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

Tenri Health Care University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2018
Accreditation Status: suspended

Location: Nara, Japan

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Tenri Health Care University
Overview
Tenri Health Care University (hereafter, the University) was established in 2012 after
succeeding to the educational missions and outcomes of Tenri Nursing School and Tenri
School of Medical Technology, with the two schools having long cultivated nurses,
clinical laboratory scientists, and other healthcare professionals. The University consistsof the Department of Nursing Science and the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciencein the Faculty of Health Care, and conducts educational and research activities with thepurposes of “basing its education on the Tenrikyo religious principle of dedicating oneself
to bringing joy to others; gaining a wide range of knowledge; acquiring healthcare
specialized skills; developing the spirit of serious engagement in science; and nurturing
graduates with deep affection for others, and a sense of humility and self-discipline.”
To this end, the president assumes leadership in cooperation with the dean andexecutive director, with three councils – Education and Research Council, Inspection andAssessment Council, and Administrative Council – playing a central role in advancing
the University’s education based on the keywords of “autonomy” and “collaboration.” To
support its students, the University has established a tutor system comprised of full-time
faculty members who utilize the results of various tests taken at the time of enrollment
and share the information at the Tutors’ Meeting to provide comprehensive student
support. These efforts are highly commendable.
There are serious problems with the faculty organization, however, that must beaddressed. The number of full-time faculty members required in the Standards for
Establishment of Universities remains two short in the Department of Clinical Laboratory
Science. This situation conflicts with the standards and should be corrected immediately.
The shortage of full-time faculty members resulted from the establishment of the HealthCare Education and Research Center as a faculty organization independent of the twodepartments to manage integrated and common basic subjects, but reorganization of thefaculty requires proper management, including the allocation of full-time faculty
members. To deal with this issue, the University has begun making improvements byrecruiting full-time faculty members and reconsidering the Center’s purpose. The
accreditation decision has therefore been suspended with the University expected toimprove these serious problems in the near future.
Meanwhile, to assure the quality of its education, research, and other programs,

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the University positioned the Future Planning Committee as an organization promotinginternal quality assurance in fiscal 2018, but the policies and procedures for internalquality assurance are not defined and the authority of the committee is not clarified. TheUniversity is strongly required to work toward educational and quality assurance
improvements by developing an effective internal quality assurance system and operatinga university-wide PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. To assure educational quality, it isimportant for the University to formulate medium- and long-term plans that outline its
future visions and determine the policies needed to advance its various activities, with theFuture Planning Committee playing a central role in drawing up and examining feasibleplans and policies based on self-study activities.
There are other issues the University needs to address as well. The University
has not established education policies for each degree program, and problems are foundin the development of syllabuses and the monitoring and evaluations of student learning
outcomes. The University’s social cooperation and contribution activities fail to establish
the necessary policies and responsibility systems. In terms of educational environment,
the University lacks laboratory facilities, and the University’s administration faces thechallenges of reviewing its regulations, strengthening its administrative organizations,and stabilizing its financial base. To solve these issues and improve its educational andresearch activities, the University should immediately develop and effectively operate theabove internal quality assurance system. Being the first time to receive the Institutional
Certified Evaluation and Accreditation, the University is expected to appropriately
formulate policies related to its various activities, and make systematic efforts to advancethese activities while implementing improvements through consistent self-study to assure
the quality of its education and other activities.
Notable Strengths
Student Support
 Multiple full-time faculty members are assigned as tutors for each academic year.
They conduct regular consultations with all students to monitor their situations andshare the information at the Tutors’ Meeting held periodically to discuss the necessary
measures for each student. As for guidance, the University utilizes the results of theirentrance examinations and basic achievement tests taken at the time of enrollment aswell as their grades for each year to continuously provide students with guidance,
including counsel on their daily lives. It is commendable that the University offers4

comprehensive study support under a well-developed guidance system, with these
efforts expected to help prevent students from repeating an academic year orwithdrawing from the university.
Suggestions for Improvement
Mission and Purpose The University has not drafted medium- and long-term plans outlining its futurevisions. This issue should be improved with the Future Planning Committee playing
a central role in formulating feasible medium- and long-term plans based on theUniversity’s self-study results.
Educational Program and Outcome
 The degree award and curriculum design and implementation policies are notestablished for each degree conferred in the Faculty of Health Care. This issue shouldbe improved with these policies appropriately specified and the system to inspect andassess the appropriateness of the curriculum established.
 The syllabuses of some classes lack adequate descriptions of the grading methods andcriteria. This situation should be improved and a system developed to check thecontent of the syllabuses.
 The University analyzes the grade point averages (GPA) for student guidance, butwith the analysis used solely for grading, the learning outcomes stated in the degreeaward policy are not sufficiently monitored and evaluated. This issue should beimproved.
Education and Research Environment
 The shortage of laboratories has resulted in cases where seminar rooms designed forstudents are used by faculty members for their experiments. This situation indicatesthat the University has not created an appropriate learning environment to conduct
educational and research activities in the medical fields involving clinical practice. In
the years ahead, the University needs to clarify the policies pertaining to its

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educational and research environment before steadily implementing the inspections
and assessments, thereby drafting and carrying out concrete improvement plans.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
 Many of the University’s social cooperation and contribution activities are initiatedby individual faculty members and students, and are not systematically andsufficiently conducted as the University’s own initiatives. To realize its mission, theUniversity should address this issue by clarifying the policies and responsibilities fortaking the initiative in promoting social cooperation and contribution activities as wellas the organizations for promoting these efforts in order to respond to regional needs
and more actively participate in such activities.
University Management and Finance The decision-making authority and roles of the executives, excluding the president,
are not stipulated. This issue should be improved with the regulations reviewed andappropriately specified.
 The University’s administrative organization does not smoothly and effectively
operate the corporation and university management, support educational and research
activities, and develop an academic/administrative collaboration system due to theshortage of full-time administrative staff members. The University also does not
implement systematic measures to enhance the quality of its academic/administrative
staff members involved in university management. These issues should be improved.
 The ratio of financial assets to the required reserve funds is low, and the financial baseis not sufficiently stabilized. In the years ahead, the University should improve thisissue by formulating and implementing financial plans that include specific numericaltargets and development measures with the aim of stabilizing its financial base.
Recommendations
Internal Quality Assurance The Future Planning Committee, established under the Administrative Council since6fiscal 2018, is positioned as an organization responsible for promoting internal quality
assurance, but its role in internal quality assurance is not clarified, and the committee
presently does not serve to promote internal quality assurance. The University
annually conducts self-study, with each faculty department making improvements
based on the results, but the committee reports on other educational and research
activities are inspected and assessed solely by each council responsible for thecommittees, and the self-study results are not utilized to develop improvement
processes. The University must correct this issue by developing an effective internal
quality assurance system after establishing the policies and procedures for internal
quality assurance, with the Future Planning Committee supporting the PDCA cyclefor each faculty and graduate school to operate a university-wide PDCA cycle.
Faculty and Faculty Organization
 In fiscal 2018, the number of full-time faculty members required in the Standards for
Establishment of Universities was two short in the Department of Clinical Laboratory
Science, Faculty of Health Care. This issue must be corrected with the faculty
appropriately organized. To deal with the progressive shortage of full-time faculty
members, the University needs to specify the type of faculty members desired,establish policies for its faculty organization, and inspect and assess theirappropriateness, thereby assuring the quality of its faculty and faculty organization.