Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Junior College

Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PublicLocation: Oita, Japan

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

Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture
Overview
The educational goal of Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture (hereafter, theCollege) is “to contribute to the creation of arts, the promotion of culture, and thedevelopment of the local community by nurturing a broadly cultured, morally uprightworkforce with superior skills imparted through education and research of specialized
knowledge related to arts and culture in accordance with the purpose of the Basic Act on
Education and the School Education Act.” The College sets forth five educational
principles that demonstrate the purpose of a public junior college, with one such principle
being “to promote higher education that responds to the demands and expectations of thepeople of Oita Prefecture as the sole junior college in the prefecture.” Furthermore, theCollege implements education and research activities in line with the specific educationaltargets and objectives defined for each of its four departments, namely the Departmentsof Art and Design, Music, Global Studies, and Communication & Information Studies, aswell as for the two Advanced Programs (Major in Art and Design and Major in Music).
In order to achieve these educational goals and objectives, the College formulates amedium-term plan based on the six-year medium-term plan established by the governorof Oita Prefecture, and works toward the specific targets set based on the medium-termplan.
In AY2020, the College adopted the Policy and Procedures for Internal Quality
Assurance of Education and established an internal quality assurance system consistingof the Education and Research Council responsible for the promotion of internal quality
assurance across the institution; the Academic Affairs and Student Committee tasked withplanning and designing education programs; and the FD/SD Promotion Office in chargeof assessing student learning outcomes based on the results of student course surveys andgraduate satisfaction surveys. More specifically, the Academic Affairs and StudentCommittee liaises with each department, asking them to review the existing curriculumand draw up recommendations for revisions for the following academic year, andapproves the recommendations. The FD/SD Promotion Office works with thedepartments and confirms the progress of improvements made in response to the annual
action plan. These entities report to the Education and Research Council, which reviews
these reports and the results of the deliberations of various internal committees. The
council then forwards the findings and reports to the board of directors and the1Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture

Management Council for further teaching improvements. Finally, the progress report of
the annual plan against the medium-term plan, prepared by the Annual Plan Review
Committee and verified by each department, undergoes a public university evaluation. Itshould be pointed out that while the Education and Research Council deliberates anddecides on the departmental self-studies, it fails to offer sufficient improvement
recommendations and support to the departments. Considering the newness of the internal
quality assurance system, the College is expected to take steps going forward to ensure
the system is fully functional.
With respect to the education programs, the College has a clear diploma policy
and the expected learning outcome statements for each department and major are clearlydefined. The policy and statements form the basis of a systematic, discipline-based
curriculum designed sequentially in line with the curriculum policy. It is commendable
that a curriculum map has been created to assess the alignment between the diploma andcurriculum policies and the courses offered. For monitoring and evaluating student
learning outcomes, learning portfolios and rubric-based evaluations are being used on atrial basis. Going forward, the College is expected to consider adopting learning outcome
assessment tools for its application-oriented, hands-on courses as well.
A notable strength of the College is the learning opportunities provided throughvarious social contribution activities. The Service Learning course, for example, aims tomotivate students’ learning and improve social skills by bringing students and local
residents together, and having students organize and manage events and activities thatmeet the needs of the local community or municipality. The Art Management Programprovides an opportunity for students in the arts and humanities fields to work together
across disciplines, while drawing on their respective field-specific perspectives to think
about the meaning of creating opportunities to enjoy art and culture at the regional level
through planning and organizing art and culture projects for local residents. In addition,
the program has produced graduates who have gone on to careers at local culturalinstitutions and the cultural sections of government. These are unique initiatives thatprovide learning experiences leading to students’ future careers.
There are a number of issues the College needs to address, however. First, theadministrative functions of the College need to be strengthened. The College does nothave the administrative capabilities to respond to the workload that is expanding involume, complexity, and technicality. Second, the training programs administered as partof Staff Development (SD) have so far targeted only administrative staff. The College
should offer SD programs for the teaching staff as well with the aim of improving
university management. Another area for improvement relates to the varying levels of2

Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture

detail in the syllabus, an issue pointed out in the previous certified evaluation andaccreditation for junior colleges. While the College has tried to address the issue by
sending out notifications to all teachers, an agreement has yet to be reached on how
progression plans should be presented in the syllabus of performance-based art courses.
Continued discussions should be held to resolve this issue.
Going forward, the College is expected to maintain and further improve its
strong student support programs and systems by assessing the appropriateness andeffectiveness of its internal quality assurance system, ensuring the Education andResearch Council offers improvement recommendations and support to individual
departments, majors, and other sections, and implements the PDCA cycle effectively on
an institution-wide basis.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
 All departments have actively engaged in social contribution and international
exchange activities over many years. In the general education category’s Service
Learning course, in particular, students and teachers work together in many activities
upon request from the local community and government. It is commendable that thecourse’s activities are helping to revitalize the community and promote international
exchanges while motivating students’ learning and improving social skills.
 The Art Management Program launched in AY2018 promotes art and culture in thecommunity, with students in the arts and humanities fields working together acrossdisciplines to plan and organize art and culture projects. Students bring to theprogram the perspectives of their respective fields of study, and opportunities areprovided to learn first-hand the meaning and practical aspects of organizing art andculture events in communities, with some graduates going on to careers at local
cultural institutions, cultural sections of government, and art-related companies. The
program is a commendable initiative beneficial from the standpoints of social
contribution and career education.
Suggestions for Improvement
University Management and Finance3

Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture

The administrative staff has not risen in number to match the growing andincreasingly complex workload, and the technical functions of general affairs andfinance, academic affairs, student support, and admissions are struggling to operatesmoothly. The College is advised to build up the administrative capabilities it
currently lacks in order to respond to the requirements of the increasingly diverse andtechnical duties and challenges.

A teacher-targeted SD program to improve university management should beimplemented.

4