Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results forProfessional Graduate Business School

The Engineering Management Course,
the Graduate School of Engineering Management,the Shibaura Institute of Technology

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2013
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period:April.01.2014 – March.31.2019）2

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the Engineering Management Course, the Graduate School of Engineering
Management, the Shibaura Institute of Technology

The Engineering Management Course (EMC hereafter) in the Graduate School ofEngineering Management at the Shibaura Institute of Technology defines its mission andpurpose as allowing students “to conduct research in technological management, to go
deeper in such research by practice, and to cultivate a high level of specialized knowledge
and practical abilities that are needed in various professional occupations,” and “to takeinitiatives to develop and promote Japanese technology and economy and to makecontributions for the further enrichment of cultures.”
The EMC clarifies its aims and purposes of research and education as follows: toimplement “education and research for students to further develop and broaden basic
abilities in specializations that were cultivated in their undergraduate education andexpertise that they foster as professionals”; to foster “persons of talent who can makecontributions to technological and economic developments”; to cultivate those taking partin innovations that are “embodied in the creation of new products and services utilizing
new ideas” or that “actualize the evolution of existing production processes and businessflows”; and “to offer generative knowledge and ways of thinking required of innovations
that should be shared by every layer of organizations in order to integrate technology andmanagement and to fuse theory and practice.” In short, the EMC has indicated specificpurposes for education and research, in addition to its basic mission and purposes. It iscommendable that the EMC is unique as an educational institution.
In order to achieve the purpose of education for the integration of technology andmanagement, the EMC has established a “specialized engineering area” and a “specializedmanagement area,” around which to construct its curriculum, including various subjects
related to both areas in the curriculum. Moreover, in its curriculum, the EMC sets “ProjectSeminars” and “Research on Specific Problems” as requirements and other subjects aselectives. Students are encouraged to register and take four subjects, through which theyacquire knowledge and abilities concerning innovation, intellectual property, technologicalstrategies, and data analysis.
There are commendable, unique measures in its education. In particular, it is a
special feature of the EMC that it offers introductory lectures and internships for students
entering the program right after their undergraduate education in order to level out theknowledge held by those students who already work and those who enter the graduate
program straight from the undergraduate program. In particular, to implement theinternship, the EMC offers thorough pre-internship instructions in various seminars as
preparatory classes for the students to learn basic business manners, communication skills,
and business research.

3Having said the above, there are some areas of concern. In particular, when
examining the ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap between the schoolyears of 2010 and 2012, there has been a constant, large number of under-enrollment. In theschool year of 2013, there was some improvement, but it still did not solve the problem offilling the enrollment capacity. While there has been a great increase in competition amongprofessional business schools in Japan, including technological management schools,
societal interest in technological management has been stagnant. Therefore, the EMC needs
to address the issue of under-enrollment, by making further efforts for meeting multiple
challenges in order to improve its ability to appeal and attract potential and prospective
applicants. For this purpose, JUAA would like to point out a few major issues below.
First, it is necessary for the EMC to formulate its own vision and strategies. It
should investigate the root cause of under-enrollment. Based on the findings, it shouldclarify its own mid- and long-term vision, and formulate strategies to actualize such avision. Currently, the EMC situates its action plans in the mid- and long-term vision of theentire institution; however, it cannot be said that the EMC’s own vision is clearly defined.
It is expected that the EMC will formulate its own mid- and long-term vision and strategies
based on its current situations and challenges.
Second, based on such strategies, it is necessary for the EMC to shape up its
curriculum organization and implementation policies (i.e., curriculum policy) and to put inplace policies that clarify learning outcomes and attainments students are required toachieve in order to earn their degrees (i.e., diploma policy). Moreover, in terms of theformulation of curriculum and diploma policies, it is desirable that the EMC clearly
indicates measures to foster persons of talent with global perspectives as cultivating such
persons is one of the basic missions of professional business schools.
Third, it is necessary that the EMC enriches courses in the area of management,
which is a concrete problem concerning curriculum policy. The EMC has allowed students
to earn up to ten credits by taking classes in management offered through the Graduate
School of Business Administration at Rikkyo University. This measure has helped theEMC supplement subjects and courses in the area of management. However, the EMC
should develop its own curriculum and classes to teach specialized knowledge oforganizational management and human resource administration, as such knowledge isneeded to manage businesses and other kinds of institutions.
Fourth, the EMC needs to strengthen systematic efforts to give instructions forcoursework and registration. As stated above, in its curriculum, the EMC designates“Project Seminars” and “Research on a Specific Problem” as requirements, and it offers
guidance for coursework and registration in order to prevent an unhealthy course taking
balance. However, in order to make course registration clear, it is expected that the EMC
will offer course models that illustrates the images of persons to be fostered, in addition tothe designation of the four classes it currently encourages students to take.
Fifth, it is necessary that the EMC assure the educational quality of a system ofR ” that was introduced in theeducation offered through the series of “Hybrid Lectures○2013 school year. This lecture-based education system is a combination of two means ofeducation: “media classes,” in which lectures given in the weekday evenings are videotaped
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4and delivered on-demand, on-line basis; and “schooling classes,” face-to-face traditional
instruction offered by the institute on Saturdays. This system was introduced with the aimof alleviating the difficulties faced by students who commute in the evenings on weekdays.
The findings of a survey of students indicated that this system meets the students’ needs.
However, the students’ high satisfaction rate is not necessarily the same as the indication of
educational effects and outcomes. In the future, it is necessary for the EMC to verify theeducational effects of this system from multiple viewpoints.
Moreover, it is necessary for faculty members to recognize and share the purpose,R system. In addition, the EMC should makemeaning, and effects of the Hybrid Lectures○efforts for offering faculty development opportunities concerning the teaching methods thatsuit the system.
Sixth, the EMC should consider its prospective faculty organization. Among fifteen
full-time faculty members, four (who are also work for the School of Engineering Design)
are under contract until the end of school year 2013, recognized as such based on thestatutory means. After this measure expires, the EMC will have only eleven full-time
faculty members. This will still meet the statutory requirement, but it will cause aimbalance in faculty organization in some specialized areas. Therefore, the need to examine
and address the issue of faculty organization after the school year of 2014 is urgent. To besure, while the EMC is considering the increase of full-time faculty members, it is expectedthat it will strategically increase the number by clarifying the basic policy of facultyorganization based on its own mid- and long-term vision mentioned above.
All of the issues stated above are closely related. In order to address them, the EMC
will need to commit to and implement reforms of mid- and long- term reforms to enhance
its competitiveness. Although such reforms may not be easy, JUAA is certain that the EMC
will be able to find ways to refine and develop itself, since it is a program that has richeducational resources with a strong tradition.
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