Azabu University

Overview
Azabu University (hereafter, the University) began as Tokyo Veterinary Training School in 1890 and was established as Azabu Veterinary College in 1950. It was renamed Azabu University in April 1980 and is currently organized into two faculties (School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Life and Environmental Science) and two graduate schools (Graduate School of Veterinary Science and Graduate School of Environmental Health) with the campus located in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) in 2010, the University formulated its "Third Mid-term Targets and Plan" (2015-2020) in 2015 with the objective to act on its founding spirit "explore academically and practice conscientiously" and has been making improvements such as clarifying the role of the faculty council and board of councilors in administration. As part of its social cooperation and social contribution activities, the University opened The Life Museum of Azabu University where it displays information about the university's history as well as zoology, environmental studies and other fields in an easy-to-understand manner. It is also holding and expanding the “small animal clinical seminar” meant for veterinarians by leveraging the Azabu University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. This effort is commendable for strengthening relations between the community and persons related to veterinary services.However, no systematic efforts are seen in its Graduate School of Environmental Health to improve education programs and instruction and no research supervision plan has been formulated in both Master's and Doctoral programs of the graduate schools. The University also needs to manage its student enrollment quota. Moreover, it is expected to work on quality assurance and quality enhancement in its education by implementing appropriate self-study, which is lacking regularity at present, and ensure effective functioning of the internal quality assurance system by collaboration between the new "Academic Council" and "Self-study Division." Social Cooperation and Contribution ● The Azabu University Veterinary Teaching Hospital holds public "Small animal clinical seminar" as part of post-graduate education for its alumni as well as veterinarians in the neighborhood. It offers lectures as well as practical training in various themes such as "Diagnosis and treatment of lymphoid tumors in dogs and cats" and "Practical training in abdominal ultrasonography." Its seminar attracts large participation due to various measures to cater to the participants' needs, including holding seminars late in the evening so that people can join after work. It is commendable that the University is giving back its educational and research outcomes to society and contributing to the spread of academic learning among holders of veterinary license. ● The Life Museum of Azabu University was opened in 2015 as part of the university's 125th anniversary celebrations with the objective to interact with the community and contribute to society by spreading information about the university's history and results of educational and research activities. The museum organizes academic materials, such as zoological specimens, and articles and books, that the University has accumulated and displays information about the university's history as well as zoology, environmental studies and other fields in a manner that even common people can understand easily. Its effort to involve students in the management of the museum is particularly evident in the hands-on-corner where visitors can touch specimens and other exhibits and gain information from explanations provided by student groups. It is also commendable that the University has continued to incorporate opinions received though visitor surveys and leverages its specialization for social contribution.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome . No systematic training or research is conducted in the Graduate School of Environmental Health to improve education programs and instruction. This issue
Enrollment
● In the last five years, the average of ratios of freshman enrollment to the freshman enrollment cap were high at 1.21 in the Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology of the School of Veterinary Medicine, 1.21 in the School of Life and Environmental Science, 1.22 in the Department of Medical Technology of the School of Life and Environmental Science and 1.22 in the Department of Food and Life Science of the School of Life and Environmental Science. In addition, the ratios of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap were high at 1.21 in the School of Veterinary Medicine, with 1.24 in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, while the Department of Medical Technology of the School of Life and Environmental Science stood at a high 1.22. These should be improved. ● The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap in the Doctoral Course of Environmental Health was low at 0.17 and should be improved. Internal Quality Assurance ● Although the University is required to implement yearly self-study under its “self-study regulation,” its implementation has been restricted to the time of the accreditation review and periodic self-study is not held in accordance with the regulation. The University should implement periodic self-study as required and create as well as activate mechanisms to address various issues.
Area of Serious Concern
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome ● The Doctoral as well as Master's courses of the Graduate School of Veterinary Science and the Graduate School of Environmental Health lack a research supervision plan. Therefore, the University should make improvements to ensure that research supervision and guidance for graduation dissertations are provided based on a research supervision plan.