Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Professional Graduate School of Public Health Department of Health Care Administration and Management, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
(Accreditation Period: April 1, 2024 – March 31, 2029) Accreditation Status: accredited
As a professional graduate school fostering specialists in health care management and administration, the Department of Health Care Administration and Management, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University (hereafter "'Department''), has established its own purpose “to nurture highly specialized professionals who can integrate, coordinate, and organize specialized medical technologies to help people live with a ‘peace of mind, satisfaction and sense of unity.’” The curriculum includes Health Care Finance, Health Care Administration, Health Care Management, and other courses as part of the compulsory specialized subjects for students to acquire the knowledge and skills fundamental to health care administration and management and gain broad insights into this field. It is notable that to achieve its own purpose the Department provides education in health care administration and management based on the five basic specialized fields of professional graduate schools of public health. In addition, the Department adopts different educational methods appropriate for individual subjects, such as hands-on teaching of data analysis in conjunction with e- learning, case studies (Theory of Medical Safety Management), and case methods (Health Care Management). As a distinctive initiative the Department also invites to classes many front-line practitioners and experts in the field, such as managers and administrators of medical institutions, and provides students with both lectures and opportunities for discussion and question-and-answer sessions to enhance its practical education. To make it easier for working students to attend classes, online lectures are offered on weekdays and intensive in-person lectures on Saturdays and Sundays. It is commendable that, in light of its purpose and the five basic areas of specialization of public health professional graduate schools, the Department aims in its mid-term plan to develop professionals with specialized knowledge and skills focused on the field of health care administration and management as well as broad views and a deep sense of professional ethics. In addition, the Department has created a cross-disciplinary educational setting called the "Kyushu University Consortium of Professional Graduate Schools," which allows students to take courses offered by Kyushu University's different professional graduate schools in the fields of law, business, and clinical psychology. This is a commendable step forward toward establishing "a university that drives social change 1 through comprehensive knowledge by strengthening cooperation with other divisions to solve the social issues we face," which was set as the basic goal in the preamble of the "Fourth Mid-Term Objectives and Plans of the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and Faculty of Medical Sciences." There are several areas of improvement, however, identified in the certified evaluation and accreditation. With regard to item A "Independent learning and collaboration," among the knowledge and abilities listed in the degree award policy (diploma policy), it is difficult to understand from the descriptions of the curriculum design and implementation policy (curriculum policy) what specific skills the students are expected to acquire and in what ways. Therefore, the Department is advised to ensure that the contents and descriptions of the curriculum design and implementation policy are consistent with the degree award policy. In addition, although attendance is not given points in the performance evaluations, the term "attendance" is used in the syllabus in connection with grading and should be deleted. Regarding faculty organization, all faculty members in the Department of Health Care Administration and Management, who are involved full-time in cultivating professionals in the Department, are practitioners. In AY2023, however, the number of faculty members was five, which is the minimum number required by law, and there were only four faculty members who could provide guidance to students in preparing their final deliverables. Furthermore, some of the current faculty members are approaching the mandatory retirement age. Under these circumstances, the Department is advised to expand the faculty as soon as possible to stabilize and improve its education level. To build a more stable and fulfilling educational environment, the Department is also advised to consider to develop a recruitment plan with greater diversity of its faculty members, taking into account their characteristics, including areas of specialization, gender balance, and international experience. Going forward, the Department should continue to embrace the opinions of its students and graduates and information from external sources, and engage in self-study efforts to enhance its distinctive features and further improve the quality of its education.