University Accreditation Results (Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for University) Japanese Red Cross Hiroshima College of Nursing

Overview
Japanese Red Cross Hiroshima College of Nursing aims to develop human resources based on the Red Cross fundamental principle of "humanity," with human caring as a key pillar for both the faculty and the graduate school. Based on the Third Japanese Red Cross Academy Medium-term Plan – Promoting Collaboration among Coleges (hereafter, the "Third Midterm Plan"), the Japanese Red Cross Hiroshima College of Nursing Medium-term Plan (AY2019-2023) (hereafter, the "Midterm Plan (2019- 2023)" has been formulated to lay out the College's purpose and visions. The College has outlined five-year initiatives to achieve its visions in the five areas of internal quality assurance and education and research organizations, educational program and learning outcomes, research and educational environment, social cooperation and contribution (with the College serving as a knowledge hub), and management and finance. The College is promoting its annual goals while operating the PDCA (Plan- Do-Check-Act) cycle, and is also addressing the issues pointed out in JUAA’s previous certified evaluation and accreditation results under the Midterm Plan (2019- 2023). Regarding the College's internal quality assurance, the Educational Quality Assurance Committee plays a central role as an organization promoting college-wide internal quality assurance. The committee drafts a medium-term plan and annual activity plan to be presented to the Management Meeting. The faculty, graduate school, committees, and other organizations conduct self-studies every six months to confirm the implementation status and outcomes of the medium-term plan and activity plans. As for the College’s education, the Faculty of Nursing revised its diploma policy in AY2022 to better reflect the College’s educational philosophy, and has adopted various approaches to monitor and evaluate student learning outcomes in detail by further classifying the competencies students are expected to acquire. The Graduate School of Nursing has established separate diploma policies for the Nurse Educator and Researcher Course and the Certified Nurse Specialist (CNS) Course. The curricula were also revised to strengthen the connection between subject arrangements and the diploma policies, with specific goal levels set in curriculum maps for students to learn in an incremental, systematic way. To enhance student learning and provide education more effectively, the College has introduced a tutoring system; it also encourages student participation through active learning, conducts practical training in small groups, and provides on-the-job guidance. Nursing practicums use simulations with the Nursing Education Development Committee systematizing practical model cases to promote student learning experiences. Student learning outcomes are measured based on portfolios, computer- based assessment tests administered before practical training, student evaluations on acquiring basic nursing skills after training and at t he academic year end, and surveys conducted at t e time of graduation. Among the College’s distinctive initiatives pointed to in JUAA’s latest evaluation are reorganizing the Faculty of Nursing's faculty organization, establishing the Regulations on the Faculty Organization and Management of the Faculty of Nursing, Japanese Red Cross Hiroshima College of Nursing, and eliminating the conventional faculty organization engaging in five major domains. This reorganization has allowed the College to implement educational activities beyond its faculty members’ areas of expertise, with a mechanism developed for students to learn from faculty specializing in various fields, and for faculty members to gain a broad range of educational experiences in domains other than their own. These reorganization efforts are commendable as pioneering pursuits in higher nursing education. The College has also undertaken an effective initiative to enhance the quality of its faculty members with its own FD (faculty development) map designed to specify the necessary competencies required of faculty, and to have faculty members and the dean evaluate each other with feedback provided through teaching portfolios. Under the president's leadership, the College is carrying out educational improvements through the establishment of an effective internal quality assurance system, with the aim of achieving the undergraduate program’s purpose of “imparting a rich sense of humanity, broad cultural awareness, and a solid academic foundation from a global perspective to cultivate nursing practitioners based on human caring with the dignity of life and the wisdom of humanity as its foundation."' In the coming years, the College is expected to upgrade its graduate school education by further clarifying the graduate school’s faculty organization policy and effectively operating the internal quality assurance system to improve student learning outcomes.
Notable Strengths
Faculty and Faculty Organization ● The College has designed its own FD map that classifies the competencies required of full-time faculty members in four levels based on teaching experiences to clarify their achievements. The required competencies also include human caring in line with the College’s principle and purpose. In addition, it is commendable that faculty members and the dean evaluate each other based on the FD map every semester with the evaluations compiled in teaching portfolios as feedback for faculty members’ educational and research activities.