Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Junior College

University of Shizuoka, Junior College

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: PublicLocation: Shizuoka, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2016
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.01.2017 – March.31.2024）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Results
for the University of Shizuoka, Junior CollegeOverview
The University of Shizuoka, Junior College (hereafter, the College) was preceded byShizuoka Women’s College, which was established in 1951. After being integrated withShizuoka College of Pharmacy and Shizuoka Women’s University in 1987, it was opened as
the University of Shizuoka, Junior College, a co-educational college. The College wasrelocated there in 1997 after a new campus was built in Oshika, the city of Shizuoka. Inaddition to the first and second Departments of Nursing, the College, considering the expected
needs as an education and research institution specializing in health, medical care and welfare,established the Department of Dental Hygiene and Department of Social Welfare. In 2007, theUniversity of Shizuoka was incorporated as a public university. Currently, the College has
three departments: The Departments of Nursing (which has halted admissions since 2014), theDepartment of Dental Hygiene, and the Department of Social Welfare. The College recentlyadded the Department of Child Studies in 2016.
The purpose of the College is “to respect general education and have a close
relationship with it, to conduct profound research in the major fields to develop practicalskills in application, and to nurture talented human resources who are capable of meeting
requests from the times and local community.” The purpose has been supported by citizensof Shizuoka Prefecture and aims at strengthening the College’s roots in the community.
After the last accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association(JUAA), the College has set goals, such as streamlining and clarifying its mission and purpose
as well as promoting effective and practical internal quality assurance. Based on these goals,
the College has worked to build a system for improvements led by the Committee for SelfStudy, the Committee for Implementation of Improvement, and the Executive Committee.
The College has made distinct community-based efforts, such as establishing theHospital Play Specialist project (HPS) and two supporting initiatives for raising children in thecommunity: The Parents Forum for Raising Children and Kentan Children’s Festa. The HPS
project, which targets qualified adults with experience as nursery staff and in nursing, has
fostered specialists who support children with illnesses and disabilities through play. The HPS
project has been recognized as a unique educational training opportunity for the practicaleducation of experts and has contributed to the education of the College’s students. By
supporting initiatives that focus on raising children, the College has provided a place thatenables, the parents of babies and elementary school students, and lower-grade elementary
school students themselves, to learn child-rearing and family education practices throughinteraction. These initiatives also encourage local parents to seek advice and address theirconcerns and anxieties. Since these efforts are rooted in the community, and have led tostudent growth, they are regarded as exemplary programs.
However, the College still has several issues to address. These issues include
clarifying learning outcomes, such as the knowledge and skills required to acquire the degree(policy on degree award), in each department, as well as clarifying the basic ideas on
educational content and method in curriculum design policy. In order to promote furtherdevelopments in educational, research, and social activities utilizing the advantages of theCollege, and to enhance local contribution, JUAA hopes that the College will build andsolidify the system for its internal quality assurance, and ensure the proper function of thePDCA cycle with the shared awareness of all faculty and staff.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution
It is commendable that the HPS project and other initiatives are regarded as a pioneering
effort and have rendered positive effects on local interaction and contribution, and3education for students. For example, the HPS project has contributed to the proliferationof hospital play activities and continuous learning by producing a significant number ofgraduates from the lectures through “HPS Training Course,” as well as publishingcollections of cases from the graduates’ efforts. Furthermore, the “Parents Forum for
Raising Children” and “Kentan Children’s Festa” programs have become places where
local parents can consult and discuss child-rearing, family education, concerns, andanxieties with each other, and student volunteers offer practical activities for infants andlower-grade elementary school students in the community. Since inquiries on these
activities from neighbors have increased recently, they have become widespread in thecommunity.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome

Learning outcomes such as the knowledge and skills required for graduation are notindicated in the policy on degree award in each department. This issue should beimproved.

The basic ideas on educational content and method are not indicated in the curriculum
design policy. This issue should be improved.