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

Iwaki Meisei University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2018
Accreditation Status: suspended

Location: Fukushima, Japan

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Iwaki Meisei University
Overview
Iwaki Meisei University (hereafter, the University) is a private university established by
the school corporation Meisei Gakuen in the city of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Since
its establishment, the University has strived to cultivate graduates who can contribute tosociety by promoting its founding educational philosophy of “the Japanese spirit of ‘wa’(harmony)” and “healthy, earnest, and hardworking.” In September 2015, a new school
corporation was established with a change of the founding body. The current educational
philosophy needs to be reviewed, but to realize its traditional educational philosophy, theUniversity revised the Medium-term Operational Policy (FY2016-FY2020) formulated
in fiscal 2015 to the FY2017-FY2021 version in the following fiscal year to include theUniversity’s future vision of a university that perpetually grows and contributes to thelocal community.
The Medium-term Operational Policy features measures to implement
educational reforms and improve student satisfaction. It is highly commendable that theFaculty of Pharmacy has introduced “Ignite Education” and other programs to its
curriculum to help students develop their potential on their own. It is also notable that theUniversity has adopted a tutoring system supported by faculty members and formulated
guidelines to further improve the system, while conducting student surveys on campus
life satisfaction and questionnaires by graduates to provide students with comprehensive
support. Rooted in the local community, the University has contributed to regional
development by participating in reconstruction activities following the 2011 Great East
Japan Earthquake and by managing a human resource development network of regional
companies, governments, and other organizations.
However, as mentioned earlier, the University is in the process of changing its
founding body after the establishment of a new school corporation. The Board of Trustees
has also decided to stop accepting applicants for the Faculty of Liberal Arts in fiscal 2018.
The University is expected to become a medical sciences university comprised of threefaculties – the remaining Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Nursing, and the new
Faculty of Health Sciences, scheduled to open in fiscal 2019. The University is expected
as well to change its name to Iryo Sosei University in the same fiscal year. This processsuggests that the University is currently undergoing a major transition.
This situation poses serious challenges to student enrollment and faculty

3organization (graduate schools). First, the University’s total student enrollment remains
low due to the long-standing, remarkably low ratio of freshman enrollment to thefreshman enrollment cap in the Faculty of Liberal Arts. To address this challenge, theUniversity is working on improvements aimed at raising student enrollment by halting
admission to the Faculty of Liberal Arts, preparing for the completion year of the Facultyof Nursing, and establishing a new faculty. In the coming years, the University needs tocomplete the faculty reorganization to secure more students with educational quality
assurance in mind.
Next, the graduate schools face a serious problem with their faculty organization,with some academic units progressively lacking the appropriate numbers of researchsupervisors and supervisor assistants required in the Standards for Establishment ofProfessional Graduate Schools as well as the number of professors required in principle
in the same standards. In response to this problem, the University adopted procedures topromote its faculty members and managed to meet the standards for some academic units
in November 2018. Improvements are also expected in the near future, with plans
underway to reorganize the academic units to fill the shortages. The University presently
faces financial challenges resulting from the change of its founding body and enrollment
problems, and needs to work toward stabilizing its financial foundation in line with its
management improvement plans.
Meanwhile, despite the change of the founding body following the establishmentof a new school corporation, some faculties continue to state their objectives based on theformer founding body’s educational philosophy. It is therefore necessary that theUniversity review its educational mission and purpose as well as the objectives of eachfaculty and graduate school. The graduate schools also face issues with insufficiently
monitoring and evaluating the learning outcomes stated in their degree award policies, inaddition to failing to formulate research guidance plans and effectively manage studentquotas. These issues should be improved appropriately alongside reorganization of thegraduate schools.
Addressing these challenges requires the development of an effective internal
quality assurance system for the University to independently improve the quality ofvarious activities centered on education and research. Since fiscal 2017, the University
has developed an internal quality assurance system jointly managed by the Universitywide Educational Committee and Self-Study Committee. However, the roles andresponsibilities of the related committees are not fully specified, and the outcomes of selfstudy led by faculties do not necessarily lead to concrete improvements in education. TheUniversity should improve its administrative systems and other functions to assure its

4quality as a university and review its educational philosophy in light of shifting to a
medical sciences university, thereby appropriately implementing self-study in eachfaculty and graduate school and establishing a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle.
As mentioned above, there are several problems that involve important issues,
but the University has put forward initiatives and plans to improve them. Therefore, theaccreditation decision has been suspended with improvements expected in the near future.
While undergoing major reform, the University is expected to continue its educational
reform efforts, overcome the challenges with an awareness of educational quality
assurance, and design new educational programs that include new faculties to promotefurther development.
Notable Strengths
Educational Program and Outcome
 The Faculty of Pharmacy offers “Ignite Education” as a unique educational program
outlined in its curriculum design and implementation policy. It is a three-step program
designed for first- to third-year students to develop the basic skills necessary forindependent pharmacists. This program promotes active learning based on group
lessons using team-based learning (TBL) and project-based learning (PBL) methods
that help students study themes through research, discussions, and presentations. It
also provides the first-year students with small group lessons, including campus life
support, joined by upper-year students and tutors, while introducing technical topics
to help students develop the academic abilities necessary to understand specializedsubjects. In addition, the faculty employs a rubric for its evaluation methods that
respond to the academic abilities described in its degree award policy, and actively
seeks to further improve its educational methods and approaches based on theoutcomes. It is commendable that with the combination of first-year and specialized
education aimed at acquiring a range of such skills as self-directed learning,communication, project-based learning, and problem solving, the faculty’s
educational approaches have proven effective as seen in the pass rate of nationalexaminations.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
 The Regional Collaboration Center, set up in 2016 to contribute to regional

5reconstruction support, continues research projects related to radiation andradioactivity measurements and archive projects for the earthquake and tsunami
disaster as the “Disaster Archive Room.” These projects were previously led by theIwaki Community Reconstruction Center, established in October 2011, in cooperation
with Iwaki City and other organizations. In addition, the Center manages the Regional
Cooperation Council formed by regional companies, governments, and otherorganizations to serve as a human resource development network; it helps cultivate
human resources who can actively participate in their communities by, for example,planning and organizing training programs, including “Joint New Employee Training
Sessions,” in cooperation with many local companies and high schools. It iscommendable that the Center undertakes social contribution and cooperation
activities to return education and research outcomes to society in accordance with theUniversity’s objectives and policies.
Suggestions for Improvement
Mission and Purpose With faculties reorganized and newly established in the process of founding a medical
sciences university after changing to a new school corporation in fiscal 2015, theeducational mission and purpose of the University and the objectives of each faculty
and graduate school are not fully consistent with these changes. The Faculty ofPharmacy’s objectives in particular continue to be based on the former school
corporation’s founding educational philosophy. The mission, purpose, and objectives
should be reviewed.
Internal Quality Assurance The University’s internal quality assurance system does not explicitly state thecooperation and role allocation of the University-wide Educational Committee, SelfStudy Committee, Self-Study Committee in each section, and other committees. Thesystems of faculties and graduate schools, excluding the Faculty of Pharmacy, arealso inadequate in connecting the results of self-study to improvements. TheUniversity-wide Educational Committee as the organization promoting internal
quality assurance should play a central role in providing the necessary support toensure self-study in all faculties and graduate schools, thereby enhancing internal

6quality assurance based on the results throughout the University.
Educational Program and Outcome
 The learning outcomes of the two graduate schools are measured based on theevaluation of theses and dissertations, but the learning outcomes stated in their degree
award policies are not sufficiently monitored and evaluated. This issue should beimproved with learning outcomes effectively measured and the results reflected in
improvements in educational content and methods.
Student Enrollment
 The ratios of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap are low at 0.21 in theMasters Course of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, 0.22 in theMasters Course of the Graduate School of Humanities, and 0.17 in the Doctoral
Course of the Graduate School of Humanities. These ratios should be improved withthe graduate schools’ student quotas thoroughly managed.
Faculty and Faculty Organization
 Faculty development (FD) as the graduate schools’ primary function is not conducted.
This issue should be improved so that FD can be implemented appropriately.
University Management and Finance The University’s personnel expense ratio is high compared with the average of private
universities with multiple faculties including pharmacy, while the balance sheet ratio
for operating activities is low. The ratio of financial assets to the required reserve
funds has also been low since fiscal 2016, following the establishment of a new school
corporation involving the change of the University’s founding body. Efforts should
be made to establish a solid financial foundation in line with the Iwaki Meisei
University Management Improvement Plan FY2017-FY2021, while carefully
considering the education and research environment standards and educational quality
assurance.

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Recommendations
Educational Program and Outcome
 The research guidance methods and schedules as research guidance plans are notdefined in the Graduate School of Science and Engineering and all programs in theGraduate School of Humanities. This situation must be corrected with these items
defined and clarified to students beforehand.
Student Enrollment
 The average of ratios of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over thepast five years is low at 0.61 in all undergraduate courses, and the ratios of student
enrollment to the student enrollment cap are also low at 0.73 in the Department ofPharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, and 0.67 in all undergraduate courses. This situationmust be corrected with the faculties’ student quotas thoroughly managed.
Faculty and Faculty Organization
 The number of research supervisor assistants required in the Standards forEstablishment of Professional Graduate Schools in fiscal 2018 was two short in theMasters Course and the Doctoral Course of Japanese Literature of the Graduate
School of Humanities, respectively. In addition, the number of research supervisors
required in the same standards was one short in the Masters Course of British andAmerican Literature of the Graduate School of Humanities. Moreover, the number ofprofessors required in principle in the same standards was one short in the Masters
Course and the Doctoral Course of Japanese Literature of the Graduate School ofHumanities, respectively. This situation must be corrected with the faculty
appropriately organized.