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

Aino University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Osaka, 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 Aino University
Overview
Aino University (hereafter, the University), whose parent organization was Aino
Gakuin Foundation (consisting of a junior college, a specialized training college, and asenior high school), was established in 2004 as a medical college with a single faculty,
the Faculty of Healthcare Science, in Ibaraki-shi, Osaka Prefecture. The University
established the Department of Medical Engineering in 2010 and the Graduate Schoolof Nursing in 2015. Currently, the University has one faculty with four departments,and one graduate school (for the master’s program).
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) in 2010, the University made efforts to foster human talents in the fields ofhealth care and welfare by stabilizing the fiscal base, enhancing liberal arts subjects,
and energizing faculty members’ research activities. As a result, the University has
made efforts to improve its fiscal situation, has offered curriculum with a wide range ofbasic subjects to freshmen since 2016, and has reorganized research centers as well as
budgeted “Special Research Fund” for young faculty members.
In this accreditation review, the characteristics of the University were seen inuniversity-wide required subjects such as “Sym-medical Theory,” “Medical Ethics,”
and “The Basis of Learning”; the establishment of the “Faculty of Healthcare Science
Education Financial Incentive Fund”; and the creation of a system of reflection throughthe “Class-in-Charge Self-Study Sheet.” In particular, in “Sym-medical Theory,” which
is a common subject in all the departments in the Faculty of Healthcare, students not
only think about their roles as specialists, but also learn about team medical care. It iscommendable that the subject helps students to smoothly proceed to on-the-job
practical training and also realizes the mission of the University.
However, the University still has several issues to address. JUAA hopes that
the University will improve such issues as the disparity in the quality of its syllabi,organizational faculty development (FD) activities, self-study, enrollment cap
management in the Faculty of Healthcare Science and insufficient manifestation of theexamination criteria for the dissertation in the Graduate School of Nursing. Also, as for
the University’s finances, well-planned and concrete actions are required to stabilize its
balance sheet.
JUAA hopes that from this point forward, the University will not only
stipulate clear policies for education and the other activities, but also will develop as a
medical educational institution rooted in the community. This can be accomplishedthrough the use of the review system built into 2016, through which it reviews plansand practices for policy-based actions,Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

It is commendable that the Faculty of Healthcare Science offers a subject that not
only enables students to think about their roles as specialists, but also learn aboutteam medical care, and helps them to smoothly transition to on-the-job practicaltraining. In particular, to realize one of the ideals in the University’s academic
foundation, “Not only to care but also to give comfort to the patients,” the Facultyrequires students in all departments to take “Sym-medical Theory,” a subject thatteaches cooperation among diverse professions. In this course, co-instructed bymultiple faculty members, students handle real cases, under the guidance ofthird-year students in each department (in the case of the Department of Medical
Engineering, fourth-year students), and conduct cross-disciplinary group3

discussions that involve several departments.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome
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Although syllabi are written in the same style across all the faculty andgraduate school, some class lacks the necessary contents, such as the methodsof assessment. The University should improve syllabi to facilitate students’learning.

The Graduate School of Nursing does not implement systematic training andstudy for improving the educational content and methods employed in thegraduate school. This should be improved.

In the Graduate School of Nursing, criteria for examining degree-seeking thesis
have not been stated for students. This situation should be improved, by clearlystating them in the student handbook.

Enrollment
In the Faculty of Healthcare Science, the average of the ratios of the last five yearsof enrolled freshmen to the freshman admission cap is high at 1.23 in theDepartment of Nursing, 1.22 in the Department of Physical Therapy, and 1.20 inthe entire faculty. Also, the ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap
is high at 1.23 in the Department of Nursing, 1.23 in the Department of PhysicalTherapy, 1.21 in the Department of Occupational Therapy and 1.21 in the entire
faculty. Moreover, there are no transferring students in the Department of Nursing.
The Faculty should manage student enrollment appropriately.

Administration and FinanceAlthough the University has made efforts to improve its financial situation byformulating its mid- and long-term management plan, it has not established astable financial basis due to the fact that the balance sheet ratios have not
improved sufficiently, and the sufficiency rate of financial assets against required
reserve fund remains low. It is expected that the University will continuously
make an effort to stabilize its financial basis by formulating a financial plan withconcrete numerical targets.

Internal Quality Assurance
While the Internal Quality Assurance Committee (headed by the vice president) is
supposed to conduct self-study regarding the appropriateness of various university
activities, reviews in each department and self-study of the entire university are notwell coordinated. Furthermore, the University does not work towards improvements
based on the results of self-study of the entire school. The University should review
the planning and practice of various activities that are based on the policies andachieve improvements to make the internal quality assurance system morefunctional.