Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Junior CollegeIwate Prefectural University Morioka Junior College

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

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2015
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April.01.2016– March.31.2023）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Iwate Prefectural University Morioka Junior CollegeOverview
Iwate Prefectural University Morioka Junior College (hereafter, the College) wasoriginally established as Morioka Junior College with two academic departments: theDepartment of Home Economics and the Department of Arts and Crafts. It was renamed
Iwate-Prefectural Morioka Junior College in 1963. In 1998, a new prefectural university,Iwate Prefectural University, was established on the Takizawa Campus (in TakizawaCity, Iwate Prefecture) and the college moved its buildings to the same campus and wasagain renamed Iwate Prefectural University Morioka Junior College. Therefore, theCollege became a junior college affiliated with Iwate Prefectural University. It had twodepartments, the Department of International Cultural Studies and the Department ofLife Science (which had two majors, Life Science and Food and Nutrition). In 2005,
Iwate Prefectural University was turned into an independent administrative entity, andthe College became a junior college division run by the university.
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA) in 2008, the University Evaluation Committee broke its six core plans into fifty
specific aims for the entire college. It has worked to have each department formulate
plans linked to the fifty aims. It has reviewed the annual plans as self-study activities,
making its system of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle functional.
In addition to the volunteer activities that the College refers to as its uniqueness,
JUAA recognizes the College’s other unique characteristics in this accreditation review.
In particular, the College has created new career education subjects to enhance students’
employability and offers them as introductory classes for learning at the College. By
doing so, the College has made efforts to nurture the students’ basic ability to act asmembers of society.
It is the unique characteristic of the College to steadily act on Iwate Prefecture'sregional problems and to maintain its involvement. For example, based on its missions
and purposes, the College has continued various volunteer activities to support therecovery efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, in which faculty
members and students together have taken initiatives for action. In one of the volunteer
projects, called “Mizu-Bora (water volunteering),” bottled water is distributed to victimsof the disaster in Hirota Peninsula in Rikuzentakata City on a monthly basis. The project
now also serves as a neighborhood watch to prevent the isolation of elderly residents.
Furthermore, the College has promoted friendship between its students and high school
students as well as international students by introducing Japanese cultural activities andholding exchange meetings. This has resulted in the expansion of support activities. Inaddition, the College has held annual lectures to support their graduates who areemployed as dietitians. These graduates need support to meet the challenge of taking thenational examination to be registered dietitians. The College also has engaged in othervarious efforts that strengthen the College’s roots in the local community.
Notable Strength
Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is commendable that the College has made efforts to keep working on various
volunteer activities to support recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Faculty members and students, in collaboration with Ohio University in the UnitedStates, have played main roles to continue to deliver bottles of water and tea to thedisaster-affected areas. The College has also identified challenges and needs of theareas still requiring restoration and has decided to work on whatever it can do to3assist while maintaining communication with those disaster affected areas andmaking its support a part of continuing restoration efforts. The College has
contributed to the revitalization of the area and has promoted friendship withforeign students via exchange meetings and tea seminars, thus offering students
opportunities to foster international cooperation.