs to address, however. The
structure of the internal quality assurance system should be reviewed for more
effective operation. In terms of the College’s management, the Faculty Council isasked for advice after the president has made a decision at the Management Meeting,indicating there are discrepancies between the Faculty Council Regulations and theactual situation. This issue should be addressed in line with the regulations.
In the coming years, the College is expected to reexamine and revamp its
internal quality assurance system and decision-making process, thereby enhancing
its distinctive initiatives.

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Notable Strengths
Educational Program and Learning OutcomesThe College visualizes students’ campus life and levels of achievement at thetime of graduation through the Diploma Supplement created by the faculty andcompetency indicators at the time of program completion adopted by thegraduate school’s master’s program. The faculty in particular incorporates theperspective of employers by conducting employer surveys and analyzing theresults in light of the Diploma Supplement. It is commendable that student
learning outcomes are monitored and evaluated in a multifaceted way withmultiple indicators used in the Diploma Supplement.

Student Support

Faculty members ranked assistant professor or higher are assigned as academic
advisors, and students under their charge participate in small-group seminars toencourage mutual learning among students of different years. Advisors monitor
the status of individual students through the seminars, and provide them withcomprehensive support in cooperation with relevant student support
organizations on campus. Specifically, the Diploma Supplement is used inindividual interviews to offer academic assistance to students based on theircareer plans and learning outcomes. It is commendable that many students haveexpressed satisfaction with the College’s timely responses in surveys.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
The College has long engaged in activities in collaboration with Munakata City,
such as the Munakata College Community Council since AY2002, and otherregional contribution activities to meet the city’s needs. The College took part inthe city’s “Health and Sport de Happy Project” to provide local residents withbody measurements and stretching exercise lessons and analyze the health data.
The College also offers opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to interact
with community members through such events as nursing experience programsfor elementary school students to promote citizens’ regular exercise and goodhealth. It is commendable that the College is returning its educational andresearch outcomes to meet community needs.
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Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance
The College has positioned the Management Meeting as an organization
promoting internal quality assurance, and the Internal Quality Assurance
Regulations stipulates that improvement measures based on the self-study results
are discussed at the meeting before the president issues instructions to eachorganization. In fact, the president and the Management Meeting are only briefedby the organizations, indicating that the internal quality assurance system is not
functioning as stated in the regulations. In addition, the roles of the Management
Meeting, Self-Study Committee, and Quality Assurance and IR Office, in chargeof promoting internal quality assurance, are unclear. This issue should beaddressed with the internal quality assurance structure reviewed to ensure
effective operation of the system in accordance with the regulations.

University Management and Finance
The Faculty Council Regulations stipulates that the Faculty Council advises thepresident in making decisions on some items, but the Faculty Council is asked
for advice after the president has made a decision at the Management Meeting.
These discrepancies should be corrected to ensure the decision-making process
takes place in line with the regulations.

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