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

Shibaura Institute of Technology

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, 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 Shibaura Institute of Technology
Overview
Shibaura Institute of Technology (hereafter, the University) was established based on thefounding philosophy of “nurturing engineers who learn from society and contribute tosociety.” The University defines its mission and purpose as “cultivating outstanding
engineers by conducting in-depth engineering research as a core academic discipline tocontribute to world cultures, while providing well-rounded education ranging fromgeneral education to specialized engineering education to help students develop character,master theoretical knowledge, and improve their physical fitness.” In fiscal 2015 theUniversity formulated “Centennial SIT Action” as medium- and long-term plans to
specify such measures as specific indicators for joining the top ten engineering
universities in Asia, and strives today to advance its educational and research activitiesunder the president’s leadership.
As for the University’s educational approaches, all faculties and graduateschools, excluding some academic units of the graduate school, appropriately organize
the curricula based on their degree award and curriculum design and implementation
policies. All faculties use curriculum maps and course models to display the entire
curriculum structure and interconnected subjects to enable students to take courses
systematically and sequentially. The University has also increased the percentage ofactive learning subjects to shift its educational focus from passive lecture classes to activelearning, and pursues educational reforms by adopting outside perspectives throughactive involvement in the “Acceleration Program for University Education Rebuilding(AP)” of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. It iscommendable that “I-Co-B (Innovative Collaboration Bench)” was established as anactive learning space to create a global educational and research environment with theaim of realizing the University’s mission and purpose.
In the “Centennial SIT Action” strategy, the University declares its commitment
to becoming a global university in science and technology while participating incommunity contribution activities as a “Center of Excellence for global and regionalresearches,” and plays an active role in social cooperation and contribution in partnerships
with regional companies and public organizations. It is commendable that the University
has developed an academic and administrative staff collaboration system led by theHeadquarters for Promotion of Multi-Phase Industry-Academia Collaboration to3strengthen its cooperation with the communities in each campus area and continuously
work on regional problem solving through its educational activities.
There are several issues the University needs to address, however. In regard toeducational programs, some academic units in the master’s and doctor’s programs of thegraduate school do not state the intended learning outcomes appropriate to the degrees,including the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be acquired upon completion, in theirdegree award policies. Furthermore, all academic units of the graduate school fail todefine the screening criteria for theses and dissertations and to formulate researchguidance plans specifying research guidance methods and schedules. These items need tobe included in the graduate school’s basic guidelines. The undergraduate program lacksin efforts to ensure credit validity, and appropriate measures need to be addressed in lightof the purpose of the credit system, including credits for teaching qualification courses.
Since many of these issues are attributed to differences in initiatives between thefaculties or between the academic units of the graduate school, a university-wide
perspective should be adopted to handle the issues.
To make improvements, the University positioned the Faculty and Graduate
School Deans’ Meeting as an organization responsible for promoting internal quality
assurance in fiscal 2017, and developed an internal quality assurance system that connects
the existing self-study with an examination of the achievement status of the action agenda
stated in “Centennial SIT Action.” This system is expected to be used effectively for
improvement and development.
The University’s internal quality assurance system was actually reorganized
after reviewing the roles of the organizations concerned with internal quality assurance
in 2017, and the related regulations were revised in 2018 before the above system wasarticulated. With these initiatives representing only the first step, the University is
expected to verify the effectiveness of its internal quality assurance system, deepen theunderstanding of the system within the University, and expand the system throughout theuniversity, thereby making further improvements with the new system.
Notable Strengths
Education and Research Environment
 The University’s “Centennial SIT Action” strategy sets the objective of becoming amodel school for global science and technology education and promotes students’
active learning while improving the educational environment to provide global

4education and research. To that end, “I-Co-B (Innovative Collaboration Bench)” wasestablished as an active learning space on Omiya Campus in 2013. Following thisconcept, “Global Learning Commons” were opened on the Omiya and Toyosu
campuses in 2016 as facilities where students can independently hold language
learning workshops and provide consultation services for study abroad. In accordancewith this long-term vision, the University is creating a better environment to interact
with international students through facilities that include an international student
dormitory and equipment. It is commendable that these efforts are helping toencourage study abroad and accept more international students.
Social Cooperation and Contribution In line with its social cooperation and contribution policy, the University collaborates
with the local community in various fields, including education, culture, industry, andcommunity development, and is actively involved in solving regional challenges byaligning its educational activities with manufacturing. To promote these initiatives,
the Headquarters for Promotion of Multi-Phase Industry-Academia Collaboration
was established to continue the University’s regional contribution activities forindustrial development. Specifically, “Industry-Academia PBL Collaboration” islinked to seminar courses, where students participate in supporting communitydevelopment projects, technological innovation, and new product development forsmall and medium-sized firms. These achievements, shared with society through the“Regional Co-creation Symposium” and other events, are commendable as theUniversity’s distinctive regional contribution activities.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Outcome
 The Global Course of Engineering and Science (master’s program) and the Program
Functional Control Systems (doctor’s program) of the Graduate School ofEngineering and Science do not state the intended learning outcomes appropriate tothe degrees, including the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be acquired uponcompletion, in their degree award policies. This issue should be improved. In addition,
the degree award and curriculum design and implementation policies are notestablished for the degrees conferred in the doctor’s programs of the Graduate School

5of Engineering and Science. This issue should also be improved.
 All faculty departments cap the number of credits students can register for in one year
as a measure to ensure credit validity, but they accept credits that exceed themaximum for subjects related to teaching qualification courses, with no measurestaken to ensure credit validity for such students. This issue should be improved withthe system reviewed to monitor and manage those students registering credits
exceeding the one-year credit maximum in light of the purpose of the credit system.
 None of the graduate schools, excluding the professional graduate school, define thescreening criteria for theses and dissertations in each course. This issue should beimproved.
Recommendations
Educational Program and Outcome
 None of the graduate schools, excluding the professional graduate school, specify theresearch guidance methods and schedules as research guidance plans for each school.
This situation must be corrected with these items defined and clarified to students
beforehand.