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

Tokyo Union Theological Seminary

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2019
Accreditation Status: Accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1.2020 – March 31.2027）

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the Tokyo Union Theological Seminary
Overview
The Tokyo Union Theological Seminary (hereinafter referred to as the “Seminary”)
clearly states its intention to “nurture ministers of the United Church of Christ in Japan”
in the Tokyo Union Theological Seminary Act of Endowment (hereinafter referred to as
the “Act of Endowment”). Based on the Act of Endowment, the Seminary states as its
mission and purpose “to nurture ministers (pastors and missionaries) who study Christiantheology and engage in evangelization.” The Seminary consists of the Bachelor ofDivinity Program in the Faculty of Divinity and the Biblical Theology Program andSystematic Theology Program in the Graduate School of Divinity, features the Tokyo
Union Theological Seminary Research Institute, and has formulated the Tokyo Union
Theological Seminary Basic Plan for Campus Improvement with the aim of making its
campus more appealing. However, the Seminary has not established a mid- to long-termplan for the future development of its educational and research activities. A plan should
be formulated.
With regard to internal quality assurance, the Seminary established an internal
quality assurance structure centered around the Internal Quality Assurance Enhancement
Committee in AY2018. However, the cooperative relationship between organizations is
unclear, and sufficient measures for improvement have not been implemented based on
the results of self-study. Going forward, the Seminary should develop an appropriate
internal quality assurance system and ensure that it functions effectively.
As for education, the Seminary focuses on training ministers through an
integrated educational system incorporating an undergraduate and master’s program, andhas organized systematic curricula for its faculty and graduate school. The Seminary
provides extensive learning-related advice to students. Homeroom teachers assigned toeach grade interview all students individually and respond to their individual needs in a
meticulous manner. The Seminary uses academic grades and theses as indicators formeasuring the learning outcomes that students have attained through the aforementioned
educational system, and uses common benchmarks designed to partially correspond to
the learning outcomes indicated in the degree award policy when assessing individual
subjects and theses. However, the Seminary should make further improvements in order
to measure learning outcomes in a more diversified manner.
As part of student support, the Seminary promotes extracurricular church2

activities such as the Summer Missionary Internship and Seminary Day Church Mission,and provides students with the opportunity to develop practical experience as ministers
under the organizational leadership of the Church Training Committee. These areremarkable endeavors. The Seminary offers a variety of scholarship programs, of which
the designated scholarship program is particularly notable. This program has promotedcooperation with various churches through requests for support from faculty members,presentations and services performed by recipient students, and other means, increased
its supporters and funding, and provided scholarships to many students. This is a highly
commendable endeavor.
On the other hand, the Faculty of Divinity is not gathering enough students, andhas thus failed to fulfill its quota. Although measures have been taken to promote student
recruitment, they have not yet led to tangible results. Therefore, the Seminary urgently
needs to work on improving the situation. Issues with policy formulation, specificationof research supervision plans, and faculty development (hereinafter referred to as “FD”)
activities, among others, are especially apparent in the graduate school. Therefore, theSeminary should implement measures for improvement.
Going forward, we hope the Seminary solves these issues through its internal
quality assurance system, and accelerates its many distinctive initiatives for further
enhancement of education quality.
Notable Strengths
Student Support
 The Seminary conducts extracurricular training programs at various churches,including the Summer Missionary Internship and Seminary Day Church Mission.
Faculty members of the Church Training Committee gather information on thetraining details from the churches, provide participant students with guidance andadvice prior to, during, and after the training based on that information, and also offer
guidance on preaching. In this way, the Seminary provides active support to churchesand students according to their individual situation. It is commendable that theSeminary has developed close ties with students and churches and provides students
with a variety of opportunities to develop practical experience in churches.
 Each year, the Seminary provides multiple scholarship programs such as the generalscholarship program, designated scholarship program, auxiliary scholarship program,3and enrollment scholarship program, all of which are funded by donations. Efforts are
made to maintain these programs. For example, in order to maintain the designatedscholarship program, all full-time faculty members visit various churches to makerequests and presentations to supporters and ask for donations. Furthermore, theSeminary has gradually increased program supporters and funding through asking
recipient students to send thank‐you letters to supporters, perform services at churches,and engage in similar activities. It is commendable that the Seminary carefully takes
into account the circumstances of individual students when conducting scholarship
recipient screening so that students who are in need are selected, and that many
students have been able to receive a scholarship.
Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance The Seminary has established the Internal Quality Assurance Enhancement
Committee as the organization responsible for implementing internal quality
assurance policy and procedures and promoting internal quality assurance. However,since the Internal Quality Assurance Enhancement Committee, faculty council, andSelf-Study Committee all take part in the formulation of measures for improvement
based on the results of self-study, the relationship between and individual roles ofthese organizations are unclear. Moreover, such measures have not always led tosatisfactory results. Therefore, the Seminary should ensure that its internal quality
assurance system functions appropriately.
Educational Program and Outcome
 The Master of Divinity Program and Doctor of Theology Program do not present thebasic ideas on curriculum organization in the curriculum design and implementation
policy. This should be improved.
Faculty and Faculty Organization
 The master’s programs do not conduct sufficient education-related FD activities
independently. This should be improved.

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Education and Research Environment
 Regular organizational efforts targeting faculty members, including the holding ofresearch ethics-related workshops, are lacking. This should be improved.
Recommendations
Student Enrollment The Master of Divinity Program and Doctor of Theology Program have the sameadmission policy, even though the programs provide different degrees. This should becorrected.
 In the last five years, the average of ratios of freshman enrollment to the freshmanenrollment cap and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap havebeen low at 0.36 and 0.59, respectively, in the Bachelor of Divinity Program in theFaculty of Divinity (i.e. the entire faculty). This should be corrected.

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