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

Kogakkan University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Mie, 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 Kogakkan University
Overview
Kogakkan University (hereafter, the University) has its roots in Kogakkan at Hayashizaki Bunko,a school in Ise Jingu that was opened in 1882, and started as a private university with twodepartments (Japanese literature and Japanese history) in the Faculty of Letters in 1962. After
opening and reorganizing departments, faculties, and graduate schools, the University currently
has Ise campus in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, with three faculties and six departments: four
departments in the Faculty of Letters, one department of the Faculty of Education, and one
department in the Faculty of Contemporary Japanese Society; and two graduate schools with four
majors: three majors in the Graduate School of Letters and one major in the Graduate School ofEducation.
Prince Kayanomiya Kuninori, the Chief Priest of Ise Jingu, sent a proclamation in 1900stating that “students shall learn morality and scholarship rooted in the history of Japan, andpractice them in society to contribute to the development of civilization,” which became theUniversity’s founding spirit, inherited from the long tradition of Shinto at Ise Jingu.
After its accreditation review from Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA)
in 2009, the University reviewed its self-study system and formulated “Implementation Outlineof Internal Quality Assurance System in Kogakkan University.” The University selected ten
items, including “Achievement Evaluation of the Midterm Action Plan,” prescribed in theImplementation Outline, and decided to periodically conduct self-study and evaluation of theseten items. Also, the University has reorganized the review system and set up the Quality
Assurance and Improvement Committee within the administrative organization. However, thedivision of roles between the committee and other councils is not clearly defined, and the review
process and procedures for improvements are also ambiguous. Further efforts are expected toensure proper function of the internal quality assurance system.
In an effort to organize a school in accordance with Shinto spirit, the University has
set up a research institute and museum in addition to undergraduate schools, the specialist
course, and graduate schools. These units have been comprehensively managed to help them
organically work together for education and research, and Shinto spirit is reflected not only inthe departments, specialist course, and graduate schools studying Shinto, but in universitywide education and research. It is commendable that Shinto spirit is reflected in the monthly
cultural lectures series (which has continued from the foundation of the University) as well as
in the university-wide common subjects such as “Introduction to Kogaku—Shinto andJapanese Culture,” “Ise Studies,” and “Study of Symbiosis in Ise-Shima” in the “FoundingSpirit” subject group in the curriculum.
In regards to social collaboration and local contribution, it is worth noting that theLocal Collaboration Promotion Office, which was newly set up to unify various related units,
has concluded collaboration agreements with 20 organizations, including private companies
and local governments, to promote striving to be “a university as a core of local revitalizationand development of human talents who will contribute to the local community” byparticipating in the “Knowledge Base Development Project.” “Kogakkan UniversityTelevision” has aired 24 works by students from 2014 to 2016 as well as “Kogakkan
University Monthly Cultural Lectures” for citizens, and the work presented in “the 34th ‘Ageof Regionalism’ Video Festival 2014” also aired on multiple cable television networks.
However, student admissions should be properly managed in some of the faculties
and graduate schools. Although the previous accreditation pointed out that the average of theratios of the last five years of enrolled freshmen to the freshman admission cap and the ratio ofenrolled students to the student enrollment cap were both high in the Department of Japanese
Literature in the Faculty of Letters, no improvement has been made since then. Thesenumbers should be improved promptly.

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Notable Strengths
Mission and Purpose
It is commendable that the University has made efforts to help students understand thefounding spirit and the mission, and students’ knowledge of these becomes widespreadas confirmed by the result of student questionnaires distributed before graduation. The
founding spirit and the mission based on the Shinto spirit are made known across theUniversity, and they have been disseminated through learning guidance in eachdepartment as well as in university-wide common undergraduate subjects such as“Introduction to Kogaku—Shinto and Japanese Culture,” and “Ise Studies,” and “Studiesof Symbiosis in Ise-Shima,” which attempt to provide active learning.

Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

It is commendable that the results of students’ class evaluations are used for curriculum
formation and help enhance the educational content and methods. After analyzing andexamining the results of students’ class evaluations conducted by the Curriculum Reform
Review Committee in the Faculty of Letters, the Department of Shinto offered a newsubject, “Shinto English,” and the Department of Japanese Literature changed the namesof some subjects. In addition, the Department of Japanese History added new subjects,
including “Reading Basic Historical Documents,” and the Department of Communication
added new psychology-related subjects.

Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is worth noting that the “Kogakkan University Monthly Cultural Lectures” initiative,
which started right after the foundation of the University, has carried out the mission ofsocial contribution since the early stages of its history by returning the fruits of faculty
research to citizens. On campus, the “Sagawa Memorial Shinto Museum of Kogakkan
University” displays valuable materials relating to Shinto, providing students with anopportunity to get in touch with genuine objects, and also returns research results tosociety. It is also commendable that the University produced a museum guide withexhibit explanations in English as well as in Japanese to enable diverse visitors to learn
and understand Shinto based on research results.

It is commendable that a series of “Study of Symbiosis in the Ise-Shima Settlement andIndependence Area” subjects is considered one of the University’s distinctive activities toconnect with the region, and has produced an effective result by interlocking students’
growth and community revitalization. In particular, “Study of Symbiosis in the Ise-Shima
Settlement and Independence Area III (Basic Theory on Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary
Industries),” “Study of Symbiosis in the Ise-Shima Settlement and Independence Area Ⅳ(Practical Theory on Sixth-Order Industrialization)” in the “Study of Symbiosis in the IseShima Settlement and Independence Area I, II, III, IV” have accepted a diverse array ofstudents into these subjects, including staff of the collaborating local governments,institutions, and organizations supported by the university; and workers in agriculture,
forestry, fisheries, sixth-order industry, and the tourism industry. In addition, throughthese courses, the University has developed educational programs to foster “activecitizens to think and act independently” and to make qualitative changes in university
education and to develop a research system that focuses on regional problems.

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Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome
In all undergraduate schools and graduate schools, the content of the policies ondegree award only focus on the ideal of human talents to foster educational objectives,
but does not indicate the learning outcomes required to complete the degree. Thisshould be improved.

In all undergraduate schools and graduate schools, the curriculum design policies onlydescribe the current curriculum but does not indicate basic ideas of educational contentand methods. This should be improved.

In the master’s program in the Graduate School of Letters, undergraduate subjects arecounted as a part of required credits for degree completion, without differentiating theevaluation methods for each program. This should be improved from the standpoint ofeducational quality assurance.

In the Faculty of Education, the maximum number of credits a student is allowed toregister for per year is set high at 52. This should be improved from the standpoint of acredit system.

In all undergraduate schools and graduate schools, the syllabus is written in a uniform
format, but quality of description of the content varies depending on the subject. Thisshould be improved.

In the master’s program in the Graduate School of Letters, the research guidance plan is
not clearly communicated to students. This should be improved.

Enrollment
The admission policy of the Faculty of Letters is almost identical to the universitywide unified version. The policy should be improved to indicate the desired image ofstudents and the content and level of required knowledge in the Faculty of Letters.

The ratio of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.38 in the master’s
program in the Graduate School of Education. This number should be improved.

Internal Quality Assurance

The University has not sufficiently implemented periodic and systematic self-study. It
developed an internal quality assurance system based on “Implementation Outline ofInternal Quality Assurance System in Kogakkan University,” but the roles of the Quality
Assurance and Improvement Committee and that of various other councils have notbeen clearly defined. Hereafter, the University should specify the roles of eachcommittee and council, procedure, and reviewing process to ensure proper function ofthe internal quality assurance system.

Area of Serious Concern
Enrollment
The averages of the ratios of the last five years of enrolled freshmen to the freshman
admission cap in the Department of Japanese Literature and the Department of5Japanese History in the Faculty of Letters are high at 1.28 and 1.25 respectively, andthe ratios of enrolled students to the student enrollment cap are also high at 1.29 and1.30 respectively. These numbers must be improved.