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

Shonan Institute of Technology

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Kanagawa, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2022
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2030）

Shonan Institute of Technology

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Shonan Institute of Technology
Overview
Shonan Institute of Technology defines its purpose as “conducting academic teaching
and research on engineering in accordance with the Basic Act on Education, andcultivating engineers with practical skills, creativity, and well-rounded character
traits,” and sets forth the mission of “contributing to the development of Japan,industry, and the community.” The Institute remains committed to the educational
philosophy and purpose established at the time of its founding to undertake
educational and research activities. In AY2013, the Institute established the new
mission of “fostering engineers who participate actively in society” and endeavors toproduce individuals who support the social infrastructure under its unified institutewide purpose. In AY2019, the Institute formulated the Shonan Institute ofTechnology First Medium-term Plan (2020-2024) with the basic strategies of“producing human resources with technical knowledge and skills, along with
communication and other basic social skills” and “engaging in education andresearch on a mission to contribute to the community.” The plan outlines six key
items to be addressed that include education, student support, regional cooperationand contribution, high school-university integration, research, strategic public
relations and student recruitment. At the same time, the Institute has defined its brandstatement, vision, and tagline in pursuit of new growth opportunities based on themedium-term plan, and laid out the objectives of presenting and implementing a new
future direction while maintaining its original educational philosophy and purpose,in light of an increasingly diverse society and the growing importance of theunderlying science and technology.
Regarding the Institute’s internal quality assurance, the Meeting for thepromotion of Educational Reform is positioned as an organization responsible forpromoting internal quality assurance, with a mechanism in place for the meeting toundertake improvement and enhancement efforts based on the annual self-study
results. However, the meeting handles only issues involving all departments, faculty,and staff members, and items to be addressed in the Institute’s medium- and longterm plans, while the Core Member Meeting, which is not specified in the Institute’s
regulations or other rulemaking documents, discusses and decides on improvement
measures to address issues raised by the departments and divisions, before issuing1Shonan Institute of Technology

instructions for improvement to the divisions and other bodies. This process indicatesthat the internal quality assurance system led by the Meeting for the promotion of
Educational Reform is not functioning as stated in the Shonan Institute of Technology
Internal Quality Assurance Policy, and that reviews and decisions in the Institute’s
decision making process are made by the meeting body that is not specified in theregulations. This situation needs to be addressed with the meeting bodies involved ininternal quality assurance structured properly to operate the system under appropriaterole allocation and coordination.
In terms of education, the Institute has established diploma and curriculum
policies, and the Cross-Department Learning Activation Program was initiated in
AY2018 to teach students from the second year to acquire a wide range of skills
through research activities in advanced technology and other fields. The Institute also
encourages active learning and eagerly incorporates project-based learning (PBL).
The Institute has made notable efforts in its social contribution activities.
In addition to its faculty’s research activities, the Institute offers community outreachsubjects designed for faculty members and students to work together to address
regional challenges. In AY2020, the Center for Regional Collaboration was launchedto advance these longstanding efforts in a more systematic way. As a comprehensive
contact point, the center is expected to help make further progress in the Institute’sregional cooperation and contribution initiatives.
Moreover, the Institute’s admissions process has adopted various
approaches that include adding participation in the Matching Workshop to its
application requirements for school recommendation-based admissions andcomprehensive selection, and requiring applicants to attend trial lessons in theInstitute’s PBL subject, the Interdepartmental Basic Skills Workshop, with the aim offacilitating student learning after enrollment. Furthermore, as a unique educational
approach, the Institute has established the Technical Course in cooperation with its
affiliated high school to realize a high school and university articulation system.
There are several issues the Institute needs to address, however. First,
freshman enrollment is far above the freshman enrollment cap, and student
enrollment is below the student enrollment cap in some departments. This situationmust be corrected with the departments’ student quotas thoroughly managed. The
graduate school also falls short of fulfilling its student quota, and this issue should beaddressed as well. Next, in terms of education, external assessment tests and graduate
surveys are conducted to monitor student learning outcomes, but this method isinadequate for monitoring and evaluating the learning outcomes stated in the diploma

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policy. Furthermore, as mentioned above, meeting bodies not specified in theregulations play a key role in operating the Institute’s internal quality assurance
system, and this matter needs to be taken seriously. In addition, the Meeting for thepromotion of Educational Reform, positioned as a body promoting internal quality
assurance, is not involved in inspecting and assessing the Institute’s facultyorganizations, community activities, school management, and other activities, nor in
implementing improvement measures based on the results. The Institute must correct
this situation, in addition to addressing the ineffective operation of the internal quality
assurance system.
With the Faculty of Informatics newly established in AY2023, the Instituteis expected to contribute to education and research in the information field, whichfaces human resource shortages. On the other hand, in view of the new faculty being
added to the current single faculty and graduate school, the Institute is expected toclarify the roles and coordination of its organizations, and develop policies and plans
linked to its medium-term plan; the quality of its education and research activities
should also be assured by appropriately operating the institute-wide Plan-Do-CheckAct(PDCA) cycle to resolve issues.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contributions
The Institute has long been committed to social contribution activities linked toeducation, such as the introduction of the Social Contribution Activity subject in
the Basic Social Skills Development Courses offering a wide range of support
activities for the local community and elementary school students. The Institutealso works with industry through faculty research activities and student
participation to respond to community needs and various challenges.
Furthermore, the Center for Regional Collaboration was established in AY2022
to organize these activities in a more systematic way. It is commendable that theInstitute’s initiatives are expected to contribute further to overcoming regionalchallenges.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Learning Outcomes3

Shonan Institute of TechnologyTo monitor student learning outcomes the faculty uses assessment tests byexternal agencies and graduate surveys, while the graduate school screensdissertations. However, both evaluation methods are unclear in terms of theconnection to the diploma policies. This issue should be addressed with methods
and indicators adopted to monitor the learning outcomes stated in the diplomapolicies.

Student Enrollment
The doctoral program in the Graduate School of Engineering has a low ratio of
0.17 in student enrollment to the student enrollment cap. This ratio should beimproved with the graduate school’s student quotas thoroughly managed.

Recommendations
Internal Quality AssuranceThe Meeting for the promotion of Educational Reform is positioned as anorganization responsible for promoting internal quality assurance, but it plays alimited role in handling only issues involving all departments, faculty, and staff
members, and items to be addressed in the Institute’s medium- and long-termplans. On the other hand, the Core Member Meeting, which is not specified in
the Institute’s regulations or other rulemaking documents, discusses and decides
on improvement measures to address issues raised by the departments anddivisions, before issuing instructions for improvement to the divisions. Thissituation must be corrected by resolving the discrepancies between theregulations and actual management, while developing and operating amechanism for the body promoting internal quality assurance to oversee
improvement and enhancement efforts based on the self-study results.

Student Enrollment
The average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap overthe past five years is high at 1.31 in Information Science. The ratios of student
enrollment to the student enrollment cap are high at 1.26 in the same department,4

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low at 0.88 in Mechanical Engineering, and low at 0.84 in Materials and Human
Environmental Sciences. These ratios must be corrected with the faculty’s
student quotas thoroughly managed.

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