National Institute of Technology, Kurume College
Decision of Institutional Certified Evaluation and Accreditation
The National Institute of Technology, Kurume College complies with the Standards for the Establishment of Collegesof Technology and other relevant laws and regulations and meets the Standards for Evaluation and Accreditation ofColleges of Technology set by the National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher
Education (NIAD-QE). It fulfills all requirements defined as Priority Evaluation Items in Viewpoint 1-1.
The best practices identified by the review committee include the following:1) The College participates in the Consortium of Higher Education in Kurume, which consists of five highereducation institutions in Kurume City, to utilize external education and research resources. It engages ininteractions with other higher education institutions in extracurricular activities as well as academic exchanges,
such as joint studies by faculty members. These initiatives have produced successful outcomes that include
students involved in joint research with Kurume University developing smartphone apps in 2019.
2) The "Machine Element Design Experiment," which is held in the fifth year of the Department of MechanicalEngineering, focuses on hand-wound winch handles and wind rotors. Based on the analysis result using
Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE), the performance of a 3D-printed model is tested and compared with theanalysis. Finally, the model is optimized. Accordingly, the College is making educational efforts to cultivate thecomprehensive strength that is essential for design.
3) The employment rate (the number of students employed divided by the number of students seeking postgraduation employment) for the associate and diploma courses is extremely high, with graduates employed in
the manufacturing and other industries suitable for engineers the College hopes to produce. The rate of students
advancing to higher education (the number of students advancing to higher education divided by the number ofstudents wishing to do so) for the regular and advanced courses is also extremely high, with graduates advancing
to the diploma courses at the colleges of technology, faculties of engineering, or graduate schools related to theirassociate and diploma courses.
Areas for improvement identified by the review committee include the following:1) It cannot be said that the criteria and items for conducting regular self-assessment of the College’s overallsituation are sufficient. Besides, the responsibility chain for regularly collecting and accumulating basic data andmaterials for conducting self-assessment has been insufficiently clarified. Therefore, it cannot be said that theimplementation of self-assessment is sufficient (Viewpoint 1-1-(1), 1-1-(2))2) The College’s internal quality assurance system is not articulated (Viewpoint 1-1-(4)).
The College’s response to the coronavirus pandemic:
NIAD-QE asked the College to report its response to the coronavirus pandemic, as the spread of infections hasaffected educational activities in unprecedented ways since the beginning of the 2020 school year. Consequently, itwas confirmed that the College is dealing with the situation as mentioned in the appendix.
NIAD-QE has translated this document with consent from the College for the readers’ information only.