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

Tokoha University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Shizuoka, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2018
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2019 – March.31.2026）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Tokoha University
Overview
Tokoha University (hereafter, the University) was established in 2013 through theintegration of Tokoha Gakuen University, Hamamatsu University, and Fuji Tokoha
University and has four campuses as of 2018. The University upholds three principles ofeducation: chitokukenbi (to acquire both knowledge and moral values), miraishiko (to befuture oriented), and chiikikouken (to contribute to local communities), and defines its
mission as: “to contribute to the nation, society, and local communities and to theadvancement of the nation’s education and academic culture by imparting generalknowledge, teaching and studying the theories and applications of academic education in
depth, and developing capable individuals endowed with knowledge, moral values,
aesthetic sensitivity, and fortitude.” In 2016 the University adopted the Long-term Vision
and Medium- to Long-term Plans of Tokoha University Educational Foundation.
Following this integration, the University established the Curriculum
Improvement Project Team, an organization tasked with formulating three policies(degree award policy, curriculum design and implementation policy, and admission
policy) and implementing sweeping educational reform to develop the curriculum. As aresult of systematic university-wide education reform, all undergraduate and graduate
schools now offer appropriate subjects for their programs, including a set of common
courses required by undergraduate students of all faculties. The University ensuresalignment and sequencing of the curriculum by providing a curriculum map showing therelationship between courses within the curriculum for all programs. Using the Faculty
Self-Evaluation Form, which all faculty members are required to complete for course
improvement, the University also enhances the curriculum by verifying course alignment
to the University’s education policies. Furthermore, the University is pursuing a numberof initiatives to improve the effectiveness of teaching, such as introducing small classsizes and applying active learning methods in group work and practical courses.
More specifically, the University places great importance on its Ningenryoku
seminar, a compulsory freshman course taught in small groups that develops academic,communication, and other useful skills for transforming students into motivated selfstarters. The Shizuoka Kusanagi Campus that opened in 2018 has a learning commons
adjacent to the library serving as the central facility for self-initiated learning andinformation gathering. To achieve the education principle of contributing to local

3communities, the University has adopted a policy to guide its social cooperation andcontribution activities as a community-based institution, and in 2018 it established theRegional Contribution Center to promote social contribution at a university-wide level.
As a result, community engagement activities previously carried out by individual
teachers or campuses are now systematically conducted and thriving, with various
campuses collaborating and coordinating their efforts. Also, the University has signed
comprehensive partnership agreements with local government bodies and privatecompanies.
There are a number of issues the University needs to address, however. First, it
has not established a method and criteria for evaluating learning outcomes, and the resultsof learning outcome assessments are not being used for improvement. Second, thegraduate schools do not implement their own faculty development (FD) programs. Third,some of the admission practices were problematic, including enrollment management.
The University needs to address the relationship and division of responsibilities between
the organizations comprising the IQA system, led mainly by the Deans’ Meeting, whichbears the overall responsibility for promoting IQA, and the Self-Study Committee
responsible for implementing policies and programs. The University regulations also failto clearly establish the responsibility of these university-wide organizations in guiding
the PDCA cycles implemented by faculties, graduate schools, committees, and otherorganizations. It is important for the University to address these issues from an institutionwide perspective and work on quality assurance for further development of the institution.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
On the occasion of the opening of the Shizuoka Kusanagi Campus, which theUniversity considers as its center for community engagement, the University
established the Community Contribution Center in 2018 to implement universitywide community contribution activities by coordinating various initiatives of theindividual campuses. Examples of such activities include the Tokoha Mirai Juku –TU can Project, a student-led community engagement effort that combines projects
previously run separately on the former Fuji and Shizuoka campuses. Many students
eager to contribute to the local community take part in this project, helping them toachieve personal growth and heighten their interest in community service. With
campuses in many parts of Shizuoka Prefecture, and mindful of the fact that many

4students come from within the prefecture and are likely to find local jobs after
graduation, the University actively and systematically implements student-run social
contribution activities that bring together business, government, and academia. Theseefforts are commended for embodying the University’s education principle ofcommunity contribution.
Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance
Although the University has established an IQA system led by the Deans’ Meeting,which bears the overall responsibility for promoting IQA, and the Self-Study
Committee responsible for implementing policies and programs, the allocation ofresponsibilities among these bodies and faculties, graduate schools, committees, andother organizations is not always clear or defined in the University regulations. TheUniversity needs to build a more effective IQA system by reviewing the system ofcollaboration among these organizations, including the roles of the responsiblebodies.

Educational Program and Outcome

The curriculum design and implementation policy of the Faculty of Social andEnvironmental Studies and the Faculty of Education and Care for Early Childhood
should clearly state the basic principles of curriculum design and implementation.

The Graduate School of International Language and Culture-Master’s Course needsto define the evaluation criteria for research projects on specific topics.

The faculties use special research, graduation research, and the success rates ofnational examinations to measure learning outcomes, and the graduate schools
consider thesis examination and research seminars for this purpose, but neither
schools are effectively measuring the learning outcomes established in the degree
award policy. Going forward the University needs to assess students’ learning
outcomes more effectively and use the results to improve the content and methods ofteaching.

5Student Enrollment
The ratios of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap are low at 0.03 and0.35, respectively, in the Graduate School of International Language and CultureMaster’s Course and the Graduate School of Environment and Disaster ResearchMaster’s Course. Graduate school enrollment should be managed more effectively.

Faculty and Faculty Organization

Except for the professional graduate school, none of the graduate schools implement
their own faculty development (FD) programs. This issue should be addressed.

Recommendations
Student Enrollment
The average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over thepast five years is high at 1.25 in the Teacher Training Course of the Faculty ofEducation and low at 0.77 in the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Therapy, Faculty of Health Promotional Sciences. The ratios of student enrollment tothe student enrollment cap are low at 0.75 and 0.88, respectively, in the Departmentof Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy, Faculty of Health Promotional Sciences
and the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health and MedicalSciences. Faculty enrollment must be managed more effectively.