Juntendo University

Overview
Juntendo University sets forth the motto of "Jin – I exist as you exist, with a heart that considers and cherishes others, benevolence," the principle of "Fudan Zenshin (striving for advances and taking on new challenges, continuously moving forward)," and the school culture of "Sanmu Shugi (no discrimination based on gender, nationality, or academic background)," and formulates the educational principles for the faculties and graduate schools based on these notions. To achieve the founding spirit and purpose, the University strives to enhance its educational and research activities under the Five-Year Medium-Term Plan laid out as a medium-term plan for educational and research activities and university management as well as the University Renovation Project to mark the 175th anniversary of its founding. The University has undertaken several outstanding initiatives. For example, the Medical Technology Innovation Center manages the Global Alliance Under the Dynamic Innovation (GAUDI), an open innovation program promoting efforts to return to society the outcomes produced by research and development seeds in the life sciences field inside and outside the University, and the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport has opened the Women Leaders Academy to train female leaders and coaches, and returns its research outcomes to society. Moreover, the University has accepted students, medical personnel, and researchers from conflict-hit Ukraine, and holds international symposiums. These are commendable initiatives based on the University's motto of “Jin.” Regarding internal quality assurance, the Internal Quality Assurance Policy formulated in AY2020 stipulates the Internal Quality Assurance Promotion Committee, Self-Assessment Management Committee, and External Evaluation Committee as organizations involved in internal quality assurance. The Self-Assessment Management Committee compiles the results of inspections and assessments conducted by each division and examines the issues to be addressed and improvement measures. The committee's evaluation results, along with those of the External Evaluation Committee, are reported to the Internal Quality Assurance Promotion Committee. After the president approves the measures and issues instructions for improvement, the divisions take steps accordingly. The Internal Quality Assurance Promotion Committee and the Self- Assessment Management Committee are inclusively connected, but their roles and members are clearly stated, indicating that each committee plays an independent role. As for education, all faculties and graduate schools have established diploma and curriculum policies, and appropriately designed their curricula based on these policies. Curriculum maps, course charts, and numbering systems have been introduced to clarify how the curricula are systematically organized. All faculties conduct foreign language proficiency tests administered by external organizations to nurture students who can play an active role on the international stage. The Faculty of Medicine and the Graduate School of Medicine focus on English language education, and have opened the Juntendo International Medical Education School with extracurricular courses for students to acquire more advanced English language skills. Interprofessional education is provided for first-year students in the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Health Care and Nursing. This program is expected to progress further as the University plans to offer it to more students. All faculties have created the levels of competency achievement for students to self-assess their proficiency, thereby measuring students' learning outcomes during their school years. However, it is unclear how competency is measured at the time of graduation, and students' self-assessments in school are the only measurement method. Some graduate school programs use only students' self-assessment in class evaluation and other surveys to measure the learning outcomes stated in the diploma policy. All faculties and graduate schools should make more efforts to measure student learning outcomes by developing methods for monitoring and evaluating these outcomes in an effective, multifaceted way. There are several other areas of improvement the University should address. First, some graduate schools do not specify the basic concept of curriculum implementation in their curriculum policies, and should establish appropriate policies. Faculty development (FD) activities are left to each faculty and graduate school, resulting in certain faculties inadequately carrying out FD activities other than educational improvements, while some graduate school programs do not implement their own FD activities. In addition, staff development (SD) activities should be carried out systematically across the university. In the years ahead, the University is expected to resolve these issues through internal quality assurance efforts, and to progress further by enhancing its numerous distinctive initiatives.
Notable Strengths
Social Cooperation and Contribution ● Multiple affiliated research centers have been established to conduct research utilizing their own strengths. The Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport periodically provides the Women Leaders Academy course for training female leaders and coaches, the first of its kind in Japan. The Global Alliance Under the Dynamic Innovation (GAUDI), an open innovation program managed by the Medical Technology Innovation Center, returns to society the outcomes produced by research seeds, and also shares the research work with graduate students through the Healthcare Innovation course. It is commendable that these centers use their research outcomes for the benefits of society as well as university education. ● The University accepts students, medical personnel, and researchers from conflict- hit Ukraine, and provides opportunities for education and research with its full support. In addition to assistance, the University utilizes this initiative for educational activities on campus by holding international symposiums on healthcare in Ukraine, photo exhibitions on campus, and other events to disseminate its research outcomes to the international community. These are commendable efforts based on the University’s motto of “Jin.”
Suggestions for Improvement
Educational Program and Learning Outcomes ● The basic concept of curriculum implementation is not specified in the curriculum policies of the Graduate School of Medicine Master's Program, Graduate School of Medicine Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Health and Sports Science Master's Program, Graduate School of Health and Sports Science Doctoral Program, and Graduate School of Health Care and Nursing Doctoral Program. This issue should be addressed. ● The faculties refer to the Assessment Plan to monitor student learning outcomes based on graduation and qualification pass rates, competencies, and results of final- year student questionnaires and other surveys. However, it is unclear how student competency is measured at the time of graduation, and the collection rates of final- year student questionnaires are low in some faculties. Both methods are inadequate for measuring the learning outcomes stated in the diploma policy. The Graduate School of Health and Sports Science and the Graduate School of Health Care and Nursing use only students' self-assessments of the questionnaires as a measurement method linked to these outcomes. All faculties and graduate schools should make more efforts to measure student learning outcomes by developing effective, multifaceted methods for monitoring and evaluating the knowledge, skills, and mindsets stated in their diploma policies. Faculty and Faculty Organization ● With FD activities left to each faculty and graduate school, certain faculties do not conduct FD activities related to the quality of social contribution and research other than educational methods, while some graduate schools do not carry out their own FD activities for educational improvements. These issues should be addressed with appropriate FD activities implemented for all faculty members under the FD Promotion Committee. University Management ● The faculties, divisions, and other organizations conduct their own SD activities for university management. In some faculties, faculty members do not take part in SD activities aimed at improving the quality of university management. This issue should be addressed to implement well-planned, systematic SD activities.