Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results forProfessional Graduate Business School

The System Safety Program, Graduate School of Manegementof Technology, Nagaoka University of Technology

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: NationalAccreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2015
Accreditation Status: Unaccredited

Location: Niigata, Japan

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the System Safety Program, Graduate School of Management of Technology,Nagaoka University of Technology
The System Safety Program, Graduate School of Management of Technology, Nagaoka
University of Technology (hereafter, the Program), defines its objective as developing
professionals through practical education on system safety that integrates safety
technology and management skills and applies its outcome in the analysis of the disaster,risk, and safety of systems while complying with national and international safety
standards and regulations under the university motto of Vitality, Originality andServices (VOS).
The objective, while concise and clear, is, in reality, difficult to understand. In addition,
the manner in which how the integration of safety technology and management skills
contributes to the mission, as a professional graduate school of management, whose aim
is “to develop specialists with professional management expertise for business or otherorganizations” is ambiguous. This has resulted in a difficulty, in deciding immediately
whether or not its objective meets the requirements of a professional management
graduate school. However, the Program clearly stated in the on-site interview withJapan University Accreditation Association (hereafter, JUAA) that the program is aimed
not at addressing safety issues in specific areas, but at developing professionals capableof planning safety measures that could be part of the basic concepts of business
management. Thus, the Program needs to explicitly state its objective as such.
It is commendable that the program curriculum provides a number of practicalsubjects on safety technology, making the program outstanding and unique amongprofessional graduate schools across Japan. In an effort to secure such practical aspectsof the program, it is fortunate to have members of its faculty serve on notablecommittees, including a chairperson of international standards committees such as ISOand IEC and committee members at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, andTourism; the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare; the Ministry of Economy, Trade,and Industry; and others. The faculty is therefore highly pragmatic, reinforcing theProgram’s objective to develop professionals through practical education. In addition, itis commendable that the Program has made efforts to hold special lectures incollaboration with the University’s Research Center for Safe and Secure Society, andhas set up a booth at the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association’s Midori-Jyuji
Safety Exhibition to facilitate the dissemination of information relevant to theProgram’s objective.
While the Program maintains a distinctive curriculum and faculty, it has not
sufficiently developed quality assurance and improvement of education in such a way as
to direct the skills and efforts of each full-time faculty member toward the improvementof the organization. Taking these points into account, several important challenges must
be considered:First, the Program’s efforts are not yet sufficient to have produced a midterm
and long-term vision for the Program and its strategy to navigate resource allocation,organizational capability, and value creation for the vision. The Program must, therefore,
develop a midterm and long-term vision and produce and implement its strategy tomake the vision a reality.
Second, a major part of the policy on degree award that is set in place shares
the same content with all other master’s degree programs, yet the policy does notinclude the development of certain skills, such as management skills, which constitutes
part of the Program’s objectives. Therefore, the Program must explicitly state the policy
on degree award in accordance with its objective.
Third, the program offers only a very limited number of subjects designed tohelp students develop expertise in areas such as strategy, organization, marketing,

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financing, and accounting, and in other skills such as thinking ability, analysis, andcommunication. As a result, the Program is significantly deficient in curriculum ascompared to other professional management graduate schools. While the school isreportedly planning to launch a new subject, Practical Management Theory, to deal withthe concerns noted above, the Program must set a curriculum that meets theexpectations of professional management graduate schools not just by introducing anew subject, but by meeting the objectives and the policy on degree award mentionedabove.
Fourth, students in Practical System Safety A (Research Project) are scheduled
to meet their teacher in person only once a month for 90 minutes. While they may
receive comments and advice at midterm and end-of-term presentations and in emailcommunications, the system of crediting four units after one year of study is notreasonable, according to the regulation of the University, and must be improved.
Fifth, students are required to attend “fifteen hours, half of the total class hours,or more” to earn credit according to Chapter 1, Class Methods, in the Graduate Program
Guide. The Program responded to our concern on this matter and replied that students
with poor attendance will receive sufficient care from the Program. Yet this attendance
requirement can hardly be considered sufficient and must be amended.
Sixth, evaluation criteria for applicants to the Program are stipulated in“Evaluation Criteria of Entrance Examinations of the System Safety Program,” but theassessment rules for essays and interviews are highly abstract, and do not satisfy theadmission policy and the Program objective. In addition, no clear criterion for point
ratings is available. It is therefore highly recommended that the Program make efforts tomeet the policy and the objective and to produce appropriate assessment rules for each
item as well as unambiguous criteria for point ratings. Additionally, the qualification
review for non-university graduate applicants does not contain concrete assessment
standards, including the required length of business experience and the treatment ofcredentials and certification examinations. The Program should therefore clarify theassessment standard for qualification of those applicants.
Seventh, issues that have been pointed out include many areas that would havebeen improved if the Program had implemented self-study in line with its objective, andif it had followed that evaluations as well as previous comments by JUAA to takeactions for improvement. Therefore, the Program is requested to properly carry out selfstudy and also to enhance the ways in which it systematically incorporates results of theevaluations and comments forwarded by JUAA to help improve the Program.
There are a number of issues that must be addressed urgently, yet many ofthem are largely superficial and the school has already started its efforts to makechanges. Therefore, it is concluded that the Program shall further its development as aunique professional management graduate school specializing in safety by planning andtaking prompt specific actions to eliminate issues.