Meisei University

Overview
Meisei University (hereinafter, the University) was founded in Hino City, Tokyo in 1964 as a single-department university with the School of Science and Engineering. The University later established and reorganized faculties, departments and graduate schools, including the establishment of the Ome Campus in Ome City, Tokyo in 1992, and it is now comprised of seven undergraduate schools (the School of Science and Engineering, the School of Humanities, the School of Information Science, the School of Economics, the School of Education, the School of Business Administration and the School of Design), and five graduate schools (the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, the Graduate School of Humanities, the Graduate School of Information Science, the Graduate School of Economics, and the Graduate School of Education), and the University also has the School of Education and Graduate School of Education as a correspondence education course). The University conducts education and research activities based on its founding spirit. After its accreditation review by Japan University Accreditation Association (JUAA) in 2010, the University started the MI21 (Meisei Innovation for the 21 st Century) Project in 2009 using BSC (balanced score card) to manage the status of achievement of strategic targets in order to substantiate improvement activities from the aspects of both education and management and realize the organization’s vision, and it has promoted improvements and reforms by confirming and evaluating the status of achievement of that project. Initiatives taken by the University are characteristic in that it conducts various regional cooperation activities to achieve "promotion of regional cooperation projects centering on the Tama area,” which is a policy to cooperate with the local community within and outside the regular curriculum and many students participate in volunteer activities, and that in order to support these initiatives, community exchange centers and volunteer centers play a central role in referring places requiring volunteer activities and granting subsidies. On the other hand, the University has issues regarding the maximum number of credits for which students can register in a year, admission of students in graduate schools, clarification of thesis or dissertation examination criteria, and curriculum of the Doctoral programs of some of the graduate courses. Further, some undergraduate and graduate schools have inadequate degree award policies and curriculum design and implementation policies, so those faculties and graduate schools need to develop appropriate policies. The University is expected to systematically coordinate its activities at t the self-study committee and the MI21 Project activities and work on the improvements of issues for further advancement.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution ● In order to achieve the "promotion of regional cooperation projects centering on the Tama area,” which is a policy to cooperate with the local community, the university has executed agreements with Hino City and Hachioji City, Tokyo, and it conducts various regional cooperation activities within and outside the regular curriculum such as volunteers for crime prevention and "Planning and Expression Practice 5" of the School of Design, and many students participate in volunteer activities. Moreover, in order to support those initiatives, community exchange centers and volunteer centers play a central role in referring volunteer activities and granting subsidies, and the University also provides opportunities for students to reflect on those activities by conducting questionnaire surveys and holding activity debriefing sessions by students. The university can be acclaimed for these activities.
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Content, Methods, and Outcome . The degree award policy of the Department of International Studies of the School of Humanities only shows the capabilities to be cultivated and does not show the learning outcomes that must be acquired to complete the course and so this should be addressed. ● The curriculum policies of the Department of International Studies, the Department of Sociology and Human Welfare, the Department of Japanese and Comparative Culture, and the Department of Social Work of the School of Humanities do not show the basic view on educational content and methods and this needs to be rectified. Further, the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, the Graduate School of Humanities, the Graduate School of Information Science, and the Graduate School of Education do not have separate policies for their Master’s and Doctoral programs. This should be rectified so that policies showing the basic view on the educational content and details are formulated for each course. ● It cannot be said that the Psychology Doctoral Course of the Graduate School of Humanities has curriculum that appropriately combines coursework and research work, so educational content appropriate to that course should be provided in light of the purpose of the program-based graduate school system. ● Although the maximum number of credits for which students can register in a year is set at 45 for the University as a whole, no measures are taken to limit students from registering for credits exceeding that limit, and many students register for a number of credits exceeding the limit. This should be rectified in light of the purpose of the credit system. ● None of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, the Graduate School of Humanities, the Graduate School of Information Science or the Graduate School of Education has clearly written thesis or dissertation examination criteria. The University should address this issue by clearly stipulating the criteria in the “Course-taking Guide - Student Handbook”’ and other materials.
Enrollment
● The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap is low at 0.30 for the Master’s program of the Graduate School of Economics, 0.10 for the Master’s program of the Graduate School of Education, 0.11 for the Doctoral program of the Graduate School of Education, 0.07 for the Doctoral program of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, and 0.11 for the Doctoral program of the Graduate School of Information Science, so that needs to be rectified.