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

Hiroshima Jogakuin University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PrivateLocation: Hiroshima, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2018
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2019 – March.31.2026）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Hiroshima Jogakuin University
Overview
Hiroshima Jogakuin University (hereafter, the University) was founded on the mission toprovide women’s character education rooted in Christianity. Following a study on theeducational challenges and present state of the institution conducted based on the fiveyear First Medium-Term Plan developed in FY2013, the University reorganized its
undergraduate school in FY2018 into the Faculty of Humanities with two departments
and the Faculty of Human Life Studies with three departments. Under this new structure,
the institution formulated also in FY2018 the Second Medium-Term Plan that upholds“unwavering individuality,” “diversity,” and “tolerance and collaboration” as the ideal
concepts to realize the University’s mission, and pledged to implement education reform
based on this plan.
The University’s reforms consist of various efforts to improve student learning
outcomes, including designing a structured and sequential curriculum for both faculties,
providing a curriculum map showing the progression of learning, and incorporatingteaching methods that encourage active student participation. In particular, the “life career”
courses offered to students of both faculties not only link the basic subjects andspecialized subjects but also provide education that can benefit the students their wholelife. The courses are a remarkable effort expected to develop the foundational abilities forstudents to build their own lives and careers, and are consistent with the educational goals
established in the Second Medium-Term Plan.
To deliver on the Second Medium-Term Plan commitment to strengthen
collaboration with companies, local governments, and the local community, thedepartments work with the local community to actively implement student organized andled local community collaboration projects and volunteer activities. These arecommendable efforts that contribute to revitalizing the local community and improvingsocial welfare. Furthermore, the curriculum revised in 2018 offers seminars related tolocal community collaboration across all departments in both faculties, with classes
incorporating local community collaboration and problem-solving components. Theseseminars promise to return the benefits of education and research outcomes to society inan appropriate manner.
To determine the achievement of the educational activities mentioned above, theSecond Medium-Term Plan pledges to establish evaluation criteria to measure learning3outcomes and develop an internal quality assurance (IQA) system. Prior to implementing
the plan, the undergraduate programs in 2016 began using a rubric. As for thedevelopment of an IQA system, the University created a system where the Self-Study
Committee implements university-wide self-study, and the Internal Quality AssuranceCommittee discusses and makes decisions on improvement measures with the approval,
when necessary, of the Board of Councilors and assists the undergraduate and graduate
schools in implementing the PDCA cycle. In addition to establishing the IQA system, theIQA Committee has begun work on teaching and learning management, which is expected
to increase the effectiveness of the University’s IQA system.
For all its strengths the University is not without issues, with its below-capacity
enrollment adding to the problem of its weak financial foundation. In response to thissituation, as mentioned earlier, the University reorganized its undergraduate schools anddepartments and introduced a new curriculum in FY2018. As a result, there are alreadysigns of improvements, with student enrollment in many departments filling to capacity.
Going forward the University is expected to establish a secure financial foundation bycontinuing to work on consistently securing incoming students and initiating various
improvement efforts.
Apart from working on the issues mentioned above, the University also needs toimplement effective measures to ensure that course workloads align with the credit hourdefinition at the undergraduate level, and to improve graduate school education bycreating research supervision plans and implementing an effective student learning
outcomes assessment.
Moving ahead it is important that the University ensures effective operation of
its IQA system, conducts self-study based on activity reports, creates plans for thefollowing year using the self-study results to improve its education and research activities,
and works on quality assurance for further development of the institution.
Notable Strengths
Educational Program and Outcome
Since FY2018 the University has implemented a curriculum consisting of basic
courses, “life career” courses, and specialized courses offered by each department.
The “life career” courses are based on the concept that a woman’s life events are acomponent of her career, and seek to develop the ability for students to chart theirown career path. In this curriculum, the liberal arts courses that needed revamping

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were revised and modified into the basic courses required by students of all
departments, and the life career courses consisting of the required courses andelectives. The life career courses include introductory and basic courses offered byeach department and are classified into five groups such as “subjects relating to self,”“subjects relating to others,” and “subjects relating to society”. These courses
integrate various types of teaching methods, for instance, an omnibus format andgroup work, and use a rubric to assess the teaching outcomes. The courses arecommendable in that they can help students acquire a broad range of knowledge andculture.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
The Regional Collaboration Center keeps track of all local community collaboration
activities conducted by the departments and faculty members, and also serves as thecontact point for community collaboration activities that match local community
needs to the appropriate departments or faculty members. Furthermore, the Center
contributes to revitalizing the local community and social welfare improvements
through active promotion of student designed and operated local community
collaboration activities, including rejuvenating the area around the Hiroshima station
shinkansen gate, “challenge activities,” a local community collaborative dietaryeducation program, and volunteer activities such as a playschool, a picture bookworkshop, and an elderly women’s childcare support program. Moreover, thecurriculum revised in 2018 offers seminar courses on local community collaboration
across all departments in both faculties. It is commendable that these seminar courses
incorporating local community collaboration and problem-solving components
effectively link education and “giving back to society.”

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Outcome
The degree award policies of the Master’s Course of the Graduate School ofLanguage and Culture and the Master’s Course of the Graduate School of Human
Life Science should state the expected student learning outcomes in terms ofknowledge, skills, and competencies appropriate for the degree conferred. Thecurriculum design and implementation policy of the Master’s Course of the Graduate

5School of Language and Culture needs to state the basic principles of curriculum
design and implementation.
To ensure that course workloads align with the credit hour definition, the University
sets a cap on the number of credits for which a student can register in a year. However,fourth-year students are exempt from this restriction, as are “high achieving” students
who earned a GPA of 2.3 or higher in the previous semester, and given the many
students who fulfill this requirement, the credit cap policy is not effectual. Althoughstudents are advised on the content and hours of the required before- and after-classstudy in the syllabus, this is not sufficient to ensure that students complete the hoursof study required to earn credits. This issue should be addressed in light of thepurpose of the credit system.

The graduate schools determine student learning outcomes merely by assessing
student attainment against the thesis evaluation criteria. This method needs to bereviewed and improved as it does not effectively assess the learning outcomes
established in the degree award policy.

Student Enrollment
The ratios of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap are low at 0.21 and0.08, respectively, in the Master’s Course of the Graduate School of Language andCulture and the Master’s Course of the Graduate School of Human Life Science.
Graduate school enrollment should be managed more effectively.

Faculty and Faculty OrganizationsThe graduate schools need to implement their own FD program in an appropriatemanner.

University Administration and Finances
The cost cutting measures in place have attained a certain level of success, but theratio of financial assets to the required reserve fund is extremely low due mainly tothe declining income from tuition and other student fees. This low ratio and the factthat the carried over expenditures for next year are on the rise suggest the University’s

6financial foundation is not sufficiently secure. The University is advised to establish
a solid financial foundation by consistently implementing its Second Medium-TermPlan, securing income from tuition and other student fees in a sustainable and stablemanner, and striving to achieve its stated goals.
Recommendations
Educational Program and Outcome
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The Master’s Course of the Graduate School of Language and Culture and theMaster’s Course of the Graduate School of Human Life Science do not provide aresearch supervision plan that clearly outlines the research supervision methods. This
information should be made available to students in advance.

Student Enrollment
The average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over thepast five years is low at 0.73 for the whole university. The ratios of student enrollment
to the student enrollment cap are also low at 0.70 and 0.89, respectively, for the wholeuniversity and the Faculty of Human Life Studies. Undergraduate enrollment should
be managed more effectively.