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

Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Gifu, 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 Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University
Overview
Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University (hereafter, the University) was founded as Shotoku
Gakuen Gifu Kyoiku University in 1972. After changing its name to Gifu Shotoku
Gakuen University in 1998, the University established the Faculty of Nursing in 2015.
Currently, the University has four faculties (the Faculty of Education, the Faculty ofForeign Languages, and the Faculty of Economics and Information) and two graduate
schools, and the University conducts its education and research activities on its
Hashima Campus as well as Gifu Campus, both of which are located in Gifu City, Gifu
Prefecture.
After the last accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation
Association (JUAA), the University established the Faculty of Nursing as well ascourses for Special Support Education and School Psychology in the Department ofSchool Education in the Faculty of Education, and reviewed the curricula in thefaculties of Foreign Languages and Economics and Information. Also, the University
built a system for self-study and evaluation, which is led by the Self-Study Committee,
and made efforts to improve the quality of its education through teaching reforms byestablishing the Conference for Teaching Management and the Internal Review (IR)Promotion Committee.
In this accreditation review, it is commendable that the University recently
started an inter-disciplinary liberal arts education system offered across the faculties(Yawaragi Basis) which is aimed at “cultivating the power to support each other, create,
and take initiative in the future,” at Hashima Campus. The system is a new approach toliberal arts subjects based on the University’s founding spirit and serves as a model forteaching about the school. Also, based on an agreement with the local education board
and in cooperation with local kindergartens, elementary schools, and junior highschools, the Faculty of Education has continuously conducted the Crystal Plan andmade efforts to effectively manage the plan through revisions of evaluation points andconstant reviews of education methods, such as using a learning support system.
However, the low ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap in
the Faculty of Economics and Information must be improved. Also, the research
instruction plan is not sufficiently clear, and the criteria for examining degree-seeking
theses are not clearly stated for graduate students in the Graduate Schools ofInternational Cultural Studies and Economics and Information. These issues should beimproved. Moreover, the maximum number of credits students can register for per year
has been set high at all levels in the faculties of Education, Foreign Languages, andEconomics and Information. The University should improve this in accordance withthe purpose of having a credit system. Lastly, the low ratio of enrolled students to thestudent enrollment cap in the master’s course for the Graduate School of International
Cultural Studies and the master’s course for the Graduate School of Economics andInformation must be improved.
Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The University built the Yawaragi Basis, the interdisciplinary liberal arts education
system offered across the faculties of Education, Foreign Languages, and Nursing,to enable students from the three departments to study together and acquire
intellectual thinking and methods skills required beyond their individual fields.
This system, which centers on “Harmony” (one of the principles indicating thefounding spirit), categorizes such liberal arts subjects as those related to2

philosophy and linguistic ability, history and culture, locality, and environment andthose related to interactions with society into four categories: “Live with Each
Other,” “Support Each Other,” “Study Together,” and “Cultivate Together.” It iscommendable that the liberal arts subjects are systematized based on the founding
spirit, and nurture students in a wide range of common knowledge beyond thefields of their departments, as well as the ability to understand society and people.
As an effort in the Faculty of Education, and based on agreements with several
local education boards such as one in Gifu City, the University has cooperated
with local kindergartens, elementary schools, and junior high schools and has
continuously implemented the Crystal Plan, which involves hands-on practices andexperiences in each grade. Through the Crystal Plan (CP) Committee, which
includes the Good Practice (GP) Committee in the Faculty of Education as well as
outside educators, the University has continuously reviewed and effectively
managed the plan. Specifically, the University has clearly defined achievement
goals for the Crystal Plan by stipulating and improving the plan’s evaluation points.
Based on 13 basic criteria, the valuation points indicate the abilities that educatorsneed as well as their corresponding practice subjects, so that students may work toachieve their objectives and share these objectives with faculty members. It iscommendable that by using these evaluation points, the University has visualized
step-by-step acquisitions of practical teaching abilities through self-evaluations bystudents as well as by faculty members. Both of these evaluation results are filedin portfolios as part of students’ learning history in the University’s learning
support system.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The maximum number of credits students can register for per year has been set
according to a student’s grade point average (GPA) immediately prior to thegiven semester. In the Faculty of Education, those who have a GPA of no lessthan 2.50 are allowed to register for a maximum of 64 credits, and those whohave a GPA of no less than 3.00 are allowed to register for a maximum of 68. In
the Faculty of Foreign Languages and the Faculty of Economics and Information,
those who have a GPA of no less than 2.50 are allowed to register for a maximumof 52 credits, and those who have a GPA of no less than 3.00 are allowed toregister for a maximum of 56. However, since most of the students have GPAs
higher than these standards, this system does not work properly and should beimproved in accordance with the purpose of having a credit system.

In the master’s course in the departments of International Education and Culture,and the International Area Studies in the Graduate School of International
Cultural Studies, and in the master’s and doctoral courses in the Graduate Schoolof Economics and Information, research instruction plans are not indicatedsufficiently. This should be improved.

In the master’s course in the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies,and in the both courses in the Graduate School of Economics and Information,
criteria for examining degree-seeking theses and dissertations have not beenstated for students. This situation should be improved, by clearly stating themfor each course in the graduate student handbook.

2Enrollment
The ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.16 in themaster’s course in the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, and 0.05
in the master’s course in the Graduate School of Economics and Information.
These numbers should be improved.

Area of Serious Concern
Enrollment
The average of the ratios of the last five years of enrolled freshman to the freshmanadmission cap is low at 0.79, and the ratio of enrolled students to the student
enrollment cap is low at 0.75 in the Faculty of Economics and Information. Thesenumbers must be improved.