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

Health Sciences University of Hokkaido

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PrivateLocation: Hokkaido, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2017
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2018 – March.31.2025）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido
Overview
The Health Sciences University of Hokkaido (hereafter, the University) was founded in1974 and is a medical university currently comprised of five undergraduate divisions(the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the School of Dentistry, the School of Nursing& Social Services, the School of Psychological Science and the School ofRehabilitation Sciences) and five graduate schools (the Graduate School of
Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Graduate School of Dentistry, the Graduate School ofNursing & Social Services, the Graduate School of Psychological Science and theGraduate School of Rehabilitation Sciences). Its main campus, the Tobetsu campus, islocated in Tobetsu-cho, Ishikari-gun, Hokkaido, and in addition to that the University
has the Sapporo Ainosato Campus and the Sapporo Satellite Campus in Sapporo. With
its school philosophy of “Completion of total personality as medical professionals
through a combination of knowledge, virtues, and physical wellbeing,” the University
has consistently fostered health professionals.
Following the accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation
Association (JUAA) in 2010, the University has established a system to addresseducational improvements in an integrated manner and worked on improvements, suchas reviewing the Faculty Development (FD) Committee Regulations and organizing
and holding training sessions in 2012 with the aim of stimulating FD activities uniqueto each faculty and graduate school.
This latest review commends the University for its Distinctive “Education
rooted in the community and social contribution.” In particular, the University is
unique in applying the research findings of the Northern Traditional Medicine
Research Center for a variety of community-based education and research activities
that include not only medical education and research but also the cultivation of
medicinal plants and education for citizens utilizing the University’s enriched medical
plant garden.
However, a number of issues were pointed out including flaws in its
curriculum design and implementation policies of the Graduate School of
Psychological Science, no separate thesis or dissertation examination criteria for eachcourse in that graduate school, no separate admission policy stipulated for each3undergraduate division, and inadequate quota management of certain undergraduate
division and graduate schools. The University is expected to work toward therectification of these issues and further extend its characteristics, thereby prospering
even more as a medical university rooted in the community.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
The Northern Ecological Garden, a facility ancillary to the University, is open tothe public free of charge, and the Northern Traditional Medicine Research Center,
under general agreements with local governments, conducts joint research aimed
at jointly developing medicinal plants and putting them to practical use, promoting
the establishment of cultivation methods and gene conservation of endangered
species, and exploring unknown medicinal properties through the analysis of thebiodiversity of northern traditional medicine handed down from one generation toanother by the Ainu people, linking that to drug development. Further, the Center’scontribution to regional promotion through initiatives by those facilities, such asproviding rare species of plants maintained and preserved at the Center to local
governments, can be assessed as characteristic initiatives.

Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The curriculum design and implementation policies stipulated separately for eachprogram at the Graduate School of Psychological Science shows no basic
approach on matters such as educational content and methods. This should beaddressed.

The thesis or dissertation examination criteria are not stipulated separately formaster’s course and doctoral course at the Graduate School of PsychologicalScience. This needs to be addressed.

4Enrollment
An admission policy is not stipulated separately for undergraduate division. Thisneeds to be addressed.

The average of ratios of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap overthe last five years at the Department of Dentistry of the School of Dentistry is low
at 0.85, and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap at theDepartment of Dentistry of the School of Dentistry and the Department of Social
Work Practice of the School of Nursing & Social Services are low at 0.88 and 0.81,
respectively. Further, there are no students enrolling in the Master’s Program at theGraduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. These should be improved.

The ratios of transfer student enrollment to the transfer student enrollment cap atthe Department of Nursing of the School of Nursing & Social Services, theDepartment of Social Work Practice of the same school, and the Department ofOccupational Therapy of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences are low, at 0.11,
0.28 and 0.13, respectively. Further, the Department of Clinical Psychology of theSchool of Psychological Science and the Department of Occupational Therapy ofthe School of Rehabilitation Sciences has no transfer students. These should beimproved.