Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific
University
Student survey
Basic Summary Report for
AY2022

Office of the President
IR team
Mail: [irteam@apu.ac.jp]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Outline of the survey ___________________________________________________ 3
Purpose of survey _____________________________________________________________ 3
Target to survey _______________________________________________________________ 3
Method of survey _____________________________________________________________ 3
Period of survey _______________________________________________________________ 3
Major survey items ____________________________________________________________ 3
Status of collection ____________________________________________________________ 3
Attributes of respondents _______________________________________________ 4
Response status _______________________________________________________ 5
Learning time outside class ______________________________________________________ 5
Cross‐cultural exchange opportunities _____________________________________________ 6
Level of use of the opposite language ______________________________________________ 6
Sense of growth (abilities and qualities acquired since enrollment in APU) ________________ 8
Satisfaction with university life and sense of belonging ________________________________ 9
Career Plans _________________________________________________________________ 10

3OUTLINE OF THE SURVEY
Purpose of survey
By examining the actual growth of students while they are in APU and by examining the actual
conditions of students, the results of education will be verified, the current status of issues will beascertained, and the results will be linked to improvement activities.

Target to survey
10,109 undergraduate students who were enrolled inthe Autumn Semester from AY2018 to AY2022.
For all undergraduates in AY2018 and AY2019.
From AY2021 onwards, this survey is intended forundergraduates who were enrolled in two to sevensemesters.

Method of survey
Online survey (with names) via the Internet

Period of survey
From December to the end of each academic year

Major survey items1) Level of use of the opposite language2) Learning time outside class3) Cross‐cultural exchange opportunities
4) Satisfaction with university life and sense of belonging
5) Sense of growth (abilities and qualities acquired since
enrollment in APU)
6) Career plans

Status of collection
The survey was conducted on 10,109 students and 6,022
responded (response rate 59.6%).

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ATTRIBUTES OF RESPONDENTS
Breakdown by college, breakdown by domestic and international students, as well as by year ofenrollment at the time of the response are shown below. There is no significant bias among
domestic students, international students, or college. Looking at the breakdown by year ofenrollment, first‐year and second‐year students responded the most, with the response rate getting
lower as the year increased.

5RESPONSE STATUS
Learning time outside class
The following shows the results of questions on the learning time during the semester other thanper day.
(a. No, b. 30 minutes, c. 30 minutes to less than 1 hour, d. less than 1 hour, e. 2 hours to less than
2 hours, e. 2 hours to less than 3 hours, f. 3 hours to less than 4 hours, g. 4 hours to less than 5hours, h. 5 hours or more, the alternatives are converted and averaged as follows: a: 0 hours, b:
0.25 hours, c: 0.75 hours, d: 1.5 hours, e: 2.5 hours, f: 3.5 hours, g: 4.5 hours, h: 5 hours)
In AY2020 and AY2021, when classes became online due to the COVID‐19, the learning timeincreased, and on both Saturdays and Sundays, when classes are not held, the hours per day (14hours per week) are approximately 2 hours. In AY2022, the situation has returned to the pre‐COVID‐
19 situation.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ordinance's"National Student Survey (Second Trial)" for AY1993, 78% of the respondents answered that theyspent less than 10 hours per week on classes (excluding graduation theses, etc.) (0 hours 15.9%, 1‐
5 hours 41.2%, 6‐10 hours 20.9%), while approximately 35% of the students in the APU answeredthat they spent less than 10 hours per week (less than 2 hours per day), and approximately 75%
spent more than 10 hours per week.1 In addition, while the percentage of students who answered"0 hours (no study) was 15.9% in the National Student Survey, the percentage of APUs was low atapproximately 3.5% (days with classes) and approximately 9.4% (days without classes).
1

https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/chousa/1421136.htm

6Cross‐cultural exchange opportunities
The following shows the results of questioning students about opportunities for international andcross‐cultural exchange. Overall, the percentage of students who gave affirmative answers fromdomestic students was low, and only 40% felt that they had sufficient opportunities for exchange.
Especially in the case of COVID‐19, the number of negative responses (inadequate opportunities orinability to take advantage of opportunities) from domestic students increased, and 59.5% of theresponses in AY2021 were negative. In the AY2022 survey, both domestic and international
students gave affirmative answers, but 39.2% of domestic students answered that opportunities
were insufficient or that opportunities were not utilized.

Level of use of the opposite language
The following shows the results of the questionnaire regarding the level of use for the language(Japanese or English) that is opposite to the original language (Japanese or English). While morethan 95% of domestic students say that Japanese is their native language or their native language,

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only about 25% of international students say that English is their native language or their nativelanguage. (For more than 70% of international students, English is not their native language.)
Whereas over 85% of international students (including students with "native language or nativelanguage level") say that they are "at a level that allows them to discuss topics and areas ofspecialization in English," only 15% to 18% of domestic students say that they are "at a level thatallows them to discuss topics."Most of the students in Japan answered that they were "able toparticipate in discussions on everyday matters" or "able to understand short and simple expressions
in everyday life, and speak at a level," indicating that the level of discussion in English has notreached in specialized fields or in various themes.

8Sense of growth (abilities and qualities acquired since enrollment in APU)
Since the AY2021 survey, the APU Rubric competencies were asked the question, " How well do
you think you have acquired these competencies to the present through your student life at APU?"
The results of the AY2021 and AY2022 surveys are shown below. The competency with the highest
sense of growth was "empathy (understanding and accepting the emotional ups and downs andcultural backgrounds of those involved)," with 85.3% of respondents saying they had acquired thiscompetency.
On the other hand, competencies with a low sense of growth are "to demonstrate one'spersonality (to develop one's own strengths and overcome weaknesses while distinguishing one's
personality and characteristics)" and "self‐management (to increase one's self‐improvement while
perceiving oneself objectively and maintaining strict discipline)" which are slightly below 75%.
If we divide competencies into five clusters, we find that more than 75% of the four clusters(three of which are more than 80%) are "interpersonal" and "global."

9Satisfaction with university life and sense of belonging
The following shows the results of questions regarding the degree of satisfaction and sense ofbelonging in university life, asking "Do you feel proud that you are enrolled in the APU?" and "Howmuch do you want to recommend enrollment to the APU to acquaintances and younger students?"
Approximately 70% of students gave positive responses to both satisfaction andrecommendations, indicating a slight upward trend since AY2020.

By college, positive opinions increased by 8.0 points (APS) and by 6.4 points (APM) in AY022
from AY2019

10Career Plans
The following shows the results of the survey regarding post‐graduation education. While morethan 65% of domestic students answered "up to university (undergraduate)", about 40% ofinternational students answered that they would like to obtain a master's or doctoral degree, and
10% answered that they would like to obtain a doctoral degree. This is almost the same as in theenrollment survey.

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