Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation
for Professional Graduate School of Public Health

St. Luke’s International University Graduate School of Public Health

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2022
Accreditation Status: accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2028）

St. Luke’s International University Graduate School of Public Health

Certified Evaluation and Accreditationfor St. Luke’s International University Graduate Schoolof Public Health

The common purpose of the Professional Degree and Doctoral Degree Programs ofSt. Luke’s International University Graduate School of Public Health (SLGSPH) is“to contribute to the maintenance and promotion of human health both in Japan aswell as globally,” which will be “achieved by providing the highest quality ofgraduate level public health education and training, in line with global standards, tohighly motivated individuals and cultivating their critical thinking and problemsolving skills to address a variety of domestic and foreign problems.” Based on thecommon purpose, the Professional Degree Program has established its own goals to“train professionals to have detailed and deep knowledge from a wide perspectiveand advanced practical skills in solving public health issues based on scientificevidence, and to train advanced skills and abilities required by a person administering
public health education and other practices.” To achieve these goals and provide aninternational standard of higher education, SLGSPH has set priority objectives basedon the university-wide medium-term vision to AY2025. These priority objectives are(a) “enhancement” by strengthening education and research partnerships withcooperative graduate schools; (b) “education reform” involving the adoption andpromotion of a competency-based curriculum, applied practice experience(APE),and online education; (c) “quality assurance” by completing the initial application foraccreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), and meetingthe standards of certified evaluation and accreditation for professional graduateschools; and (d) “diversity” realized through enrolling government-sponsoredoverseas students and collaborating with international organizations. Furthermore,
specific strategies to attain these objectives have been developed as part of theGraduate School’s efforts to train professionals described in its goals.
In line with its curriculum design and implementation policy (curriculumpolicy), SLGSPH provides education that meets the learning needs of students withdiverse educational backgrounds, offering on-demand and online classes via ZoomⓇ
to suit the schedules of working students. With an emphasis on active learning, thecurriculum is structured to ensure sequential learning through a combination oflectures, case studies, fieldwork, and internships. It is notable that the Graduate
School has designed and delivers an internationally competitive education program,1

St. Luke’s International University Graduate School of Public Healthconducting all lectures, assignments, and examinations in English since its launch,
under a curriculum meeting the CEPH certification standards, with the aim of training
highly skilled professionals with global standard competencies. It is alsocommendable that the Graduate School promotes effective education through apersonal learning support program that assigns to each student a faculty mentor who
offers guidance throughout the student’s graduate studies.
The Professional Degree Program has a culturally diverse faculty, withseven faculty (roughly half of full-time faculty) from outside of Japan. Theinternational makeup of the faculty supports SLGSPH’s goal of training professionals
with the appropriate skills to address domestic and global problems in accordancewith international standards. The features and characteristics described above havehelped the Graduate School attract a broad spectrum of students, including, forinstance, people working for multinational companies and international organizations.
There are areas for improvement identified by the certified evaluation andaccreditation, however.
Regarding the curriculum, the Graduate School needs to establish afoundation to deliver the competency-based education it aims to pursue. Currently
only faculty have access to the course matrix listing the target competencies assigned
to each course. It is desirable to have a mechanism in place that allows both students
and faculty to track competency mastery for assessing competency development at
an early stage.
The class formats should also be reviewed. The Graduate School since
opening has offered face-to-face and on-demand classes, with online live classes
added during the Covid-19 pandemic. At present, these three modes of teaching areavailable depending on the course. While the on-demand learning materials anddelivery method are highly rated and well-suited for working students, courses
offering three different modes of delivery can pose a challenge in ensuring thevalidity of performance evaluations. The online and on-demand approaches should
be used only for courses with proven pedagogical effectiveness, yet the Graduate
School has not established criteria in terms of learning outcomes for choosing themodes of delivery. The Graduate School is advised to develop and document thecriteria and requirements for selecting course delivery methods, taking into accountthe nature of the subjects being taught as well as pedagogical and learning
effectiveness from the standpoint of the students. It is also imperative that theGraduate School develops a process to systematically monitor the types and numberof class formats each student selects for the required and elective courses in which2St. Luke’s International University Graduate School of Public Healththey enroll. As a special note on international students, while it is appreciated that all
lectures, assignments, and examinations are conducted in English, and that all-aroundstudent support is available, for non-Japanese students who may be affected bylanguage and cultural barriers, attention should be paid to the potential challenges of
online and on-demand learning, with careful consideration given to the need for
additional support when using online teaching in conjunction with face-to-facesessions. Furthermore, there should be a documented grading policy that considers
the multiple modes of class participation. The policy should clearly articulate how
fairness is ensured when evaluating performance among students using different
participation modes, especially for seminar and practicum courses involving groupbased practical exercises and practical training. Moreover, it is strongly advised thatthe syllabus be revised to include teaching methods to ensure students are properly
informed at the time of course selection.
As for student admissions in AY2022, the ratio of freshman enrollment to
the freshman enrollment cap and the ratio of student enrollment to the student
enrollment cap were particularly high. The Graduate School has stated it may expand
its student capacity in response to the growing number of applicants. To manage
student enrollment effectively as it strives to maintain the quality of its education,
faculty mentor program, and other student support services, the Graduate School
should consider increasing the number of faculty as well.
To deal with the issues raised above, SLGSPH is advised to adopt theresults of the certified evaluation and accreditation of public health for graduate
schools, continue its self-study efforts, and work to further assure and improve thequality of its education. Following the example of the university-wide medium-term
vision to AY2030, drawn up in September AY2022, the Graduate School should
formulate and work toward its own medium-term vision to further develop its
strengths.

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