(28 January, 2020)

Junior College Standards and its Rationale

1Junior College Standards
Preamble1.

As an institution of higher education and academic research that respects
academic freedom, the mission of the junior college is to advance scienceand contribute to social development by fostering capable humanresources possessing a strong sense of humanity, enhancing the creation
and application of knowledge and technology, and preserving and passing
on the arts and sciences. Each junior college is mindful of this mission,
maintains standards appropriate to an institution of higher education andstrives to realize its own mission and purpose by continual self-regulation of
its organization and activities to improve and enhance its organizational
potential.

2.

The Junior College Standards serve as criteria for junior college evaluation
and accreditation conducted by the Japan University Accreditation
Association. They also serve as a guideline for the junior college to maintainappropriate standards and enhance its potential.

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Standards[Mission and Purpose]
1. The junior college has appropriate purposes in education, research andhuman resource development based on its mission, which are made public
in an appropriate manner. The junior college has clearly defined mid- to longterm plans or other strategies to realize this mission.
[Internal Quality Assurance]
2. The junior college has a clearly defined internal quality assurance system torealize its mission and purpose, with which the junior college continues toregularly maintain and improve the quality of education it offers.
[Education and Research Organizations]3. The junior college provides appropriate education
organizations to realize its mission and purpose.

andresearch[Educational Program and Learning Outcomes]
4. The junior college has degree award, curriculum design and implementation
policies to realize its mission and purpose, which are made public in an
appropriate manner. Following its curriculum design and implementation
policies, the junior college establishes a coherent curriculum that produces
appropriate educational outcome, implements measures for effective
education and grants degrees appropriately. The junior college assesses
and evaluates learning outcomes against those identified in the degree
award policies.
[Student Enrollment]
5. The junior college has admission policies to realize its mission and purposethat are publicized appropriately. The junior college conducts an orderly andethical screening process based on these policies.
[Faculty and Faculty Organization]
6. The junior college has clearly defined qualifications and qualities it seeks in
its faculty and the policies for the formation of its faculty organization, torealize its mission and purpose. The junior college implements this policy
appropriately and constantly enhances faculty potential.
[Student Support]

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7.

The junior college has a clearly defined policy for student support to realize
its mission and purpose. Based on this policy, the junior college provides
support to enable students to devote their time to study in a stableenvironment, with appropriate support for students learning and campus
life, as well as guidance in placement.

[Education and Research Environment]
8. The junior college has a clear policy for maintaining its environment for
education, research and other purposes to realize its mission and purposethat allows students to learn adequately and faculty to conduct substantive
education and research activities. The junior college appropriately
establishes, manages and maintains its education and research
environment following this policy.
[Social Cooperation and Contribution]
9. The junior college has an appropriate social cooperation and contribution
policy to realize its mission and purpose. The junior college partners withthe regional or global community to advance the public good with its
educational and academic resources.
[Management and Finance]
10. The junior college defines its management policy to realize its mission andpurpose and administers the school in accordance with this policy to fulfill
its role effectively. There are appropriate offices to support, maintain andimprove its education and research activities, while faculty members andstaffers are constantly trained to expand their potential with regard to
university administration duties. The necessary financial resources are
secured for appropriate management.

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Junior College Standards Rationale
PreambleThis section will clarify the expected role of junior colleges and the rationale
for the Junior College Standards.
1. Expected Role of Junior Colleges
As an institution of higher education and research, the junior college nurturesa rich sense of humanity in pursuing the truth and cultivates human resources.
It constantly verifies its activities and that of society, maintains and improves
its education and research standards befitting its role and enhances the wellbeing of the communities it serves.
Present-day progress in academic research, structural changes in society andthe economy and rapid globalization, have demanded that junior colleges
become more diverse, engage in cutting-edge research and fulfill their
distinctive mission. Society expects junior colleges, with their expertise, tomake proposals based on constructive, critical verification of trends in society
to provide for its betterment. The junior college constantly assesses whether itmeets these expectations, as well as substantiating and improving its education
and research activities.
2. Junior College Standards Rationale
The Japan University Accreditation Association provides certified juniorcollege evaluation and accreditation based on the Junior College Standards,
which also serve as a guideline for junior colleges to maintain appropriate
standards and improve their potential in accordance with their mission andpurpose.
Junior colleges use the Standards as criteria for conducting thorough selfstudy. For junior colleges aspiring to full JUAA membership, the standards direct
their endeavors to improving their organization. Full members verify their dayto-day operations against the standards to enhance their development.
Each item in the Junior College Standards has been designed to respect theautonomy of the institution in accordance with its mission and standing, while
pointing out matters requiring attention for junior colleges to fulfill their role.

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Standards
This section states standards that junior colleges should adhere to as
institutions of higher education while honoring their distinctive mission andpurpose.
1. Mission and Purpose
The junior college clarifies its purpose based on its mission. Each department(or course) and specialist area states its objectives in human resource
development, education and research. These objectives clarify the distinctive
character of the institution, assure academic freedom and fulfill the expectedroles of a junior college, as stated in the School Education Act, Article 108 Clause
1: “To teach and conduct research in specialized fields and cultivate skills
required in working and everyday life,” and in the case of professional juniorcolleges in particular, Article 108 Clause 4: “To teach and conduct research in
specialized fields and cultivate practical and applied skills required forspecialized occupations.” The objectives are appropriate to institutions ofhigher education and academic research organizations.
The junior college provides the necessary entities, systems and other means
for its education and research to fulfill its mission and purpose. The juniorcollege engages in self-study to substantiate and improve its research andeducation activities by examining that its activities are coherent with its mission
and purpose.
The junior college states its mission and purpose in the junior college
regulations, which are informed to relevant college personnel and the publicthrough printed and digital institutional publications.
To realize its mission and purpose, a junior college needs to develop futurefocused mid- to long-term plans or other strategies, with consideration forchanges in society. These plans should be revised as necessary. They ensure theautonomy of the junior college in accordance with its organizational andfinancial foundation.
2. Internal Quality Assurance
The junior college bears primary responsibility for ensuring the quality of theeducation it offers. To realize its mission and purpose, the junior college
establishes a system of internal quality assurance which functions appropriately
for consistent and continual assurance and improvement of the quality of6

education the junior college offers. Internal quality assurance refers to aconsistent and continual internal process including a plan-do-check-act cycle, inmaintaining appropriate standards in the quality of education and learning thatenables the junior college to be accountable for the education it offers.
The junior college establishes an entity responsible for implementing internal
quality assurance for the whole institution in accordance with its mission,
purpose and other relevant policies (hereinafter referred to as internal quality
assurance entity) for smooth operations within the junior college to assure
quality, and clarifies policy and procedures for implementation (hereinafterreferred to as the internal quality assurance policy and procedure). This includes
the junior college’s philosophy for internal quality assurance; the authority androle of the internal quality assurance entity; the relationship of this entity todepartments, advanced courses and other entities; as well as guidelines forplanning, designing, implementing, evaluating, improving and advancing
educational programs.
For the internal quality assurance system to function effectively and assure
the quality of education the junior college offers in realizing its mission andpurpose, it defines basic principles in degree award policies, curriculum design
and implementation policies and admission policies for each program. Each
program implements educational activities following these three policies withevaluation of the effectiveness of the program to implement consistent andcontinual improvements based on the results of the evaluation. The internal
quality assurance entity ensures that the three policies have been stipulated inaccordance with the basic principles of the junior college and that educational
activities based on the three policies, their verification, and improvement anddevelopment based on the results are consistently and continually carried out,
to fulfill its role appropriately in managing the process.
Departments, advanced courses and other entities verify the effectiveness ofeducational activities and regularly carry out self-study for improvement anddevelopment based on internal quality assurance policy and procedures, inaccordance with the junior college’s mission and purpose as well as the threepolicies. The validity and objectivity of this self-study are enhanced byincorporating measures such as an external perspective. The junior college
considers how to respond to recommendations from government authorities
and certified evaluation and accreditation agencies. The self-study carried out
by departments, advanced courses and other entities work in conjunction witha clear plan to enforce improvement. The internal quality assurance entity, whileconstantly monitoring the status of quality maintenance within the juniorcollege, plays a central role in the improvement endeavor by giving the7

necessary instructions or support to departments, advanced courses and otherentities within the institution to coordinate implementation of the plan.
As an independent institution entrusted by society, the junior college iscommitted to accountability for its education and research, self-study and theresult, financial and other operations, by publishing the status of each in printed
and digital form.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of its
internal quality insurance system and makes use of the results for improvementand development of the system.
3. Education and Research Organizations
The junior college establishes the necessary departments, advanced courses
and other education or research entities to realize its mission and purpose, as
well as maintain and manage them appropriately. These education and researchorganizations function as units of activity within each junior college andappropriately reflect its mission as well as other factors such as recent trends inacademia, society and the local regional environment.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of its
education and research organizations, and makes use of the result for
improvement and enhancement.
4. Educational Program and Learning Outcomes
The junior college stipulates and publicizes expected learning outcome in the
degree award policies for each degree program to realize its mission andpurpose, including knowledge, skill and proper attitude. Based on the degree
award policy, the junior college defines and publicizes its curriculum design andimplementation policies, which include the structure of the curriculum, content
of courses, classification of courses in the curriculum, and teaching style.
The junior college adheres to legal requirements in offering appropriate
associate degree courses and advanced courses based on its curriculum design
and implementation policies. The curriculum is organized coherently. Socialchanges such as trends in academia, globalization, and diversification of ways
information is used, as well as social needs and other factors, are considered inoffering appropriate courses to achieve each program’s educational andresearch objectives and learning outcomes. The junior college offers an orderly
learning process for effective study with consideration given to the academic
framework and an adequate combination of courses.

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The junior college activates student learning in and out of the classroom
based on curriculum design and implementation policies, to carry out effective
education measures. As part of effectively providing education, an appropriate
syllabus is compiled and appropriate guidance for taking courses provided. Also,in addition to teaching classes based on a lesson plan, teaching staff arecreative with lesson format, content and teaching style.
The junior college takes measures to award credits in accordance with thecredit system by considering the learning goals, content and teaching style ofeach course. To assure educational quality, degrees are awarded based on clear
standards with an appropriate and rigid grading and credit-awarding scheme, of
which students are informed with the responsible entity, before they begin the
program.
The junior college assesses and evaluates whether students have acquired
the learning outcomes including knowledge, skills and proper attitude inaccordance with degree award policies. Methods and indicators for evaluating
learning outcomes from multilateral perspectives are developed and applied.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of thecontent and methodology of its educational programs and uses the results for
improvement and development. It strives to appropriately use the assessed andevaluated learning outcomes in that process.
5. Student Enrollment
To realize its mission and purpose, the junior college stipulates and publicizes
its admission policies based on degree award policies as well as curriculum
design and implementation policies. This clarifies what the institution seeks instudents including education up to high school and scholastic aptitude, as well
as how it screens applicants. Student quota and capacity are also appropriately
stipulated and publicized.
The junior college establishes and implements an orderly and ethical student
screening system by an appropriate entity, based on its admission policies.
Screening must be implemented with consideration for global social needs suchas the relation between higher and secondary education, accepting students
with working experience and those from the international community including
Japanese returnees and transfers from other educational programs.
To secure appropriate educational outcomes, the junior college appropriately
controls the actual number of freshmen enrolled in relation to the freshman
quota, as well as its student population in relation to capacity.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of the9screening system and makes use of the results for improvement anddevelopment.
6. Faculty and Faculty Organization
To realize its mission and purpose, the junior college defines the qualifications
and qualities it seeks in its faculty members, and the policies for the compositing
the faculty organization of each department or advanced course, taking inconsideration its degree award policies as well as its curriculum design andimplementation policies. Faculty members are organized in accordance witheducational programs and student populations in the department or advanced
courses in line with these policies. A balanced distribution of characteristics
such as age, nationality, and gender, along with the optimum faculty staffing
levels, is considered in relation to the needs in specific fields of study for
effective research and education. The junior college assures that faculty
members cooperate closely with an appropriate distribution of roles and a clear
indication of their responsibilities in education and research.
The junior college has clear provisions for recruiting, appointing andpromoting faculty members through an open and ethical process, withconsideration for stability in their status. In searching for and appointing them,
the junior college values diversity for flexible human resource management.
Considering its place as an institution of higher education and academic
research, a junior college looks for faculty candidates with the necessary
character, achievements in education/research, practical experience in therelevant fields, along with appropriate contributions to society and academia.
The junior college engages in organizational and multilateral faculty
development (FD) activities to enhance faculty potential. Through FD, faculty
members improve skills such as in teaching, developing and enhancing thecurriculum based on an analysis of learning outcomes, and making classroom
instruction more effective. Measures to activate activities required of facultysuch as in education and research and those in social contribution, are carriedout to enhance their potential. The junior college evaluates faculty
achievements including those in education, research, and social work toenhance activity in these areas.
The junior college inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of the facultyorganization and uses the result for improvement and development.
7. Student Support

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The junior college cultivates human resources deeply cultured in a wide rangeof subjects with specialized knowledge. Also, a junior college provides anappropriate environment for students to foster true humanity and maximize
their potential. Support and advice are tailored to individual needs. The juniorcollege stipulates policy for student support to realize its mission and purposeand offers a system that enables students to devote their time to study and live
a stable life.
Supplementary, remedial and other forms of extracurricular education areprovided to support learning based on student needs, as well as the support toenhance independent study. Individual support is provided to special-needs
students and those from the international community, as well as those whohave difficulty continuing their studies such as those repeating courses andthose wishing to drop out. Financial support is offered through reduction or
exemption of tuition and/or a junior college scholarship for students to study
without financial worry.
Campus life support includes a system of appropriate counseling in mental
and physical health with meticulous concern for the student living environment.
To ensure comfort and safety in campus life, harassment of any sort isprevented to assure respect for human rights.
Guidance in placement is provided to help students establish careers after
they graduate. A special entity established for career guidance provides
students support and guidance in choosing their path after graduation.
The junior college strives to provide appropriate support for extracurricular
activities which includes those to do with student clubs and volunteer groups.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness ofstudent support and uses the results for improvement and development.
8. Education and Research Environment
The junior college stipulates a policy for establishing its education andresearch environment and provides each entity with the necessary andsufficient grounds and buildings appropriate to the scale and nature of its rolein education and research in accordance with this policy. It provides anenvironment for students to engage in independent study and for faculty tooffer substantial instruction and conduct meaningful research. Highest priority
is placed on safety and health, students provided with an optimum network
environment with appropriate and enhanced use of Information andCommunication Technology apparatus. In view of recent advances in
information technology, faculty, staff and students are provided with a strong11

foundation in information ethics. The junior college also strives to provide otherappropriate means to enhance student comfort on campus.
The junior college provides an adequately sized library and systematicallyacquires the appropriate amount and quality of academic resources. Also, thelibrary promotes effective use of these resources and contributes to student
learning and the research and education activities of faculty members. It also
strives to build a network with education and research institutions in Japan andabroad to share academic information.
The junior college clarifies its basic policy for research and provides
appropriate research funds and labs, secures faculty research time to support
education and research activities. Also, a junior college provides an environment
where faculty members can carry out education and research activities
dynamically, by appointing the appropriate education and research support
staff.
The junior college clearly stipulates regulations in research ethics to prevent
fraud in research and establishes an appropriate entity to ensure complianceand carries out research activities in accordance with these conditions.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of its
education and research environment and uses the result for improvement anddevelopment.
9. Social Cooperation and Contribution
The junior college makes use of its intellectual resources to cooperate witheducation and research institutions, corporations and other organizations, andthe local community it serves. Also, a junior college considers the needs of theregional community and builds a system to contribute to society by effectively
returning to the community knowledge and technology it creates, via methods
such as supplying the opportunity for lifelong learning.
The junior college stipulates policy for social cooperation and contribution
and with these concerns in mind responds to various needs including those fromthe local community through education and research organizations.
A junior college, which includes regional cooperation in its mission andpurpose, will contain students and faculty members that actively interact withlocal residents and businesses, and work to communicate research findings andpass on knowledge/skills.
A junior college, which includes proactive participation in the globalization
process in its mission and purpose, will contribute to the international
community by engaging in such activities as international exchange among12

students, faculty, staff and the local community, and also work to communicate
research findings and pass on knowledge/skills to the international community.
The junior college regularly inspects and evaluates the appropriateness of its
social cooperation and contribution and uses the results for improvement anddevelopment.
10. Management and Finance(1) Management
The junior college stipulates policy to realize its mission and purpose andimplement mid- to long-term plans or other strategies with consideration for
future prospects that it informs to faculty, staff and the administration. That
policy establishes a system for the President to make responsible decisions withappropriate management by heeding to opinion from relevant junior college
personnel. Many junior colleges in Japan are composed of an academicorganization and an administrative organization that establishes the juniorcollege, the authority and responsibility of both entities is clearly defined, andan appropriate collaboration system established.
Furthermore, in situations where there is a joint university to the juniorcollege, plans and policies for operating as a junior college are clearly stipulated.
Decisions are made and authority enforced appropriately and ethically,
complying with related laws and regulations and the junior college’s policy for
management. The authority and responsibility of academic organization
positions such as the President, Vice President and Department Chair, alongwith the authority and responsibility of administrative organization positions
such as Chairman of the Board and other board members are clearly determined.
Also, appointment and dismissal of those in these positions is handledappropriately. The junior college compiles and implements the budget withconsideration for mid- to long-term financial plans.
The junior college establishes a secretariat to manage junior college
operations efficiently and effectively, which functions thoroughly. It appoints
staffers with a deep understanding of the purpose of the junior college’s
education and research activities, especially the need for student support. It
cultivates staff with specialized knowledge and distributes them appropriately.
Also, it provides an environment where they can make full use of their planningability and assume an independent role in the administration of the college. The
junior college stipulates regulations for staff appointment and promotion andstrives to recruit excellent staff. It enhances staffers’ incentives by rewarding
them with improved benefits following appropriate evaluation of their work.

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As an education and research institution, the junior college is managed
through cooperation between faculty and staff . Faculty and staff receive
training to realize appropriate and effective management. The junior college
collectively provides for staff development to cultivate and enhance abilities
necessary for management.
The junior college establishes an audit system to assure that it is managed
according to its management policy. It regularly inspects and evaluates theappropriateness of management and uses the results for improvement anddevelopment.
(2) FinanceFor stable implementation of research and education, the junior college
secures a firm financial foundation based on mid- to long-term plans, which ismanaged effectively and with fairness. The junior college has a firm foundation
for stable management to fulfil its mission in cultivating capable humanresources for the good of the nation and enhance the level of research andeducation. For this reason, the junior college lays emphasis on stable financial
management.
The junior college avoids excessive reliance on tuition for revenue andsecures other sources of income for maintaining and enhancing the level of
education and research. The junior college strives to acquire external funds
through a system established for the purpose and engages in proactive
application.
Additional clauses (February 27, 2018)
These standards will be enforced from April 1, 2020.

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