Osaka Yukioka College of Health Science（大阪行岡医療大学）
Evaluation summary
Standard 1. Mission and Objectives, etc.
Base on its founding principle of “cooperation,” the University sets its missions and goals as being“the fostering of medical care personnel with broad specialist knowledge and technical skills,
adaptability to medical care and society, together with a sense of ambition that enables a permanent
spirit of inquiry.” Its educational objective is the fostering of physical therapists who have anawareness of collaborating with many occupations, an understanding of the requisite sense ofsolidarity, and who have acquired high professional knowledge and technical skills. The University’smission, goals and educational objectives were, under the guidance of the Chair of the Board ofDirectors, examined and formulated by the Preparatory Office for the Establishment of University,and are clearly stated in the University Regulations, and disseminated using a variety of methods
both internally and externally. In addition, the mission and goals are incorporated in the University’s
medium-to-long-term plan and in the three policies of diploma policy, curriculum policy andadmission policy. Consistency with the structure of the educational and research organization is beingmaintained.
Standard 2. Students
An admission policy based on the University’s educational objectives has been formulated, andefforts are made to disseminate it over the University website etc. Various entrance exam systems
have been devised and entrants’ selection aimed at a varied admission of students is implemented.
An appropriate number of students is being secured. The University has developed support forlearning and class instruction including a class teacher system, basic seminars as an aspect of firstyear education, specialized course lectures tailored to each year’s students and mock exams for those
preparing to take the state examination for physical therapists. It also implements career education
for all University students seeking to become physical therapists, and a system for supporting thoseseeking employment is in place corresponding to the various hopes and qualities of students. In termsof student services organizations a Students’ Committee, Harassment Prevention andCountermeasures Committee and a General Affairs Liaison Meeting composed of all those concernedwith student support have been established. The campus, buildings, athletic ground, facilities forpractical training, library and other equipment and facilities have been appropriately prepared andare being utilized. While it is to be hoped that the University urgently prepares a system for protecting
students’ physical and mental health that goes beyond the mere implementation of a lecture
questionnaire and student lifestyle questionnaire, some attempts are being made to support stablestudent lifestyles.
Standard 3. Educational curriculum
The diploma policy cites the three capabilities of “ability to understand society and communicate,”“high specialist knowledge and technical skills,” and “a spirit of inquiry and correct ethical stanceregarding disciplines and research.” These are detailed in the application guidelines, disseminated on
the University’s website etc., and based on these, the standards for awarding credits, promotion to
the next school year, certifying graduation and completion are stipulated in the Course Completion
Regulations, and disseminated. The awarding of credits, promotion to the next school year, andcertifying of graduation are debated by the Faculty Council according to clear standards. In order tocultivate the three abilities cited in the diploma policy there is an organized educational curriculumthat is systematically integrated through the three groups of courses of the liberal arts course, basicspecialized course and specialized course. Ingenuity is displayed in teaching methods with, forexample, low-teacher-student ratios, active learning, and problem-based learning etc. However, fromthe academic year 2018 onwards, the names of parts of the courses in the educational curriculum
were changed and teaching conducted, but as the associated revision of the University Regulations
was not done in line with internal regulations and laws there is an urgent need to redress this issue.
Standard 4. Faculty and Staff
In order to attain its missions and goals, the University’s authorities are decentralized andresponsibilities clearly defined, and the University is operated with the President who hold final
responsibility for education and research, and a Dean and Department Chairs in an auxiliary role tothe President. A sufficient number of faculty have been secured and assigned to observe the Standards
for Establishment of Universities and the Regulations on Designation of Schools and Training
Facilities for Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists, and the employment of faculty isdecided upon in line with the Regulations on Selection of Faculty. Budget allotment is conducted asfinancial support for the development of the research environment and research activities, and anEthics Committee has been established in line with the Research Ethic Regulations. However, there
is a disparity between the content of Article 1 of the Faculty Council Regulations and articles 35 and
36 of the University Regulations, in addition to which reforms are required concerning the fact thatthe President has not appropriately stipulated the procedures for students’ expulsion, suspension orreprimand. In addition, although the Harassment Prevention and Countermeasures Committee isprovided for in the University Regulations, it has never been convened and the fact that it is not
functioning needs to be redressed.
Standard 5. Management, Administration and Finance
The University strive to pay consideration to environmental conservation, human rights andsecurity, and management discipline and integrity is maintained in line with the business plan, while
continuous efforts are made in order to achieve its mission and goals. As the highest legislative organfor making decisions the Board of Directors and its consultative body the Board of Councilors havebeen established, and the Board of Directors discusses and make decisions regarding important issues
on the operation of the University as a whole. Over a long period of time a stable financial base has
been built up, and the accounting procedures and an audit by an auditing firm are strictly andappropriately implemented. In line with the Yukioka School of Allied Health Professionals Medium-to-Long-Term Plan the fiscal balance is carefully scrutinized by the Board of Directors, and abusiness plan accordingly formulated for the academic year. With regards to the debts carried overfrom the previous academic year due to the demolition of the Tenroku Building, the Board ofCouncilors did not conduct a preliminary consultation, and while there are partial problems with theBoard of Councilors such as this, appropriate financial operations are established.
Standard 6. Internal Quality Assurance
In terms of the University’s internal quality assurance, the University maintains an awareness thatit must conduct organizational initiatives regarding the improvement of its educational abilities withthe three policies of diploma policy, curriculum policy and admission policy at its starting point, andwith this awareness had organized the FD Committee composed of those responsible for the threepolicies, and is conducting inspections and evaluations based oninvestigation, collection andanalysis of data. However, there are no grounds in the regulations for organizing the FD committee
as the body responsible for internal quality assurance, and a responsibility system has not been
established. Furthermore, while the FD Committee is seen as an organization responsible for selfinspections and evaluations, self-inspection and evaluation are not stated as being under its
jurisdiction in the FD Committee Regulations, and the implementation of self-inspections andregulations and the publication of the Self-Inspection and Evaluation Report on the Universitywebsite, as prescribed in laws and regulations, are not being carried out. In addition, as the operationof the University centers on the FD Committee, with regard to education and learning management,
and preparation of regulations based on the governance of the President, the University-wide PDCA
cycle is not functioning, and neither has the University’s system of responsibility for the internal
assurance of education and learning been established.
In summary, based on disciplines mainly in the medical care field, the University cites theeducational target of fostering highly adaptable and widely cultivated medical care personnel throughthe acquisition of high levels of knowledge and technical skills as physical therapists, and fulfilling
its social contribution through rehabilitative medical care. There is much to be hoped for in thisapproach to human resources development. However, serious issues remain concerning the threestandards of educational curriculum, faculty and staff, and internal quality assurance. It is requiredthat these issues are steadily redressed, to enable the realization of the University’s stable operation.
Note that with regard to the University’s unique standards, the general comments on “Standard A.
Fostering of medical care personnel,” “Standard B. Research activities and academic community
activities,” and “Standard C. Social collaboration and contribution with the University resources”
should be referred to.
It should be noted that the University has cited the following remarks.
1.

It is a single faculty university specializing in cultivating physical therapists

2.

It grasped the importance of physical therapy in Japan at an early stage and has tackled thecultivation of physical therapists

3.

It is a university in which on-campus and clinical education are closely linked