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

University of Shizuoka

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

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2016
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2017 – March.31.2024）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor University of Shizuoka
Overview
The University of Shizuoka (hereafter, the University) was established in 1987 in the city ofShizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, as a new, comprehensive university looking to the 21st century
in order to meet requirements in times of diversity. The University was established with threeprefecture-built schools: Shizuoka College of Pharmacy, Shizuoka Women’s University, andShizuoka Women’s College, integrated. After a series of graduate schools were established, theUniversity established the School of Nursing in 1997. Currently, the University has five
undergraduate schools (Pharmaceutical Sciences, Food and Nutrition Sciences, International
Relations, Management and Information, and Nursing), one integrated graduate school(Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences), and three graduate schools (International Relations,Management and Information of Innovation, and Nursing). The University has conducted its
educational and research activities in the broad fields of science and liberal arts.
Since its incorporation as a public university in 2007, the University has clarified its five
new missions: aiming to develop on a continual basis, promoting excellent education and highly
academic research, building a learning environment focusing on students’ quality of life (QOL),
confirming a management system to improve the University’s value, and aiming to be auniversity widely open to prefectural citizens through cooperation with the local community. TheUniversity has also clarified its missions on education, research, local contribution, andinternational interaction, and has worked to realize them.
The previous accreditation review was done by Japan University Accreditation
Association (JUAA) in 2009. Despite delays in solving some issues, the University has seriously
worked for improvements in the one admonition and 20 suggestions pointed out in the lastaccreditation. Since 2013, when the University entered its second period of the Midterm Goal as
an incorporated public university, the University has taken action for improvements and reforms
led by the Committee for Promotion of the Midterm and Annual Plan.
It is commendable that aiming at “fusing diet and medicine,” the University
established the Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences in2012 by integrating the graduate schools of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Nutritional andEnvironmental Sciences. There have been no universities which have any integrated
graduate school in this field. It is also commendable that while attaining the achievements ofthe 21st-Century Center of Excellence (COE) Program and the Global COE Program, whichwere adopted consecutively, the University has made active, university-wide efforts for
local contribution. These projects have led to contributions to industries for research infusing diet and medicine, to information for disaster prevention, and to cooperation withlocal authorities by the “Country of Fuji” Center for Growing Together for the Future (alsoknown as COCORA), which is the basis for the University’s Center of Community (COC)
projects.
However, the University still has several issues to address. While conducting selfstudy every academic year as an incorporated public university, the University is still dealing
with the annual plan in the second period of the Midterm Goal and Plan. It is difficult to say that
the University’s efforts for quality assurance to improve the level of its education and research
are sufficient. JUAA expects that the University will clarify the responsible body and its role andimmediately build a system to make the review process function more effectively andappropriately, in terms of not only its internal quality assurance but also its mission and purpose,as well as educational content, methods, and outcome.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is commendable that the University has made university-wide efforts for projects for3

local contribution. Various projects are taking place that use the achievements of the 21stCentury COE Program and the Global COE Program, which were adopted consecutively
and include research on fusing diet and medicine, information on disaster prevention, andprojects by COCORA in cooperation with local authorities. It is also commendable that byestablishing “Shizuoka Gaku” subjects, which concern solving local problems as well asrequired subjects for graduation, and which have been popular subjects among students,
the University has nurtured human talents for local contribution.
Suggestions for Improvement
Faculty and Faculty Organization
In the Graduate School of Nursing, the qualification criteria of faculty members who cansupervise students’ research are not stipulated. This should be improved.

Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomeIn the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences,
the School of nursing, and the Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical andNutritional Sciences, the policy on degree award does not indicate learning outcomessuch as the knowledge and competencies required for the completion of the program.
This should be improved.

In the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences,
the School of Management and Information, the School of Nursing, the Graduate Schoolof Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, the Graduate School ofInternational Relations, and the Graduate School of Nursing, the curriculum design policy
does not indicate basic ideas on educational content and methods. This should beimproved.

In the School of International Relations and the School of Management and Information,
the maximum number of credits students are allowed to register for per semester is set
high at 30 for the first semester of the first year in both of the schools, and set high at 25for other semesters in the School of International Relations. Also, while remission of themaximum number is allowed for high-achieving students in both schools, this system is
not working properly, because a large percentage of students are eligible for thisremission. This system should be improved considering the purpose of a credit system.

In the Graduate School of International Relations and the Graduate School of Nursing,the quality and quantity of the description of the syllabus vary across classes. This shouldbe improved.

Enrollment
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The ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap is high at 1.23 in theDepartment of Food Science and Biotechnology in the School of Food andNutritional Sciences, and 1.27 in the Department of International Relations in theSchool of International Relations. These numbers should be improved.

Internal Quality Assurance
The Self-Study Committee is supposed to implement self-study of the entire University,
but it only gathers reports from each department for the accreditation. Also, the role of the4Committee in terms of internal quality assurance is not clearly differentiated from that ofthe Midterm and Annual Plan Promotion Committee, which conducts review on theachievements of the midterm objectives and plans. The University should develop theinternal quality assurance system so that the University itself can ensure the quality of theUniversity’s internal activities centered around education and research and make
improvements to ensure the system’s full function.