Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results forProfessional Graduate Business School

Konan University Graduate School, Graduate School of Social
Science, Department of Accountancy

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Hyogo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2014
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April.01.2015 – March.31.2020）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the Accounting Professional Program,the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Konan University
The Accounting Professional Program in the Graduate School of Social Sciences(hereafter, the Program) was established based on the founding idea of Konan Gakuen:“By emphasizing cultivation of character and promotion of health, and respecting
individuality to develop the innate ability of each individual,” it aims to “trainaccounting professionals equipped with advanced expertise and broad knowledge inorder to carry out practical and creative activities to respond to rapid economic change.”
As part of the competencies students are expected to acquire, the Program promotes
high ethics, an international mindset, IT skills, and skills in identifying, analyzing, andsolving problems in the business sector in addition to knowledge of accounting.
However, due to a change in the operation of the certified public accountant
examination system in Japan and related fundamental environmental changes in
professional graduate schools in the field of accounting, the Program decided to stop
recruiting students after 2015 because it will be not possible to continue fulfilling its
social mission as a professional training institution in the future. In spite of this situation,
the Program decided to apply for certified evaluation and accreditation in order tomaintain its educational standards as a professional graduate school until the students
who entered the program in 2014 complete their degrees.
This accreditation review has identified four features of the Program. First, theProgram’s curriculum is formulated with a central focus on education to produce
personnel equipped with high professional ethics as accounting professionals. By
assigning Professional Ethics as a required subject and offering Management Ethics as
an elective, the curriculum aims to cultivate professional-level ethics in the accounting
field. It is also commendable that the Program facilitates study by dividing the subjects
into seven groups (Financial Accounting, Administrative Accounting, Auditing, Legal,Management and Economy, Information and Statistics, and Individual Guidance) sothat students can acquire broad range of knowledge beyond accounting.
The second feature is the Program offers detailed, systematic student guidance.
At the beginning of each school term, a level check test is administered to all students,
and the Program guides students’ selection of courses, taking their requests into account
while utilizing a step-up table. It is commendable that the Program makes efforts tooffer guidance that responds to each student’s situation, most of who aim to pass thecertification examination.
The third feature offered by the Program is that faculty members observe eachother’s classes. In order to improve the quality of education, it is important to develop
the faculty’s teaching skills in addition to enriching the contents of education. In theProgram, faculty members improve their teaching techniques by observing otherfaculty’s class sessions and exchanging honest feedback. Only a few professional
graduate schools in this field make such an effort, and this effort is considered to be oneof the distinct features of the Program.
The fourth feature offered by the Program is that students who have passed theessay method test of certified public accountant examination are supported by theProgram including practitioner faculty of the Total Support Committee and receive
advice for advancing their careers after completing the program. The Programsystematically deals with problems accounting graduates face. It has made a concerted
effort to be actively involved in helping graduates resolve problems after completion ofthe program, while in most of other schools it is common for the alumni associationdeals with such issues.
While the Accounting Program may be commended for these distinct features,its decision to stop recruiting students after 2015 due to the lack of incoming students

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presents a problem. It is still debatable whether the Program could have made further
efforts, for example, to improve its admission practices and effectiveness in selecting
applicants, in spite of the changes to the certified public accountant examination.
Although the current numbers of both the ratio of enrolled incoming students to theincoming students admission cap and the ratio of enrolled students to the student
enrollment cap are serious concerns, Japan University Accreditation Association(hereafter, JUAA) does not require but only suggest improvement because the Program
has already decided to stop recruiting students.
The decision to stop recruiting students is a matter of university administration
and as an accreditation organization, JUAA is not in the position to discuss theappropriateness of the decision. However, JUAA strongly recommends the maintenanceof the educational level for current students and continuous support for graduates. Inaddition, how Konan University makes use of the educational experiences accumulated
in the field of accounting since the establishment of the program in 2006 remains animportant issue for the future. At the site visit of accreditation review this time, thepresident of the university mentioned the ongoing legacy of the Program, and JUAA
watches the university carefully and with expectations.