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

Digital Hollywood University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2017
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2018 – March.31.2025）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Digital Hollywood University
Overview
Digital Hollywood University (hereafter, the University) was founded in 2004 as aCorporate University granted government approval for establishment as an exception
to the School Education Act, based on the Act on Special Districts for StructuralReform. With a campus in Surugadai, a district in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and a
production studio in Hachioji, a western Tokyo suburb, the University first opened as aprofessional graduate school and was chartered as a four-year university in 2005. At
the undergraduate level, the University offers higher education based on the three
concepts of authenticity, morality, “beauty and ugliness,” and operates with the mission
to “develop human resources who can contribute broadly to the development of society
and the realization of associated research and development.”
The University underwent the Japan Institution for Higher Education
Evaluation (JIHEE) institutional accreditation review in 2010 and has since strived toaddress the four issues identified as areas of improvement.
The key feature of the University identified by this latest review is its
successful efforts in helping students launch new ventures through linking academic
learning to practical applications.
As for areas of improvement, four issues were identified by the review. First,
although the faculty composition policy proclaims “education bridging theory andpractice,” there are too few theory-teaching teachers on staff and the facultycomposition does not properly reflect this policy. Second, although the undergraduate
program and the professional graduate program have separate founding objectives,
they share the same faculty qualification assessment criteria. Third, the maximum
number of credits a student can take in a year is set too high; and fourth, the Media
Library is not staffed by full-time specialists with relevant expertise.
The University is a new institution specializing in digital content, a field
whose practical aspects are well established but remains a fledgling research discipline.
Meaningful initiatives led by faculty members, such as the creation of the Creative
Content Research Association, suggest the University is well positioned to establish
the field as a distinct research focus by identifying the common features and defining
boundaries with other disciplines, and become a leader of digital content education and3research.
It should be mentioned that the Graduate School of Digital Content
underwent certified evaluation and accreditation for professional graduate schools by
Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) this year. This review therefore
does not include evaluations for “Education content, methods, and outcome” for thegraduate school, and the results are as given in the evaluation report of the certified
evaluation and accreditation for professional graduate schools of digital content.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
The University places a strong emphasis on creating opportunities to apply what
students have learned to practical issues and situations, for example, by hosting apresentation event of outstanding works where students present their businessplans or productions to audiences from inside and outside the school. This learning
environment has spawned numerous start-ups, making the University one ofJapan’s top-ranking institutions in the number of university-originated ventures inMETI’s 2016 Academic Start-ups Survey. Moreover, to further strengthen its
support for start-ups, the University launched the Acceleration Program in 2016that provides practical instructions on everything from prototyping to fund raising.
These efforts indicate that the University is actively striving to implement
programs designed to meet its mission and goals, and are commendable.

Suggestions for Improvement
Faculty and Faculty Organization
Although the education and research objectives set by the undergraduate andgraduate schools, as well as the faculty composition policy, emphasize researchbased on liberal arts and academic knowledge, and promote education linking
theory to practice, the University has few full-time academic faculty members.
The University is advised to ensure that its faculty composition reflects the statededucation and research objectives and aligns with the faculty composition policy.

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The University is advised to establish separate teacher qualification assessment
criteria for its undergraduate program and professional graduate program, whichcurrently share the same criteria.

Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome
The University sets the maximum number of credits a undergraduate student cantake in a year at 52, which is too high. This limit should be lowered in light of the
purpose of the credit system.

Education and Research Environment
The Media Library’s dedicated librarian is a part-time employee subject to the
Employment Rules for Contract Employees and Assistant Staff. The University isadvised to ensure the library is staffed by a full-time specialist with relevant
expertise.