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

Okayama University of Science

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Okayama, JapanAccreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2013
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period:April.01.2014 – March.31.2021）

2

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the Okayama University of Science
Notable Strengths
Social cooperation and contribution
It is commendable that the Okayama University of Science (hereafter, theUniversity) has made a broad contribution to the local communities. As the only
private university specializing in science and technology in Okayama Prefecture,
the University promotes life long learning of the general public through the Office
Promoting Off-Campus Cooperation, promotes science education for elementary
school students through the Science Volunteer Center, and fosters the engineer anddevelopment of medical equipment through the office of the Okayama
Professionals of Medical Equipment Development. In addition, the University plays
the major role in the University Consortium of Okayama, consisting of sixteen
universities in Okayama Prefecture.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational content, methods, and outcomeThe maximum number of credits that students can register for per year has been set
high at fifty-two in the first year of the Department of Applied Science in theFaculty of Science, at fifty-nine in the second year of the Clinical Science Course in
the Department of Life Science in the Faculty of Science, and at fifty-nine in thefirst and second years of the Clinical Engineering Course in the Department ofBiomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering. These departments should
improve the situation in accordance with the purpose of having a credit system.

No master's or doctoral programs in the Graduate Schools have clarified the criteria
for examining degree-seeking theses and dissertations. These criteria should beclarified, for example, in the student handbook and made public.

Enrollment
The ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.31 in the
doctoral program in the Graduate School of Science. This situation should beimproved.

Area of Serious Concern
Enrollment
In the last five years, the average of the ratios of enrolled freshmen to the freshman
admission cap and the ratios of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap arehigh at 1.28 and 1.27 in the Department of Applied Mathematics, at 1.28 and 1.24in the Department of Biochemistry, at 1.23 and 1.21 in the Department of LifeScience, and at 1.30 and 1.23 in the Department of Zoology in the Faculty ofScience; at 1.24 and 1.24 in the Department of Applied Chemistry andBiotechnology. They are low at 0.82 and 0.86 in the Department of Intelligent
Mechanical Engineering, at 0.78 and 0.80 in the Department of BiomedicalEngineering in the Faculty of Engineering. The ratio of enrolled students to the3student enrollment cap is high at 1.21 in the Department of Applied Science in theFaculty of Science, and at 1.20 the Department of Information and Computer
Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, The average of the ratios of enrolled
freshmen to the freshman admission cap in the last five years is high at 1.26 in theDepartment of Socio-Information in the Faculty of Informatics. These situations
should be improved.