Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Junior College

Nihon University Junior College

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2021
Accreditation Status: unaccredited

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Nihon University Junior College

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Nihon University Junior CollegeOverview
Nihon University Junior College is a junior college consisting of four departments
and one advanced course: the Department of Business and Management Studies,
Department of Food and Nutrition, and the Advanced Course for Food and Nutritionat the Mishima Campus (Mishima, Shizuoka), and the Department of Architectureand Living Design and the Department of Science and Manufacturing Technology atthe Funabashi Campus (Funabashi, Chiba).
The educational philosophy of Nihon University is “independent creativity.”
The University has established the Nihon University Educational Charter (hereinafter“Educational Charter”) that presents the policies for nurturing students capable oflearning independently, thinking for themselves, and creating their own path. The
mission and purpose of the Junior College is “to provide students with scientific andpractical specialized education that is closely aligned with general knowledge inorder to develop good citizens, in accordance with the founding spirit of Nihon
University.” The Junior College has established educational and research objectives
according to its mission and purpose, as well as formulating a degree award policy(diploma policy), curriculum design and implementation policy (curriculum policy),and admission policy properly in line with the objectives. In order to achieve themission and purpose of the Educational Charter and the Junior College, Nihon
University formulated the Nihon University Medium-term Plan (AY2021–AY2026)
in 2020 and is making efforts to improve its educational and research activities.
Regarding internal quality assurance, a university-wide self-study is conducted
every three years, and most of the issues identified in the Junior College have beenaddressed. However, the current internal assurance quality policy and rules have only
been established recently. Moreover, even though a university-wide internal quality
assurance system has been developed, committees such as the University Internal
Quality Assurance Promotion Committee (hereinafter “University Quality AssuranceCommittee”) that is responsible for promoting internal quality assurance are notfunctioning properly. Therefore, we hope university-wide educational management
based on the internal quality assurance system is implemented going forward.
As for education, all departments and advanced courses have developed anappropriate curriculum in accordance with the degree award policy and curriculum1

Nihon University Junior College

design and implementation policy, and students can take courses in a systematic andsequential manner thanks to an overall curriculum structure and a course-taking chart.
At the Funabashi Campus, a system has been adopted that allows achievement oflearning goals to be measured by multiple evaluation methods. Additionally, weobserved that students have trust in faculty members. For instance, class homeroom
teachers and seminar instructors provide detailed advice and guidance to students
regarding qualification acquisition- and career-related (employment, transferadmission) questions at both campuses regardless of the curriculum.
The Independent Creativity Project is a remarkable endeavor, which aims toimprove both curricula and extracurricular education, refining the educational
philosophy in a practical manner and helping individual students expand their fieldof specialty. Launched in 2019, the Independent Creativity Project offers grants for
projects developed by students. There have been projects involving exchange
between students from Nihon University Junior College and Nihon University, as
well as projects in which students put the techniques they learned in lectures intopractice. The Independent Creativity Project is expected to produce favorable results
as part of the University’s initiative to achieve outcome-based education. The Nihon
University Intaker System (hereinafter “Intaker System”), a training system forfaculty and staff, is one example of a student-oriented initiative that has a history ofalmost half a century. The Junior College promotes numerous initiatives that involve
direct exchange between faculty/staff and students, which is a highly commendable.
There are, however, issues that need to be improved. There are issues with thelearning outcome measuring methods adopted by the departments at the MishimaCampus. These issues should be addressed. In the last five years, the average of ratiosof freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap has been low in somedepartments. Therefore, there are issues with departmental student quota
management.
Since October 2021, serious governance issues have been identified at Nihon
University, which has cast doubt on the assessment results on university management
and finance under the Junior College Standards. For this reason, we decided toconduct an additional investigation regarding these issues to check Nihon
University’s governance operations in general. The investigation showed thatpersonnel decisions were arbitrarily made by particular officers, the Board ofCouncilors and auditor failed to exercise checks on the Board of Trustees, and theBoard of Trustees did not conduct adequate discussion. These are serious issues
related to the determination and must thus be corrected as soon as possible.
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Nihon University is committed to reviving itself, swiftly implementing
initiatives with the aim of launching a new governance structure by around July 2022.
Sound university management is necessary for the Junior College to fulfill its
function. Therefore, the JUAA hopes efforts are made and measures are implemented
toward revival and the recommendations and suggestions for improvement areaddressed as soon as possible so that the features of the Junior College can be
developed even further.
Notable Strengths
Student Support
 The Junior College has created the Independent Creativity Project. By
encouraging students to implement projects that they have developed, theIndependent Creativity Project aims to enhance the three elements of“independent creativity,” the educational philosophy of Nihon University, makestudents aware of diversity through inter-faculty exchange, and help students
deepen their learning in specialized subjects. The Independent Creativity Projectis open to all Nihon University students and allows them to acquire project
grants. In 2019, a project led by a student from the Junior College was chosen.
In addition, there have been projects involving exchange between students from
Nihon University Junior College and Nihon University, as well as projects inwhich students put the techniques they learned in lectures into practice. The
Independent Creativity Project is expected to produce favorable results as partof the University’s initiative to achieve outcome-based education.
The Intaker System has been established to provide counseling to students, underwhich faculty and staff members who have completed the training are certified
as Nihon University Intakers, or elementary level counselors. The Junior Collegelaunched the system back in 1973 when counseling was not normally provided
at universities. Many faculty and staff members have been certified as intakers
to date. Certified faculty and staff members serve as initial counselors at theStudent Support Office and contribute to everyday student support.

Suggestions for Improvement
Education and Research Organizations
 The departments and advanced course at the Mishima Campus do not identify or
evaluate the learning outcomes indicated in the degree award policy in an3

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organizational manner. This should be improved.
Recommendation
Student Enrollment
 In the last five years, the average of ratios of freshman enrollment to thefreshman enrollment cap and the ratio of student enrollment to the student
enrollment cap have been low at 0.72 and 0.80, respectively, in the Department
of Food and Nutrition. The Junior College should make significant improvement
in departmental student quota management.
University Management and Finance As personnel decisions related to trustees and staff were arbitrarily made byparticular officers, the University must correct the situation to ensure appropriateand fair personnel decisions.
The Board of Councilors and auditor failed to exercise checks on the Board ofTrustees, and governance was not performed appropriately. The University mustcorrect the situation by developing a system for appropriately checking the statusof operational execution by the Board of Trustees, trustees, etc.

Members of the Board of Trustees did not conduct adequate discussion, and thetrustees failed to perform their mutual checking function. The University intends
to create a new and functioning governance structure, including a system forchecking the Board of Trustees. Therefore, the JUAA hopes it develops andimplements effective, concrete measures for improvement to achieve sounduniversity management.

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