Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results forProfessional Graduate Business School

The MBA Program, the Graduate School of Accountancy,
Waseda University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2014
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April.01.2015 – March.31.2020）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the MBA Program,the Graduate School of Accountancy, Waseda University
The MBA Program (hereafter, the Program) in the Graduate School of Accountancy,
Waseda University, is a professional degree program whose aim is to cultivate deep
academic knowledge and high-level competencies in a highly specialized profession.
Based on the founding spirit of the University, summarized in the basic teaching
principles “to preserve the independence of scholarship and to promote the practicalapplication of scholarship and foster good citizens,” with a central focus on
integrating scholarship and practice, the Program defines its educational mission as
fostering talented personnel with high ethical standards and equipping them withhighly specialized knowledge and competencies in accounting as well as broad
abilities in business. This explains the specific purpose of the Program as aprofessional school in this field.
The curriculum of the Program is based on the curriculum design policy to
educate accounting specialists with high ethical standards and specialized problemsolving skills and offers two courses of study: the Accounting Professional Program
and the Advanced Accounting Professional Program. A systematic curriculum withcourses in three subject areas—the basic courses, the core courses, and theadvanced/practical courses—has been formulated so that students can learn basic toadvanced accountancy in addition to applied practical skills. In the basic courses, thesubjects of accounting, economics, and law are offered; in the core courses, basic andcore subjects are offered not only in accounting but also in other related academic
fields; and in the advanced/practical courses, workshops, and advanced and practicalcontents are offered to obtain the latest skills and practice. The requirements forcompletion for the Accounting Professional Program are no less than two years ofenrollment and no less than 60 credits of designated subjects (including four credits inrequired basic subjects and eight credits in the advanced/practical courses subjects).
The requirements for the Advanced Accounting Professional Program are no less than
one year of enrollment, no less than 48 credits of designated subjects (including eight
credits of advanced/practical courses subjects), and submission of a professional
degree thesis. While the Program offers an appropriate curriculum, in the policy ondegree award, the requirements for completion are stated but the contents of therequired specialized knowledge and competencies are not. These should be clearlyindicated.
The course work of the Program consists mainly of lectures and workshops. In
lecture courses, for all subjects, Course N@vi, a university-wide web learning support
system is used. Students upload materials for the class, submit reports online, takeonline quizzes, and utilize online instruction. Since the 2013 school year, outputtraining assignments have been implemented in the basic courses. These assignments
help students internalize course content by checking their understanding of thematerial. Regarding lecture courses, a variety of learning environments is provided
through the Web and depending on the specific character of the lecture or the specificsituation of use, further application of this system is expected in the future.
In regards to course content, methods of instruction, and the outcomes of theAccounting Program, it is evident that diverse efforts have been made to achieve theeducational purpose. However, in order to further improve the quality of education of
the Program, it should consider setting up an Advisory Board comprised of third party
members, regularly taking in the opinions of outside experts who offer opportunities
to exchange ideas, and establishing a system to analyze the needs of students, alumni,and society to shape educational content.
Regarding the organization of the faculty and the administration, there are fifteen

3full-time faculty (fourteen are professors) members, five of whom are practitioner faculty.
Each faculty member has his or her own office hour, and the Administration Office ofthe Graduate School of Accountancy is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Graduate School
Management Committee is set up as the top decision-making body of administration andmanagement, and oversees the Academic Affairs and Student Committee, and theEntrance Examination Committee, and other associated committees.
In regards to student admission, the admission policy for the Accounting
Professional Program refers to applicants who “aim to become accounting specialists
equipped with high ethics and highly specialized knowledge” in order to achieve theProgram’s specific purposes. Similarly, the policy for the Advanced Accounting
Professional Program refers to applicants “with practical experience who aim to study
accounting or conduct related interdisciplinary research.” According to this policy, theentrance examination for the two-year Accounting Professional Program includes six
kinds: general (written and oral), English language (written and oral), IT andmathematical abilities (written and oral), work experience (oral), an examination for
those coming from the workforce (oral), and an examination for candidates studying at
Waseda University (oral). The entrance examination for the one-year Advanced
Accounting Professional Program includes two kinds: general (oral), and anexamination for those coming from the workforce (oral). While the admission ofstudents is properly administered, it is important to improve the learning environment
for working students in the Advanced Accounting Professional Program in the future.
In regards to the education and research environment, students are able to use
the Commerce Research Library and the Choshin International Group Memorial
Reading Room for Students, and a student lounge and lockers are installed next to theself-study room. In addition, there are two more lounges accessible to wireless LAN.
Computer rooms are open to students except when class is in session. As part of thestudent support system, teaching assistants and a tutoring system are provided.
While some issues still need to be improved, on the whole the Program isconsidered to satisfy the standards, observing the legal and the other basic
requirements for a professional graduate school in this field. In addition, the Program
promotes the motto “accounting plus one” and aims to pursue specialized areas
required for the accounting profession in the future. It offers a variety of subjects
including workshops, research and themed research subjects, and thesis preparation
subjects that advance specialized knowledge. Additionally, it uses Course N@vi, a
web learning support system, and various web-based learning environments, and it
conducts class evaluation surveys throughout the semester in order to improveeducational contents and methods. These distinctive efforts contribute to theProgram’s specific purposes and are highly valuable and commendable. Further
development is expected in the future through creative efforts.