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

Seinan Gakuin University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Fukuoka, 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 Resultsfor Seinan Gakuin University
Overview
Seinan Gakuin University (hereafter, the University) was established in 1949 in the city of
Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. Originally founded in 1916 as the private academy Seinan
Gakuin, the University carries out education and research activities with an emphasis on
character building based on Christian values. At the time of its opening, the University had
one undergraduate Department of Liberal Arts, but now has seven, including the Departmentsof Theology, Literature, Commerce, Economics, Law, Human Sciences and Intercultural
Studies, along with master’s and doctoral courses that build on the undergraduate studies foreach discipline in the Divisions of Theology, Literature, Business Administration, Economics,
Law, Human Sciences, and Intercultural Studies. With the creation of the Clinical Psychology
Master’s Course in the Division of Intercultural Studies in 2016, the University’s graduatelevel offering has increased to eight courses in seven divisions. In addition, the University has
the School of Law dedicated to training legal professionals.
After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA)
in 2010, the University submitted an improvement report in 2014 detailing the actions taken toaddress the issues identified. This report and the FY2016 Self-Study Report submitted prior tothis latest review show that the University has been tackling issues related to its curriculum,
teaching methods, and faculty; however, problems remain in a number of areas, including thedegree award policy and enrollment management.
In December 2014, the University developed the long-term “Seinan Gakuin Vision
2016-2025” designed to support the institution’s progress beyond its centennial milestone, as
well as a mission statement and the “Medium- to Long-Term Plan 2016-2025.” These
documents are made available to the university community and used as a guideline on
governance and activities.
In terms of internal quality assurance, self-study is conducted annually by individual
inspection units, each with an assigned audit area, and the units include the “Basic Issues
Inspection Committee” and the “Undergraduate School Inspection Committee.” The audits
are carried out in accordance with the “Seinan Gakuin Self-Study Procedures,” “Seinan
Gakuin Self-Study Regulations,” and other related rules, and performed against theinstitution’s own achievement targets that take into account JUAA’s evaluation criteria. The
area-based self-study results are examined by the university-wide inspection and evaluation

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board and then verified by the university-wide inspection and evaluation committee.
The review commends the Department of Law’s support framework designed todevelop self-directed learning skills. Other commendable features include the scholarshipprogram voluntarily funded by the University’s faculty and staff members aiming to increase
scholarship opportunities for students; systematic learning assistance for students withdisabilities; Seinan Children’s Plaza, a social contribution activity that embodies support forparents and child caregivers; and a strong staff development program aiming to improve thecapabilities of the administrative staff.
Weaknesses were identified in the degree award policy (diploma policy), thecurriculum design and implementation policy (curriculum policy), and the admission policy at
the graduate level. The University is also advised to make improvements to ensure thedoctoral curriculum offers a suitable combination of research work and course work; revise
the maximum number of credits a student can enroll in per year, which is currently too highfor the Division of Childhood Education in the Department of Human Sciences; and improve
its enrollment management for some of the undergraduate and graduate programs.
It should be mentioned that the School of Law underwent the Japan Law Foundation’s
certified evaluation and accreditation for professional graduate schools this fiscal year. This
review therefore does not include evaluations for criteria No. 4 “Educational content, methods,
and outcome” for the School of Law, and the criteria results are as given in the professional
graduate school evaluation report.
Notable Strengths
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The Department of Law’s learning support framework designed to develop self-directed
learning skills is worthy of mention. In particular, the student assistant (SA) program andlibrary tutors who critique assignments and offer writing support to first year students arefine learning support programs. Group work and other forms of active learning are
effectively promoted by having SAs participate in small foundation course classes.
The SA system is a commendable component designed to benefit tutors as well as
students. Attention is paid to the development of a strong team of tutors, with rigoroustraining delivered to all tutors-to-be-in both general and role-specific training programs.
With its success recognized across the University, the learning support framework has

4become a model education initiative impacting institution-wide policy making, andsimilar programs are being considered and partially implemented in other departments as
well.
Student SupportAfter a series of discussions among related organizations on ways to strengthen assistancefor students with disabilities, the University compiled the “Learning Assistance Guide forStudents with Disabilities.” The booklet explains the procedures to identify students who
may be eligible for assistance and determines their need for assistance. When determinedthat a student requires assistance, the specific details of the assistance are discussed anddecided upon, a request for assistance is made, and afterwards a post-assistance evaluationis completed. It is commendable that on-going assistance is provided in a systematicmanner, with faculty and staff of the relevant units working together and sharing
information throughout the process.

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The University offers strong student financial support programs, such as scholarshipprograms and financial aid programs for study abroad and language proficiency exams.
The “Scholarship Program funded by Faculty and Staff” to increase scholarship
opportunities for students is especially notable. Given the limited funds available to assist
students, the distribution of money donated by faculty and staff represents a unique modelof scholarship.

Education and Research EnvironmentThe “Education Incubate Program” is designed to enhance education by advancing uniqueinitiatives undertaken by different departments; the program accepts applications fromshort-term projects, seminar groups, and administrative units, and has supported various
initiatives in the past. The “Research Incubate Program” was established to assist
individual research projects and collaborative research involving multiple researchers bysecuring external research funding, such as Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research. Projects
that received funding from the Research Incubate Program for a period of time were infact successful in securing the government grant. The review recognizes the program,which provides funding to selected projects based on the project period, as an effective
tool for enhancing the quality of education and research.

5Social Cooperation and Contribution

The Volunteer Center offers a broad range of activities, including natural disastervolunteer work, overseas volunteer work, and the student supporter program. The Center
publishes the “Volunteer Guidebook,” which introduces activities carried out incollaboration with government bodies, social welfare councils, other universities, or NPOs,
along with projects organized by student groups. The booklet is a valuable source ofinspiration for students, faculty, and staff to take their first step into social contribution.
The Center is a widely known resource on campus, as demonstrated by the large numberof student sign-ups. Seinan Gakuin strives to make the university-sponsored volunteer
experience a learning opportunity by encouraging students to reflect on their work after
completing their activities.

The Seinan Children’s Plaza is a long-running child-rearing support project operated incollaboration with Fukuoka City. Deeply ingrained in the community, the Plaza is visitedby numerous infants and their parents. The activities of the Plaza are supported not only by
student volunteers but extra-curricular groups or teams as well. The Plaza offers activity
opportunities not only for student volunteers but also for students who participate throughclasses and extra-curricular groups or teams, and hosts various events such as specialized
counseling or lectures by faculty members. The community contribution program
highlights the University’s unique strengths and is commendable.

Administration and FinanceThe University is commended for its active promotion of staff development under thesystematic leadership of the “Staff Training Steering Committee,” evidenced by anextensive array of training programs offered on a variety of topics designed to enhance theskills of administrative staff. As part of this staff development effort, the University
established the “Attributes and Attitudes Expected of Staff,” a code of conduct foruniversity personnel, and published it in the Staff Training Guide 2016. It also encourages
staff to participate in training programs across organizational boundaries.

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Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

The University is advised to define the learning outcomes students are expected to achieve
at the end of their study in the degree award policy of the Master’s and Doctoral Course in
the Divisions of Theology, Literature, Business Administration, and Intercultural Studies.

The curriculum design and implementation policy of the Master’s Course in the Divisionof Theology merely explains the current curriculum, and the Master’s Course in the
Division of Intercultural Studies only provides the goals for dissertation writing. These
divisions are advised to state the basic philosophy and principles of education content andmethods in their policies.

The combinations of research work and course work offered in the doctoral course
curriculums are not appropriate. All graduate schools are advised to make improvements
to ensure their education programs are suitable and in line with the purpose of the
program-based graduate school system.

The Division of Childhood Education in the Department of Human Sciences sets the
maximum number of credits per year at 50 for first- and second-year students, 55 for thirdyear students, and 60 for fourth-year students. The division is advised to revise the upper
limits, which are all higher than optimal, in consideration of the credit system.

Enrollment
The University is advised to establish a separate admission policy for the Master’s andDoctoral Courses of the Division of Law; Division of Business Administration; French
Literature Course in the Division of Literature; Human Sciences Course in the Division
Human Sciences; and Division of Intercultural Studies.

The Department of Human Sciences is advised to address the disparities between
enrollment and capacity, as the average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshmanenrollment cap over the past five years and the ratio of student enrollment to the student
enrollment cap are high at 1.20 and 1.24, respectively, while the ratio of transfer students

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to the transfer student enrollment cap is low at 0.45. The ratio of student enrollment to thestudent enrollment cap is high at 1.25 in the Division of Intercultural Studies in the
Department of Intercultural Studies, and should be lowered.
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The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap should be higher in thefollowing programs: Master’s Course in Law, Division of Law (0.20); Master’s Course,
Division of Literature (0.43); Economics Course, Division of Economics (0.36); Doctoral
Course, Division of Law (0.22); and Doctoral Course, Division of Economics (0.22).