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

Nagoya Gakuin University

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Aichi, 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 Nagoya Gakuin University
Overview
Founded on the Christian spirit of “Fear God, Love People,” Nagoya Gakuin University(hereafter, the University) aims to foster leaders who will serve others and society,humanity and the world, as it strives to cultivate the foundations of life-long characterdevelopment. As the environment surrounding universities becomes increasingly
challenging due to such social changes as globalization and the nation’s declining
birthrate, the University established the “Medium- to Long-term Plan – Look Forward
2014-2023” in 2013, followed by a five-year concrete action plan based on the mediumto long-term plan to define the institution’s vision and ensure steady implementation of
its policies and projects. In 2018 the action plan was revised to formulate the Mediumterm Action Plan that lays out the steps to be taken over the next three years. The
University is working to improve its education and research activities in keeping with thechange in social needs and the environment.
Especially noteworthy are the University’s social cooperation and contribution
activities implemented on a university-wide basis and promoted as distinguishing featuresof the institution. The medium-term plan envisions the University’s greater presence as abase of knowledge playing a key role in creating a vibrant society. To achieve this visionof social contribution, the University has laid out the explicit commitments to (1) becomea heightened presence as a base of knowledge, (2) play a role in solving various problems
facing the local community, and (3) strengthen its ties with stakeholders. The University
is highly commended for exposing students to activities tied to the local community andencouraging faculty members, staff, and students to work together to address local
community issues, for example, through the consortium of universities formed byinstitutions located in and around Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, and systematicallyincorporating project-based learning (PBL) into the curriculum.
To support its efforts, the University has established a highly effective universitywide student support system in the form of a portal website developed independently. The
website allows faculty members and staff to share information about students and answer
their questions, concerns, and requests. It is highly commendable that attentive student
support services are helping to produce positive results, such as lower dropout rates, alarge number of students studying abroad, and a high job placement rate.
Positive findings in the area of education include (1) a systematically structured

3curriculum with appropriate subjects in line with the curriculum design andimplementation policy being implemented in each degree program; (2) steps being taken
to promote learning and ensure that course workloads align with the credit hour definition;and (3) academic achievement assessed and degrees awarded in an appropriate manner.
There are a number of issues the University needs to address, however. To make
improvements it is important to establish policies outlining the rationale and methods forachieving the set goals, but some of the graduate schools display inadequacies in theirdegree award policy, curriculum design and implementation policy, and admission policy.
Although the University is expected to assess and make public the achievement of thestudent learning outcomes set forth in the degree award policy, both the undergraduate
and graduate schools fail to fully assess them. Furthermore, some departments andgraduate schools have enrollment management issues. To address these issues, an internal
quality assurance (IQA) system led by the Academic Reform Promotion Council wasintroduced in FY2017, but work is needed to fully establish the system and ensure its
effective operation. Specifically, the scope of the Council’s IQA work, along with thedivision of responsibilities and the coordination process between the Council and otheruniversity-wide organizations, should be reviewed.
Going forward it is important for the University to address the issues identified
and work on quality assurance for further development of the institution.
Notable Strengths
Student Support

As a strategy to help prevent dropouts, each student is assigned a class advisor, andthe Student Support department and the Academic Affairs department work together
to identify and arrange meetings with students not earning sufficient credits or prone
to absenteeism. The information obtained in such meetings is shared among faculty
members and staff using the learning system feature of the Campus Communication
Service (CCS) and used to enhance the counseling and scholarship programs
designed to address academic and financial challenges that can cause students toleave the university. These responsive student support services are commended for
effectively reducing the number of dropouts.

4Social Cooperation and Contribution
In line with its vision of social contribution that includes “become a heightened
presence as a base of knowledge” and “strengthen its ties with stakeholders,” theSocial Cooperation Center has expanded its collaboration with other universities,businesses, and groups in the area to implement a wide range of activities.
Specifically, the University participates in a consortium of five universities locatedin and around Seto City. It also implements a structured local cooperative education
curriculum and courses incorporating project-based learning (PBL) through acommunity building project designated as the Center of Community (COC) Projectby the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology and the local
medical professional training program offered in partnership with three otheruniversities. Owing to these courses and programs and the regional challenges taken
up as topics in mandatory subjects, the University exposes students to activities
closely tied to the local community. These are commendable efforts that takeadvantage of the distinct characteristics of each discipline, undertaken through thecooperation of faculty members, university staff, and students, and contribute not
only to student growth but also to creating new culture, community development, andsolving local challenges.

Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance
The IQA system exhibits some inadequacies that require correction. For example, thescope of work of the Academic Reform Promotion Council, established withresponsibility for the promotion and overall management of IQA, does not covereducation and research organizations and faculty and faculty organizations, and thedivision of responsibilities among the Council and other university-wideorganizations, such as the University-wide Self-Study Committee, and thecoordination process between these organizations are not fully defined. Furthermore,
the Council falls short of assisting the undergraduate and graduate schools inimplementing the PDCA cycle to ensure effective management of teaching andlearning.

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Educational Program and Outcome
The degree award policies of the Master Program in Economics of the Graduate
School of Economics and Business Administration and the Master and Distance
Learning programs of the Graduate School of Foreign Languages should state theexpected learning outcomes appropriate for the degrees in terms of knowledge, skills,and competencies. The curriculum design and implementation policies of the Masterand Doctor programs in Business Administration of the Graduate School ofEconomics and Business Administration should clearly state the principles ofcurriculum design and implementation.

The undergraduate school measures and assesses student learning outcomes throughassessment tests and portfolios, and the graduate schools through thesis examination,
but the current practice fails to fully assess the learning outcomes established in thedegree award policy. The University needs to establish evaluation criteria appropriate
for each degree program and ensure the learning outcomes set out in the degree award
policy are measured and assessed effectively.

Student Enrollment
The admissions policy of the Master Program in Business Administration of theGraduate School of Economics and Business Administration should clearly state theattributes and characteristics of the students the program seeks to serve.

The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.21 in theMaster Program of the Graduate School of Foreign Languages. Graduate school
enrollment should be managed more effectively.

Recommendations
Student Enrollment
The average ratio of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap over thepast five years and the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap areboth high at 1.27 in the Department of Sports and Health, Faculty of Sports andHealth. Faculty enrollment must be managed more effectively.