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

Keiwa College

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Niigata, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2014
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April.01.2015 – March.31.2022）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Keiwa CollegeOverview
Keiwa College (hereafter, the College) was found in 1991 by an educational institution
which established Keiwa Gakuen High School in 1968. The College began as a singlefaculty college consisting of the Department of English and British and American
Literature and the Department of Intercultural Studies in the Faculty of Humanities,
located in Shibata city, Niigata Prefecture. Currently, it has three departments: theDepartment of English and Communication, the Department of Intercultural Studies,and the Department of Community and Social Welfare. “Free and religious academic
culture based on Christian spirit” and “cultivation of the international, educated person”
are the mission and purpose of the College, and it models itself on the policies ofChristianity, internationalism, and regionalism. The College is engaged in education andresearch activities.
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) in 2007, the College has enhanced its career support within and outside of theregular curriculum from pre-admission to graduation; this, along with social contribution
activities rooted in the local community, are its notable features. However, several issues
related to student enrollment, administration, and internal quality assurance still remain,
including the issues of the rules and regulations of committees across the College. Theseissues should be improved.
Notable Strengths
Student SupportIt is commendable that the College has developed a support system for students todevelop career awareness within and outside of the regular curriculum, from preadmission to graduation. As part of pre-admission education, incoming students
are offered an opportunity to hear the experiences of senior students, andfreshmen are required to visit the Career Support Center to consider careerplanning during their four years of study. In addition to a manners class andaptitude test, students in the second year and following may learn about selfanalysis in the Introduction to Career Development class. In addition, various
support classes are offered on such topics as information gathering, wherestudents learn about job-hunting systematically and in step-wise manner. Manystudents take advantage of these programs and these efforts help the student
choose her career.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
The College has been actively involved in various endeavors, including an open
college which provides lifelong learning opportunities to local residents; revivalof the morning market, Junisaiichi in Shibata city; implementation of the Agakita
Roman Literary Award, which aims to discover persons of talent throughliterature and promote the Agakita region; and the Machi Cafe, Link, a cafe jointly
operated by students and local citizens. Together, these activities promote
cooperation with local governments, businesses, and the local community andhighlight the College as a community-based university. Among these activities,
Machi Cafe, Link which was established in 2008, provides a community space for
local residents, and at the same time provides a field of active learning forstudents. It is commendable that these activities reflect the idea of “contributing to3

the local community in order to serve our neighbors” mentioned in the “Mid- andLong-term Plan (Roadmap 2),” and realize the mission and vision of the College.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomeWhile the policy on degree award and admission policy have been set up for eachdepartment, the curriculum design policy has not been established for eachdepartment respectively. This should be improved.

The syllabus lists many classes that are “not to be held this year.” This should beimproved to deliver the curriculum systematically.

Descriptions in the syllabus vary depending on the faculty. For example, somefaculty descriptions lack lesson plans or assessment criteria, and others assess
student performance by attendance alone. This should be improved in order tofacilitate systematic course taking.

Enrollment
As a requirement for applying to the International Student Scholarship Examination,
an eligible applicant is defined as “an international student who took N1 in theJapanese-Language Proficiency Test or an equivalent grade in the Japaneselanguage test of the Examination for Japanese University Admission forInternational Students.” However, the expression of “equivalent” in the Japaneselanguage test of the Examination for Japanese University Admission forInternational Students is unclear. This should be improved to ensure thetransparency of the entrance examination.

Education and Research Environment
Some facilities on the campus, such as the construction of the doors and the stepat the entrance to the buildings, do not incorporate barrier-free design. This should
be addressed.

Administration and FinanceThe operation of the administration tends to be carried out according toconvention and past experiences and the roles of various committees and theauthorities of administrative positions are rarely stipulated. The College should
determine its mid- and long term administrative operation policy as a university,and prepare rules and regulations for routine university operation by setting up a
post responsible for examining the administrative policy and a system to review
the policy for improvement.

Internal Quality Assurance

While the policy and regulations for self-study have been developed, theresponsibilities and processes are not clearly defined, and the efforts of the Selfstudy Committee do not seem to produce concrete improvements. By
reconsidering the role of the committee to promote improvements, as well as therole of other committees and related posts, the College is expected to make
improvements so that the PDCA cycle functions properly.

4Area of Serious Concern
Enrollment
The average of the ratios of last five years of enrolled freshmen to thefreshmen admission cap is low at 0.74 in the Department of English andCommunication in the Faculty of Humanities and 0.83 in the Faculty ofHumanities as a whole. Also, the ratio of enrolled students to the student
enrollment cap is low at 0.72 in the Department of English andCommunication, 0.86 in the Department of Intercultural Studies in the Facultyof Humanities, and 0.82 in the Faculty of Humanities as a whole. Thesenumbers must be improved.