Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation
for Professional Graduate School of Public Relations

The Graduate School of Information & Communication
School of Information & Communication
Master’s program for Information & Communication

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2021
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April 1, 2022 – March 31, 2027）

The Graduate School of Information & Communication
School of Information & Communication
Master’s program for Information & Communication

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for Graduate School of Information & Communication
School of Information & Communication
Master’s Program for Information & Communication

The Graduate School of Information & Communication, School of Information &Communication, Master’s program for Information & Communication was establishedin 2017 as a graduate university consisting of a single graduate school (Graduate Schoolof Information & Communication) for training information and communication
specialists who can promote public relations strategies. The Program has conductededucational and research activities primarily intended for working adults who engage
in public relations, advertisement, corporate planning, and marketing at organizations
such as corporations and public bodies such as government agencies, as well as working
adults who wish to develop their career or expertise in the public relations field. The
program was established for the following purpose: “In order to fulfill our role as an
institute of higher education and social responsibility, we develop advanced
professionals with broad perspective and a high level insight in the fields of public
relations and information utilization, and provide education that facilitates various
activities of people in industrial and regional societies and promote information
utilization. (...) In response to the social conditions, we develop individuals withadvanced problem-solving skills and value-creating abilities, especially in the field ofpublic relations and social information in industrial and regional societies.” In line withthis purpose, the Program has designed a curriculum to develop the skills needed toformulate and implement individually tailored, specific communication strategies fororganizations, product planners, and other related staff, as well as the skills needed to
identify issues in the field of information and communication and propose effective
solutions to such issues. Specifically, the Program has developed a step-by-stepcurriculum consisting of basic subjects, specialized basic subjects, specialized subjects,
and seminar subjects. Education in the Program is oriented toward interactive, practicallearning, involving activities such as discussions on the latest examples in the field of
information and communication with a variety of guest lecturers (e.g., managers,journalists). The Program has regular meetings and interviews with graduates to
identify the needs of students and graduates. On the basis of the opinions gathered, theProgram has made Information & Communication Seminar, which involves preparationof a Research Achievement Report, a compulsory subject from the first semester of the1The Graduate School of Information & Communication
School of Information & Communication
Master’s program for Information & Communication

first year. It is commendable that the Program has effectively improved its educational
method through such initiatives. The Program has received favorable reviews from theemployers of graduates as a result of such initiatives, which is an achievement worthyof praise.
However, the issues described below, including those that require immediate
addressing, were identified.
First, as the university was opened in 2017 as a graduate university with only onegraduate school, the School of Information & Communication, the same purpose wasadopted for the university and the graduate school. However, due to the subsequentestablishment of the School of Professional Education, the university developed a new
purpose as a graduate university with two graduate schools. However, since the purposeof the School of Information & Communication developed at the time of establishment
is not defined in the school rules, etc., immediate measures need to be taken to ensurecompliance with the Graduate School Establishment Standards.
Next, there are issues with the curriculum. Although the Program considers
Social Information Seminar, which involves preparation and guidance for the Research
Achievement Report, as the core subject for learning, the core subjects are not clearlypresented in the curriculum. Therefore, the Program should clarify the fundamentalsubjects for learning the theories and methodologies in the field of information andcommunication so as to clearly present a curriculum that bridges theory and practice.
In addition, in order to encourage systematic learning, the Program should create asystem for guidance for taking courses based on a course-taking model, and revise themaximum number of credits that students can register for in a year to encourage themto take subjects in a well-balanced manner. At the time of approval of establishment by
the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), theMEXT pointed out the need for subjects on the topic of corporate (PR) globalization,given the importance of adapting to globalization in the field of information andcommunication. Therefore, the Program should offer such subjects. To solve thesecurriculum-related issues, the Program is expected to use the Collaboration Council for
Educational Program to gather opinions from various sectors of the industrial world.
Some course syllabuses do not provide an adequate class schedule. Therefore,
the Program should try to improve syllabus details and prepare syllabuses that
contribute to student learning. Furthermore, although the Program has a system thatallows students to make inquiries about assessment of academic achievement, manystudents are not made aware of the system, and the system has not been utilized.
Therefore, the Program should develop an effective system and provide students with2

The Graduate School of Information & Communication
School of Information & Communication
Master’s program for Information & Communication

an appropriate explanation on it.
In order to provide education that bridges theory and practice, the Program
focuses on practical education and recruits faculty who have a variety of practicalexperience in the field of information and communication. As the Program considers it
important to recruit faculty with research skills in addition to practical experience, it
hires people with a Master’s degree or PhD and research achievements. However, theProgram does not present any specific requirements and criteria for the research skills
required of practitioner faculty members. Therefore, the Program should stipulate therequirements and criteria to prove that it has teaching staff who possess research skills
in addition to practical experience. As the Program leaves it to individual faculty
members to conduct research, it should promote research activity through initiatives
such as joint research projects between practitioner faculty members and academic
faculty members to establish the field of information and communication, which is anemergent field. For the promotion of research activity, the Program should have asufficient amount of academic library material of a sufficient quality and increase thenumber of staff responsible for reference services.
There are issues with the faculty organization and student enrollment. Consistentself-study is vital in order to solve these issues as well as those described above. Even
though the Program decided that self-study must be conducted every year at the timeof founding, appropriate self-study has only been conducted since 2019. Therefore, theProgram should conduct periodic self-study in accordance with its own rules. TheJUAA hopes the Program makes improvements to its activities on the basis of the selfstudy results, review comments from MEXT, and the results of the Certified Evaluation
and Accreditation for Professional Graduate School of Public Relations that theProgram is undergoing for the first time. The Program intends to actively promote
HyFlex classes that combine face-to-face and online tuition to allow students to enroll
from distant locations.
The HyFlex class format was adopted in 2020 from the perspective of preventing
the spread of COVID-19. By making HyFlex classes a permanent feature, the Program
could be able to improve convenience for adult students and admit new types ofstudents. However, as the HyFlex class format is a new kind of class method, theProgram needs to verify its effectiveness on a regular basis. Furthermore, the Program
should understand that students studying exclusively online need support, alternative
services for using library material, etc. These points should be considered to ensure anappropriate learning environment.
In order to make its focus on communication strategy-related education clearer,

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The Graduate School of Information & Communication
School of Information & Communication
Master’s program for Information & Communication

the university has decided to change the names of the university, the graduate school,
and the awarded degree in 2022. The JUAA hopes the Program further clarifies theneed and definition of the field of information and communication, which is a new fielddeveloped by the Program, and disseminates that information to the public so as toestablish itself as an information and communication professional graduate school.

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