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

Keiai University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Chiba, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2021
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.1.2022 – March 31, 2029）

Keiai University

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Keiai UniversityOverview
The principle of school’s foundation of Keiai University is “Worship Thy Heaven,
Love Thy Neighbour,”, and its purpose is to “provide a university education thatimparts knowledge broadly, teaches and researches highly specialized arts andsciences, and develops intellectual, moral, and applied abilities in accordance with
the Basic Act on Education and the School Education Act, and thereby to develop
capable members of society who will contribute to the advancement of culture.” In
addition, the University has developed “Keiai Vision 2030,” a vision of what theschool should aspire to be, and “Medium-Term Plan '24,” a medium- to long-term
policy that considers changes in society and the future of the University.
With regard to internal quality assurance, one of the efforts called for in theassociation’s 2014 evaluation (accreditation) was to develop and implement afunctioning internal quality assurance system. In response to this, the University has
established bodies such as the “University Management Council,” “AcademicManagement Council,” and “Self- Inspection/Assessment Committee,” but therelationships between the relevant bodies and the powers they hold have not been
made clear. In addition, the Self-Study Committee compiles the activities conductedby individual faculties, departments, administrative departments, and otherorganizations in the “Self-Study Report (Annual Report)” (hereinafter the “AnnualReport”. However, the Academic Management Council, which is positioned as anorganization for promoting internal quality assurance, just gives approval to the selfstudy conducted by individual faculties and departments and the proposals for
improvement based on them. As such, in light of the university-wide policy, it cannot
be said to play a substantial role in internal quality assurance or to be contributing to
the enhancement of education and learning outcomes. This has resulted in the selfinspection/assessment implemented by individual organizations not functioning
adequately. Based on the above, it cannot be said that the internal quality assurance
system is effectively functioning based on clearly defined policies and procedures for
the University as a whole, and this should be corrected.
Regarding education, all faculties and departments have organized theircurricula appropriately conform to the degree award policy (diploma policy) andcurriculum design and implementation policy (curriculum policy). However, it is1

Keiai University

difficult to say that a university-wide check and review of their appropriateness areconducted. Although the University has established a limit on the number of creditsthat students can register for, using GPA as a measure to energize student learningand provide effective education, other initiatives are not systematically implemented
from a university-wide perspective, and verification of the assessment of academic
achievement and granting of credits depends on the efforts of individual faculty
members. Going forward, it is hoped that university-wide management of teaching
and learning will be made functional.
In terms of career support for students, the University offers a variety of careerfocused subjects from the first year under its unique Chiba Ichiban Project to develop
students into active members of society, and in AY2019, it fully introduced an AIbased retrospective analysis system (TIARA) to help visualize the results of theirstudies. This system provides feedback on appropriate guidance to each student basedon the student’s progress through the program in lectures, etc. This is a cutting-edge
and outstanding initiative that the JUAA can expect to see develop further in thefuture.
In addition, various community-based initiatives are being undertaken incooperation with local governments. Various community contribution projects
grounded in the characteristics of the region are carried out not only by the“Community Relation Center” and the Comprehensive Institute for Area Studies, butalso as part of undergraduate education, forming a cycle of mutual collaboration
between students, faculty, and the local economy. This is an excellent initiative.
In general, it can be said that individual organizations, such as faculties,departments, and divisions, are taking steps toward improvement. However, since theroles and powers of the internal quality assurance promotion bodies have not beenclearly defined, it is hoped that the University will establish a PDCA cycle that links
these efforts to check, review, and improve from the perspective of the University asa whole.
In the future, it is hoped that efforts to improve the functioning of the internal
quality assurance promotion bodies themselves will enable the effective functioningof the university-wide internal quality assurance system, and that the various
activities currently being undertaken will be re-examined from the perspective of theUniversity as a whole, leading to further development.
Notable Strengths
Student Support2Keiai University

To enhance career support, the unique Chiba Ichiban Project, which aims todevelop students into individuals who can play an active role in society, a varietyof career-focused subjects, including Career Design and Internships, are offeredfrom the first year. In AY2019, based on the data collected through that project,
the University fully introduced an AI-based retrospective analysis system(TIARA) as a tool to enhance the quality of career education. This iscommendable as an advanced initiative to visualize student learning and its
results while providing feedback to students, and going forward, it is expectedto be applied not only to career education but also to specialized education.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
 The Community Relation Center was launched in AY2017 to address theUniversity’s task of creating an organization responsible for university-wide
regional cooperation, and through the improvement of university-wide initiatives,
the Center, together with the Comprehensive Institute for Area Studies, isimplementing various regional contribution projects that are rooted in thecharacteristics of the Chiba region. In addition, the University has also adopted
community contribution activities as part of its undergraduate education, forminga cycle of mutual collaboration between students, faculty, and the local economy,
and providing benefits to all participating parties, which is commendable.
Recommendation
Internal Quality Assurance The regulations of the University Management Council, the body involved ininternal quality assurance, do not include information on internal quality
assurance in the “Advisory Matters” section. In addition, the hierarchy anddivision of roles between the system for promoting internal quality assurance(the Academic Management Council and the University Management Council),and the system for conducting checks and reviews (the SelfInspection/Assessment Committee) are not clearly stated in the regulations, andthere is no coordination among them. The management and improvement
support provided by the Academic Management Council for individual faculties
and departments’ PDCA cycles is inadequate. In some cases, the policies for eachactivity are not clear, and inspections, assessments and improvements based on
the policies are not properly carried out. As such, remedial measures should betaken to make the internal quality assurance system function properly.
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