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

Shukutoku University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Chiba, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2018
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2019 – March.31.2026）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Shukutoku University
Overview
Shukutoku University (hereafter, the University) was established based on the Mahayana
Buddhism teachings of “benefit of others and peaceful coexistence” as its founding
philosophy. The University sets forth the purpose of “cultivating human resources thatcan contribute to human and social development through social welfare enhancement andeducation,” and provides educational programs with social welfare as its mission. TheUniversity, in preparation to mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment in 2015,
formulated the Shukutoku University Vision to present its future direction with the three
key pillars of “educational direction,” including the promotion of practical learning,“connection with society” as a university contributing to the local community, and“university administration,” such as educational reforms initiated through thecollaboration of academic and administrative staff members. In response, the School
Grand Design was created for the school corporation. In addition, the University drafted
five-year medium-term plans starting in fiscal 2018, and has dedicated itself to advancing
education and research in social welfare and practical applications to realize coexistencewith the local community, with these initiatives undertaken since its establishment.
In terms of “university administration” in the Shukutoku University Vision, theUniversity promotes various reforms based on its internal quality assurance system. Infiscal 2017, it established the Internal Quality Assurance Promotion Committee under theUniversity Association to develop a system that strengthens its quality assurance while
maintaining the existing self-study activities. However, with its internal quality assurance
system currently in a transitional phase, the University is expected to clarify the roles ofthe organizations responsible for internal quality assurance and provide continuous
support for each faculty and graduate school to effectively operate the internal quality
assurance system.
The University actively fosters its educational philosophy, enhances the learning
outcomes for undergraduate programs, and promotes practical learning stated in the“educational direction” agenda of the vision. It is highly commendable that the University
presents performance indicators for its educational programs and conducts the universitywide monitoring and evaluations of student learning outcomes using rubrics forundergraduate programs and other approaches based on the assessment plans. In addition,
the University is committed to regional cooperation on each campus through “connection

3with society.” It participates in volunteer activities to support recovery from the 2011
Great East Japan Earthquake, offering study support to local elementary and junior highschools and taking advantage of its social welfare expertise to support young children incooperation with students. These are outstanding efforts that respond to social needs.
As for faculty organization, however, some faculties and departments in fiscal
2017 and 2018 lacked the number of professors required, in principle, by the Standards
for Establishment of Universities. This issue was later addressed by promoting faculty
members within the university, but in the years ahead, the faculty organization should bemanaged to comply with the standards. Meanwhile, the graduate schools do not
sufficiently monitor and evaluate the learning outcomes of their education programs, andthere are problems with student quota management. These issues are expected to beaddressed.
It is important for the University to focus on its steady self-study efforts in order
to constantly operate the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycles in the faculties and graduate
schools, while taking advantage of its successful bottom-up approaches to adopt theopinions and suggestions of faculty members on university-wide initiatives. The
University is also expected to help the organizations responsible for internal quality
assurance to support more advanced PDCA cycles for each faculty and graduate school,
thereby effectively operating the internal quality assurance system developed in fiscal
2017.
Notable Strengths
Educational Program and Outcome
 The University has formulated an assessment plan to monitor and evaluate student
learning outcomes, with the Research and Development Institute for Higher
Education employing multiple rubrics throughout the university and continuously
conducting research and development to improve the rubric accuracy. In addition, theEducational Progress Committee of Faculty takes the initiative in monitoring andevaluating university-wide learning outcomes with bottom-up approaches to thefaculties and graduate schools, including adopting a rubric of each faculty’s own
design. These efforts are commendable for enhancing the University’s educational
content and methods, and helping to assure the educational quality.

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Social Cooperation and Contribution
 The Volunteer Center provides students with volunteer opportunities to experience
regional contribution by continuously participating in reconstruction activities to help
recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake, including study support for elementaryand junior high schools. The Center for Clinical Research of Child Development ofthe Social Welfare Research Institute accepts regular visits of young children
requiring developmental assistance to provide undergraduate and graduate students
with clinical training. These initiatives allow the University to meet social needs by
returning its educational and research outcomes to society, and are closely andorganically connected to the University’s educational and research activities in aneffort to cultivate people who can contribute to the local community. It iscommendable that the University, with an awareness of university-wide issues basedon its educational philosophy, is actively involved in social contribution andcooperation activities, and demonstrates its capabilities in responding to society’s
expectations for universities with specific visions.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Outcome
 The two graduate schools primarily use thesis and dissertation evaluations to measure
student learning outcomes, but do not sufficiently monitor and evaluate the learning
outcomes stated in their degree award policies. This issue should be improved withthe learning outcomes effectively measured and the results reflected in improvements
to educational content and methods.
Student Enrollment
 The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.27 in theSocial Welfare Studies Major Doctoral Course of the Graduate School of Integrated
Human and Social Welfare Studies. This ratio should be improved with the graduate
school’s student quota thoroughly managed.