March 11, 2016
Ruth M. Grubel
Chair, Evaluation Promotion Committee
Kwansei Gakuin(Chancellor, Kwansei Gakuin)2015 Kwansei Gakuin University Self-Assessment Results
We are pleased to release the Kwansei Gakuin University (KGU) self-assessment
report for academic year 2015, in which we set out and confirm our philosophies, goals,education and research targets, policies etc., and formulate action plans.
In our AY2015 self-assessment, with the completion of our five-year efforts toachieve the goals set in AY2009, we formulated our vision (goals) and action plan forAY2016-2021.
In our goal-setting process, we systematically organized our philosophies, goals,
educational and research targets, policies, etc. in line with the image of students we seek,
our diploma policy, curriculum policy, and admission policy. We also set a policy to support
extracurricular education with the understanding that extracurricular education plays animportant role in promoting students’ personal growth at university. These points stand out
in our latest self-assessment. Also, as in our previous rounds of self-assessment, we
received third-party evaluation by the evaluation expert committee (comprising members
both from inside and outside KGU) as a step unique to KGU’s self-assessment.
Moreover, as a new process for internal quality assurance, we started holding
review sessions where the KGU executive office and deans of undergraduate and graduate
schools share the goals of the undergraduate and graduate schools, action plans,
backgrounds of said goals and plans, and challenges.
In AY2004, in order to reinforce the PDCA cycle toward spontaneous andself-sustaining development, Kwansei Gakuin (KG) created a New Self-assessment
System incorporating the Certified Evaluation and Accreditation System, which requires
KG to conduct self-assessment annually. In AY2006, KGU underwent the first CertifiedEvaluation and Accreditation by the Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) for
its Self-assessment Report and was accredited as “meeting the standards of JUAA.”In AY2009, KG reviewed the evaluation items in line with changes in the evaluation
standards of JUAA, reset its goals, and started working on five-year goals toward AY2013.
In AY2014, KG made a comprehensive report on the achievement status of the newly set
five-year goals. In the intervening period, KGU underwent the second Certified Evaluation
and Accreditation by JUAA and was accredited again as “meeting the standards of JUAA” inAY2013.
So far, our self-assessment efforts have won high recognition from the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, JUAA, and other universities andinstitutions as a pioneering initiative in which we successfully turned the PDCA cycle. In
fact, we have been interviewed by some of these organizations on our self-assessment
efforts. However, we encountered several challenges as well.
In response to such challenges, we sought to ensure a certain extent ofconsistency among different departments and schools by introducing processes of flexibly
adapting their goals to changes of society and environment and by sharing matters thatneed to be included in policies.
Our self-assessment in AY2015 and thereafter seeks to enhance the quality of oureducation and research. To that end, among other steps, we assure the quality ofeducation that JUAA upholds as a basic requirement and achievement standard. We also
ensure that our internal quality assurance system works effectively as suggested by thedirection of the third Certified Evaluation and Accreditation.
Our future self-assessment efforts must lead to higher-level, more independent,
and higher quality education and research. The policies and goals that we have set in thecurrent academic year will be the starting point of such endeavors.
Please contact our secretariat if you have any feedback or suggestions about our report (orits supporting documents).
Self-assessment Secretariat: Kwansei Gakuin Assesment Officejikohyouka@kwansei.ac.jp

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