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

Aichi Shukutoku University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Aichi, JapanAccreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2016
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2017 – March.31.2024）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Aichi Shukutoku University
Overview
Aichi Shukutoku University (hereafter, the University), whose predecessor was Aichi
Shukutoku Gakuen (established in 1905), was opened in 1975 as a college with asingle faculty, the Faculty of Letters. In 1995, as the University changed to a
coeducational institution, it established the mission “living with diversity” in order toachieve its founding spirit, “fostering talent to bloom decades from now.” Currently,
the University has eight faculties (Letters, Human Informatics, Psychology, Media
Theories and Production, Health and Medical Sciences, Human Services, GlobalCulture and Communication, and Business), as well as five graduate schools(Creativity and Culture, Education, Psychology and Medical Sciences, Global Culture
and Communication, and Business). The University operates the Nagakute Campus inNagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, and the Hoshigaoka Campus in Nagoya City, Aichi
Prefecture.
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) in 2009, the University has conducted education and research activities
aiming to realize its mission and three themes, including the theme “Rooted in theregion and open to the world.” In addition, to reform its internal quality assurance
system, the University, established a PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle, which
stipulated and implemented a midterm (five-year) plan and annual plans, as well as
established a system in which the University annually conducts self-study to bringabout enhancements and improvements. These reforms were initiated by theUniversity Management Committee, a policy-setting committee under the president,
and the Self-Study Committee. The University also tackled issues pointed out in theprevious accreditation and made improvements by implementing stricter assessment,setting a guideline regarding grade evaluation, and developing rules on granting
doctoral degrees in the four graduate schools with doctoral programs.
In this accreditation review, it is highly commendable that among theuniversity-wide common subjects for undergraduates, the subjects Japanese Literacy,Foreign Language Skills, and Computer Skills have a structured system that provides
students, depending on their abilities and motivations, classes with high-level content.
Also, experience-based education subjects that develop the practical skills needed insociety, such as volunteer activities and internships, instill an attitude of active social
participation in the students. In addition, a double-degree program in cooperation
with Tianjin Foreign Studies University, China has maintained mutual exchange ofstudents since 2008 and has produced double-degree students almost every year.
However, the University still has several issues to address. JUAA expects thatthe University will improve the registration system in line with the purpose of thecredit system due to the fact that there are several faculties where students areallowed to register for an excessive number of credits. As for graduate schools, JUAA
expects that the University will improve such problems as unstated examination
criteria for the dissertation, and the low ratio of enrolled students to the student
enrollment cap. In addition, although the University established a system where selfstudy leads to enhancements and improvements through the PDCA cycle, it isdifficult to say that the system is working on a full scale yet. Hereafter, JUAA hopesthat under the leadership of its president, the University will rebuild the system into
an internal quality assurance system and will immediately improve these issues
through this system.

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Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

It is commendable that the University has made effective educational efforts in anumber of areas. For example, the subjects Japanese Literacy, Foreign Language
Skills, and Computer Skills have a structured system that provides students,
depending on their abilities and motivations, classes with high-level content.
Other than those subjects, various kinds of “experience-based education subjects,”
such as volunteer activities and domestic and international internships (whichwere established to help students acquire practical experience and expertise inperforming functions needed in the society), became a major feature of theUniversity as an attempt to instill an attitude of active social participation in thestudents. In addition, the University maintained mutual exchange of students andproduced double-degree students almost every year since starting the doubledegree system (in cooperation with Tianjin Foreign Studies University), despite
the differences in the beginning and ending periods of semesters in China.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is commendable that the Community Collaboration Center’s activities haveproduced various remarkable outcomes. For example, many students areregistered to the center’s programs and more than half actually participate involunteer activities. Also, since 2009, when the Challenge Fund was establishedin the Community Collaboration Center, many student organizations haveconducted vigorous voluntary activities. In addition, the center’s activities haveproduced educational effects through the establishment of courses such as“Facilitation skills training,” “Volunteerism” and “Idea Planning Basic.”

The Advanced Health Support, Medical Care, and Education Center consists offour specialized institutions: a clinic, a clinical psychology consulting room, ahealth consultation room, and the Graduate School of Psychology and MedicalSciences. It is commendable that the clinic and the clinical psychology consulting
room, whose users have been increasing year by year, have contributed to improvehealth care in the local community.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomeIn the Faculty of Business and all graduate schools, the policies on degree
award do not state their learning outcomes such as knowledge and skills
required for the completion of the programs. Also, in the Graduate School of
Global Culture and Communication, the master’s program and the doctoral
program do not have separate policies. Each program should formulate its
own policy.

In the throughout all the faculties and graduate schools, the curriculum design
policies only indicate the current system of curriculum but do not indicate thebasic ideas on educational contents and methods. Furthermore, in theGraduate School of Global Culture and Communication, the master’s program
and the doctoral program do not have separate policies. Each program should
formulate its own policy.

The curriculum of the doctoral programs in the Graduate School of Creativity

4and Culture, the Graduate School of Psychology and Medical Sciences, theGraduate School of Global Culture and Communication, and the Graduate
School of Business are not considered to be a proper combination of research
work and course work. Considering the purpose of the credit-based degree
granting system, these doctoral programs should offer appropriate educationalcontent.
The maximum number of credits a student can register for is high at 50 for all
students in the Faculty of Letters, third- and fourth-year students in the Facultyof Media Theories and Production, and first- and second-year students in theFaculty of Global Culture and Communication. Also, for students in the Facultyof Human Services the maximum number of credits is 50 or more, or unlimited.
Each faculty should improve the maximum number of credits in line with thepurpose of the credit-based system.

In the Graduate School of Global Culture and Communication, students are notsufficiently informed about the research guidance plan. This should be improved.

Students are not clearly informed about the examination criteria for the thesisor dissertation in the following programs: the master’s programs in theGraduate School of Creativity and Culture and the Graduate School ofEducation, the master’s and doctoral programs in the Graduate School ofPsychology and Medical Sciences, and the doctoral programs in the Graduate
School of Global Culture and Communication, and the Graduate School ofBusiness. Each program should clearly state the criteria in the studenthandbook.

Enrollment
All graduate schools, except the Graduate School of Education, do not haveseparate admission policies for the master’s and the doctoral programs. Thisshould be improved.

The ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.09 in themaster’s program and 0.06 in the doctoral program in the Graduate School ofCreativity and Culture, 0.05 in the master’s program in the Graduate School ofEducation, 0.34 in the master’s program and 0.19 in the doctoral program in theGraduate School of Psychology and Medical Sciences, 0.07 in the master’sprogram and 0.13 in the doctoral program in the Graduate School of GlobalCulture and Communication, and 0.08 in the master’s program and 0.00 in thedoctoral program in the Graduate School of Business. These numbers should beimproved.

Education and Research Environment
There is no librarian or the other staff with professional knowledge on theHoshigaoka Campus who is employed as regular staff. This should be improved.

Internal Quality Assurance
The role of the University Management Committee and the role of the Self-StudyCommittee (both committees are the core organization of internal quality
assurance) are not clearly differentiated, and efforts for improvements are notsufficient. Thus, the president should take the initiative to strengthen the internal
quality assurance system to assure the effectiveness of improvements.