Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results forProfessional Graduate Business School

The Hosei Business School of Innovation Management,
Hosei University

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 Hosei Business School of Innovation Management,
Hosei University

The Hosei Business School of Innovation Management (hereafter, HBSIM) states its
purpose as “cultivating ‘entrepreneurs’ in the true sense,” who are “persons of talent”
with “high ethics, ambitions, and the ability to calculate risks” and who “pursue
innovation with bold ideas and the will to take actions.” It can be said that the HBSIM
is farsighted in its recognition of the significance of innovations to Japanese industries
in terms of utilizing information technologies (IT) in general, and the need to apply
them to small- and medium-sized enterprises in particular. It has implemented aneducation that brings the purpose to the forefront.
In order to achieve the above stated purpose, the school has introduced“project methods” as a pedagogical approach to education that bridges theory andpractice. It is commendable that the HBSIM has created a required subject called“Projects” that puts such projects methods into practice, and that this course is at thecenter of its pedagogy. In addition, the HBSIM excels in its formation andorganization of teaching staff and it has hired a number of practitioner-teachers who
have diverse backgrounds for the “Projects” class.
The admission policy of the HBSIM states that it seeks to enroll “adultstudents with work experience who hold enthusiasm for business innovations.” Inparticular, it requires, in principle, three years of practical experiences as aqualification to be admitted. Moreover, it states that for those finishing up theirundergraduate education and wishing to apply for the school immediately, “it isdesirable for them to have more than three years of work experiences similar toregular full-time workers.”
It is highly commendable that the HBSIM has strengths in the area ofeducational outcomes. That is, it recruits the kinds of students stated above,
implements an approach to education that employs project methods to help studentsengage in direct practice, and produces graduates of which thirty-five percent become
entrepreneurs starting new businesses.
Furthermore, it is also commendable as a unique characteristic that the school
provides support for the students to become entrepreneurs. In particular, it gives anaward to use “incubation spaces” for one year to graduates with excellent grades andnotable achievements.
Having said the above, however, Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) would like to point out several concerns below. First, it is necessary to devise
some measure to address the problem of gradually decreasing numbers of applicants,
even though the effects of the 2008 economic downturn that was precipitated by theLehman Brothers bankruptcy are taken into consideration. In particular, the HBSIM
has two—a one-year and a two-year—programs. In terms of these two programs’enrollment management, there is a problem: Although the two-year program’senrollment more or less reaches the enrollment capacity, the one-year program hasfaced with the gradual decline in both applicants and actually enrolled students.
Second, regarding faculty organization, it is expected that the HBSIM will
deliberate on a measure to ensure the makeup of future full-time faculty being betterbalanced in terms of gender and age. Many full-time faculty members in the HBSIM
are in their late fifties, and young faculty members are relatively small in number.
Moreover, there is only one female faculty member.
Finally, in terms of self-studies and evaluations, although self-studies andevaluations were conducted in fiscal years 2008, 2010, and 2012, JUAA cannot
conclude that the school conducts these systematically. In particular, the reports

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submitted to JUAA by the HBSIM contain many obscure points. In addition, there areinsufficient accounts in the schools explanations in their responses to, and committee(draft) reports on, the questions given before the JUAA’s site visits.
JUAA would like to suggest that the HBSIM make efforts to improve andsolve the issues pointed out in this time of accreditation and evaluation. JUAA alsosuggest that the HBSIM develop a system of substantive self-studies and evaluations
through which it can address the issues concerning the HBSIM’s strengths andproblem-solving processes, and grow its unique characteristics. JUAA expects theHBSIM’s further development and enrichment.