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

Kyoai Gakuen University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Gunma, 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 Kyoai Gakuen UniversityOverview
Kyoai Gakuen University (hereafter, the University), originated as Maebashi Eiwa
Women’s School and was founded by Christian volunteers in Gunma Prefecture in1888. One year later, an association, Kyoaisya, was founded to manage the school. In
1988, Kyoai Women’s Junior College was established, and in 1999 it was reorganized
to become a four-year university with the current name of Kyoai Gakuen University.
The University has maintained the Faculty of International Social Studies up to thepresent date. Its campus is located in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, and theUniversity has engaged in education and research activities with the founding spirit “tolove and live together.”After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) in 2009, the University has appropriately solved the issues pointed out in thereview. The University has upheld and strived to realize “Living with the Community”
and “Student Centrism” as action guidelines. In addition, the University defined fiveeducation fundamentals, and to achieve these fundamentals, it has enhanced
educational content to develop as a community-based university.
It is commendable that the University has engaged in a variety of activities tocollaborate with and contribute to society, including “Interdependent Communities andLearning,” and has made an effort to link students with supporting communities. It isalso commendable that the University encourages students to participate in initiatives
under the “Student Centrism” guideline and enhance learning quality by using thenewly built Kyoai Commons (No. 4) building (built in 2011), as a foothold of active
learning. Another distinctive feature includes activities in local communities such as“Regional Project Work,” an internship with local governments under the service
learning term system.
However, challenges that have been identified include the need for a stricter
cap on the number of credits students are allowed to register for per year and theenrollment management of transfer students. Furthermore, the University is expected toformulate a policy on internal quality assurance, to link the self-study of eachdepartment with that of the entire university, to implement systematic and periodical
self-study, and to develop a university-wide internal quality assurance system.
Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome
It is commendable that the University has systematically worked on active learning
to improve the quality of education and has produced remarkable outcomes. For
example, the University has employed active learning in a number of classes toencourage students’ active participation. In addition, distinct specialized subjects
involving field work are included in each course, and Practicum on RegionalProblem, which incorporate problem-based learning and service learning in thecommunity, are developed as a group of subjects to help students understandcommunities in the Kyoai Core Subjects. As an advanced form of these seminars,
the University has offered a long-term internship program and the Regional ProjectWork internship in which students participate in regional activities for six months
to develop and enrich various forms of active learning. These educational methods
produce a cycle of growth: students are encouraged to learn actively, which in turnmotivates them to learn more off-campus.

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Education and Research EnvironmentIt is commendable that the action guideline of “Students Centrism,” the process oflearning in which students actively think, learn, and collaborate, is shared among
students and now leads students’ everyday voluntary learning activities. In
particular, in the Kyoai Commons building, which was designed to promote active
and independent learning, both the physical facilities and the learning support
provided by the information desk and information technology services have provento be highly effective in enhancing students’ voluntary activities and learning
outside of the classroom. The Kyoai Commons is also a popular place for students
to gather and learn, and its hall, with all partitions and walls removed, allows
students to observe one another throughout the whole room, encouraging them toactively learn to get to know one another.
Social Cooperation and Contribution

It is commendable that the University has made efforts to carry out programs that
motivate students to organize groups of their own and gain skills to build
sustainable relationships with the community. In particular, with “Living with theCommunity” as an action guideline, the University has made efforts to achieve avariety of social collaboration and social contribution initiatives. Those results
have helped the University to be selected for the Center of Community (COC) andaccelerated the development of its relationship with society. The University not
only provides service to the community, but through the service learning activities
of many students, student learning and service to the community occur in tandem(so-called “community-academy synchronization”), resulting in a relationship in
which both the University and the community benefit. In particular, students whoparticipated in the Regional Project Work have maintained their relationship withcommunities even after their class ended and have set up their own projects todemonstrate leadership.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The maximum number of credits a student is allowed to register for per year is set
high at 50. This should be improved from the standpoint of the credit system.

Enrollment
In the Department of International Social Studies in the Faculty of International
Social Studies, the ratio of transfer students to the transfer student admission cap is
low at 0.60. This number should be improved.

Internal Quality Assurance
Although each individual faculty member as well as each department conducts a
substantive review of educational activities, the University as a whole has not
systematically, objectively and periodically implemented self-study, to assure thequality of education by the University itself. The University should stipulate apolicy on internal quality assurance; define review methods, a process, and asystem to use the outcomes for improvement; and develop an effective internal
quality assurance system not just for reviewing each case from each department,
but to ensure sustainable effort for improvement.