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

Aomori University of Health and Welfare

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PublicLocation: Aomori, Japan

Accreditation 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 Aomori University of Health and Welfare
Overview
Aomori University of Health and Welfare (hereafter, the University) opened in 1999 in
Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture, as a four-year public university. The University’s
goal is to train professionals with fundamental knowledge and skills in health sciences
who can adjust to comprehensive care systems and lead health, medical care, andwelfare initiatives in Aomori Prefecture. The University began with the Faculty ofHealth Science and three departments: The Department of Nursing, the Department of
Physical Therapy, and the Department of Social Welfare. The University added theDepartment of Nutrition to train administrative nutritionists in 2008, bringing thenumber of departments to four. In 2003, the Master’s program in the Graduate Schoolof Health Science began training practitioners with advanced expertise and broad
knowledge aimed at improving the health, medical care, and welfare in AomoriPrefecture. In 2005, the University established a doctoral program and in 2008, tenyears after its foundation, the University was incorporated and restarted as a public
institution, Aomori University of Health and Welfare.
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) in 2009, the University has addressed the reformation of the following areas:“educational and research organization,” “educational content and methods,” “researchenvironment,” “faculty organization,” “administrative organization,” and “books andelectronic media,” many of which have been found to meet the standards in thisaccreditation review. To implement these reforms, the University launched acommittee for continuous quality improvement to address the problems caused by thevertically based, faculty- and section-centered setup by adopting a horizontally based,cross-school approach, thus developing a mechanism to run the PDCA cycles forcontinuous improvements.
Consistent efforts have been made to fulfill the University’s objectives andphilosophy. For example, a recently introduced strategy—, the promotion of “healthliteracy,” aligns with the measures of “Health Aomori 21 (the Second Stage),” initiatedby Aomori Prefecture. The University is expected to undertake the strategic promotionof citizens’ health through human resource development and research to further
promote social contribution.
“Health literacy” has been introduced as a new strategy of education andresearch for undergraduates and graduates at the University, and the curriculum of thefour departments and the graduate school will be revised under this basic strategy.
Undergraduate students are expected to learn about issues that involve the local
community and graduate students are to study issues reflecting the needs of the localcommunity. These student efforts will spread positive effects throughout the area.
It is commendable that the University has actively engaged in faculty
development to improve the quality of research and teaching. Its efforts include the useof Faculty Development (FD) Maps as a guide to help junior faculty members grow anddevelop, and to give them the opportunity for research presentations acrossdepartments.
Students at the University have found education and campus life highly
satisfactory because the faculty is very close with students. The faculty has developedand maintained exceptional communication with students, and this reliable relationshiphas made it possible for a number of students supports to be implemented effectively. Itis commendable that students are consistently supported from the time of admission
through graduation, as well as in their pursuit of employment and training aftergraduation.

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However, several problems have been identified. In terms of “faculty andfaculty organization,” there are an insufficient number of professors in the University
according to the Standard for Establishment of Universities. It is urgent that this issue
be improved as soon as possible. Several other concerns that need to be addressed
include: The policy on degree award in the Faculty of Health Science that states only
the required number of years and credits for the course but fails to stipulate requiredlearning outcomes; the ratio of transfer students to the transfer student admission capthat is low; the lack of regulations on credit transfers from other universities stipulated
in the graduate school; and lack of definition and clarification of criteria for examining
degree-seeking theses and dissertations. JUAA expects that hereafter; the University
will make further efforts to improve these issues.
Notable Strengths
Faculty and Faculty Organization

It is commendable that efforts have been made to enhance the talents of faculty
members. In particular, the University uses the FD Map as a guideline to help
faculty members grow and develop and to clarify their individual objectives. Inaddition, providing junior faculty members across faculties opportunities topresent research leads to vitalization of research activities.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is commendable that the University has made efforts to attain its objective ofenhancing “health literacy” by sponsoring extension courses and providing
training to develop human resources in local communities. These efforts satisfy
the goals of “Healthy Aomori 21 (the Second Stage),” formulated by Aomori
Prefecture, as a public university while collaborating with local governments andNPOs in Aomori Prefecture. It is particularly noteworthy that the University gives
students an opportunity to become involved in “Aomori Nebuta Festival withAssistance,” where students help elderly and disabled individuals in wheelchairs
enjoy the festival, learn volunteer activities, and play a part in the promotion ofnormalization.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and OutcomeIn the Faculty of Health Science, the policy on degree award only states theminimum years of enrollment and required number of credits but does not indicate
the required learning outcomes. This should be improved.

In the Graduate School of Health Science, students may claim up to ten credits
earned in other graduate schools prior to admission, but this is not stated in any
regulations. This should be improved.

In the Graduate School of Health Science, the criteria for
examining degree-seeking theses and dissertations are not clearly defined. Thesecriteria should be clearly defined and stated in the graduate student’s handbook toinform students.

4Enrollment
The ratio of transfer students to the transfer student admission cap is low at 0.25 in
the Department of Social Welfare, 0.67 in the Department of Nutrition, and notransfer students in the Department of Physical Therapy. These numbers should beimproved.

Area of Serious Concern
Faculty and Faculty Organization
In 2016, the number of the professors is insufficient to satisfy the Standard for
Establishment of Universities. The University must hire another one professor.