University Accreditation Results(Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for University)

Meijo University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Aichi, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2022
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2030）

Meijo University

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Meijo University
Overview
Meijo University positions the founding spirit of “fostering persons richly endowedwith moderation and fairness coupled with the ability to get things done, and who
merit the trust of the nation and society” as its basic principle. Based on this principle,
the University defines its purpose as “conducting in-depth specialized education andresearch as an academic center adhering to the provisions of the Basic Act on
Education and the School Education Act; providing comprehensive education tocultivate talented individuals with creative intelligence and well-rounded character
traits; and contributing to academic and cultural development.” The University has
formulated Meijo Strategy-2026 (hereafter, the “MS-26 Strategic Plan”) as a
medium- to long-term strategic plan to achieve its founding spirit and purpose, andsets forth the vision of creating and promoting the “Learning Community.” It ishighly commendable that the University is implementing the Learning Community
Creation Support Project, Enjoy Learning Project, and Meijo Challengers Support
Program in line with this vision to effectively support students’ self-directed activities
not only through regular classes but also in view of their extracurricular activities.
Regarding internal quality assurance, the University manages teaching andlearning with self-studies integrated with the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle toassess the implementation status and progress management of the MS-26 StrategicPlan. As for the internal quality assurance system, the University Evaluation
Committee headed by the president plays a central role as a body responsible foruniversity-wide internal quality assurance. The University Evaluation Expert
Committee was established to conduct self-studies of items mainly related to teaching
and learning, with the University Evaluation Expert Committee Working Group
formed under the committee swiftly carrying out the tasks required. The self-studiesof each division’s Faculty Evaluation Committee use institutional research (IR) dataand other information provided by these committees for empirical inspections andassessments. It is particularly notable that the University has established the Quality
Assurance External Evaluation Committee tasked with third-party evaluations toeffectively utilize outside perspectives, and includes external experts in thecommittees charged with internal quality assurance to ensure the objectivity andvalidity of their inspections and assessments.

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As for the University’s education, all faculties and graduate schools haveappropriately designed their curricula based on the diploma and curriculum policies.
The student learning outcomes stated in the diploma policy are evaluated based onthe assessment policy, with surveys conducted during enrollment and at times of andafter graduation and course completion, in addition to employer surveys. In the years
ahead, the University is expected to objectively evaluate learning outcomes based on
multiple external surveys, and to further visualize each student’s learning outcomesbased on the Learning Portfolio introduced in 2021. Moreover, the curricula of thefaculties and graduate schools are inspected and assessed using IR data from adashboard that visualizes the indirect and direct evaluation results of the learningoutcomes stated in the diploma policy. It is highly commendable that the University
is efficiently improving its curricula.
The University is also recognized for undertaking several otheroutstanding initiatives. Specifically, the University has established and maintained
facilities promoting world-leading cutting-edge research, including the OpticalDevice Research Center and the Nanomaterial Research Center, with the researchoutcomes returned to society and utilized for education. It is highly commendable
that the University has set up distinctive educational and research organizations tocreate a research brand while enhancing its education. Center for Community
Relations operates the Social Cooperation Zone “shake”, M-Studio, and otherfacilities as platforms connecting the University with society through such activities
as matching business needs with faculty and students and actively disseminating
information, with further developments expected in the future. Moreover, theUniversity organized Meijo University Virtual Research Fair 2020 as an online event
showcasing its research resources, and it is noteworthy that the University was able
to initiate a new form of research support ahead of other universities during thecoronavirus pandemic.
There are several issues the University needs to address, however. Some
graduate school courses have low ratios of student enrollment to the student
enrollment cap. This issue is being addressed, but little progress has been made sofar. Further efforts are required to thoroughly manage the student quotas of thecourses. In addition, inadequacies have been found in the content of some graduate
schools’ curriculum policies. This issue should be addressed as well.
In the coming years, the University is expected to resolve these issues
through internal quality assurance efforts and to progress further by enhancing itsnumerous distinctive initiatives.

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Notable Strengths
Mission and PurposeAs a basic medium- to long-term strategy, the University’s unique MS-26
Strategic Plan pursues the creation and promotion of the Learning Community
with all faculty and staff members working together to provide opportunities fora variety of experiences. Based on this strategy, the University has launched theLearning Community Creation Support Project, which calls for, adopts, andbudgets on-campus initiatives related to the introduction of problem-basedlearning; the Enjoy Learning Project that supports students’ self-directed
extracurricular learning activities; and the Meijo Challengers Support Program
aimed at cultivating leadership through training camps, overseas training, andspecial lectures. These efforts to realize the medium- to long-term plan arecommendable.

Internal Quality Assurance
The University has established the Quality Assurance External Evaluation
Committee tasked with third-party evaluations, and includes outside members in
the committees and working groups charged with planning and gathering data on
self-studies and educational improvements to assure internal quality reflecting
the views of external experts. Under this system, the University is working toestablish university-wide grading criteria and improve third-party syllabus
assessment methods. It is commendable that the University has adopted outside
perspectives to improve the system’s objectivity and validity, thereby enhancing
the effectiveness of its internal quality assurance.

Educational and Research Structure

The University approved the continued operation of the Optical Device ResearchCenter and Nanomaterial Research Center after their grant programs ended. Bothcenters are returning their advanced research outcomes to society. At the OpticalDevice Research Center, students of different year levels form teams to actively
conduct research using advanced experimental equipment, and the Clinical3

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OMICs and Translational Research Center promotes cross-disciplinary research
activities. It is commendable that the University has launched and maintained
distinctive educational and research facilities promoting research in thespecialized areas of its strengths in an effort to build university branding andenhance its education and research.
Educational Program and Learning Outcomes
The University Evaluation Expert Committee visualizes the achievement of thestudent learning outcomes stated in the diploma policy using radar charts andother images, with the data consolidated for each faculty and graduate school
into the curriculum self-study dashboard. The faculties and graduate schools
utilize this dashboard to conduct self-studies based on the data, and the tool willcontribute to revising the Faculty of Urban Science’s curricula in AY2023. It iscommendable that the data dashboard is used to visualize student learning
outcomes and improve the University’s education.

Education and Research Environment
The University held Meijo University Virtual Research Fair 2020, an online
event showcasing its research resources, in AY2020 ahead of other universities,
and successfully matched its faculty members with businesses and otherorganizations to produce positive outcomes, including the launch ofcommissioned and joint research and acquiring scholarships and other funds. It
is commendable that the University was able to initiate new online-based
research promotion and support measures during the coronavirus pandemic,
thereby contributing to realizing the mission of the MS-26 Strategic Plan andstrengthening its university branding.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
To realize the MS-26 Strategic Plan, the University introduced the first openspace “shake” in Nagoya and surrounding regions as a site for universityindustry-municipality exchanges. The space promotes numerous collaboration
projects with governments and businesses, and students are involved in planningand management outside the school and participate as lecturers. The University4

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has also established M-Studio equipped with 3D printers and other state-of-theart equipment to promote entrepreneurship education by offering opportunities
for students to interact with people outside their disciplines and broaden theirself-directed learning. It is commendable that the University is promoting
integrated social contribution and educational activities by providing anenvironment to overcome challenges through creative approaches.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Learning Outcomes

The Division of Architecture (Master’s Course), Graduate School of Science andTechnology, has not specified the basic concept of curriculum design in its
curriculum policy. This issue should be addressed.

Student Enrollment
The ratios of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap are low at 0.33 in
the Master’s Course of the Graduate School of Law, 0.30 in the Master’s Courseof the Graduate School of Business, 0.00 in the Master’s Course of the Graduate
School of Economics, 0.38 in the Master’s Course of the Graduate School ofUrban Science, 0.13 in the Master’s Course of the Graduate School of HumanStudies, 0.00 in the Master’s Course of the Graduate School of Environmentaland Human Sciences, 0.25 in the Doctoral Course of the Graduate School ofLaw, 0.22 in the Doctoral Course of the Graduate School of Business, 0.30 in theDoctoral Course of the Graduate School of Science and Technology, 0.20 in theDoctoral Course of the Graduate School of Agriculture, and 0.25 in the Doctoral
Course of the Graduate School of Environmental and Human Sciences. These
ratios should be improved with the graduate schools’ student quotas thoroughlymanaged.

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