Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
necessarily be available in the country concerned, the corresponding specific degree (associate degrees, bachelor, master and PhD) shall be clearly presented.

(iii) The field of specialization of degrees to be conferred shall be clearly and appropriately presented.

## ☐ Diploma

(i) Both Japanese and foreign universities shall reach an internal consensus and set out their own rules for the awarding of a single degree in their joint names.

(ii) Because they will jointly confer a single JD diploma, they are required to set out certain rules in advance in relation to, for example, which of the universities will actually present the diploma to students.

(iii) Japanese language shall always be used for JD diploma. On that basis, universities may use, if necessary, more than two languages, including Japanese. A diploma can be created in Japanese only, in Japanese and any official language of the country of the foreign university, or in Japanese and any other language which is more universal in the world. Universities shall set out a provision in their inter-university agreements of the language(s) used.

## ☐ Partner university(ies) in foreign country

(i) The country of any partner university shall have an official scheme of JD programs with universities in other countries.

(ii) Any partner university in a foreign country shall be a higher educational institution that is approved under the official school educational system of the country concerned, correspond to universities in Japan, and have obtained official quality assurance (such as the certified evaluation and accreditation) required in the country concerned.

(iii) Any partner university in a foreign country shall be approved to implement JD programs under a JD scheme in the country concerned.

(iv) Any partner university in a foreign country shall be authorized to confer effective degrees of the same level as JD under the JD program with a Japanese university, and have a track record in conferral of degrees of the said level.

(v) Any partner university in a foreign country shall have educational resources (academic staff with certain job positions, qualifications and appropriate specialty; necessary school sites, school buildings, facilities, equipment, etc.) sufficient to cooperate with a Japanese university.

* In the event that the country of a candidate for partnership has no quality assurance system, and the candidate university itself is not recognized as an official university or other higher education institution in, for example, UNESCO Portal to Recognized Higher Education Institutions (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/resources/unesco-portal-to-recognized-higher-education-institutions), the Japanese university concerned shall consult with
MEXT in advance.

## ☐ Inter-university agreement

To ensure stable and continuous educational cooperation with partner universities in foreign countries, responsible persons authorized for relevant decision-making of the universities concerned shall preliminarily agree on necessary matters in an agreement or other form.

(i) The universities concerned shall agree on the policy of JD program management in detail in an agreement or other form under the names of those persons responsible.

For example, the policy on management of JD programs includes: the number of students enrolled in JD programs at each university; parties responsible for the programs; selection of entrants and students; affiliates and allocation of academic staff; status of students in the school register; welfare services to students; descriptions and approaches of education and research; program management; the allocation of expenses; responsibilities to students; tuition; handling of intellectual property rights; procedures at the time of termination or abolition of programs (including transitional steps while students are still enrolled in JD programs, and handling of the student record after abolition); and other management policies necessary for the organization and implementation of JD programs.

(ii) Prior to concluding an inter-university agreement, the universities concerned shall mutually confirm the nature of the cooperative activities that the other party intends to perform under the agreement (i.e., the universities concerned shall be cautious enough to avoid any circumstances in which they find it difficult to appropriately fulfill their responsibilities for quality assurance, such as a situation where one university confers degrees on its students without the consent of the other university.)

(iii) The JD programs shall be established by fully ensuring the actual use of educational resources of both parties.

(iv) To facilitate the coordination and discussion of important matters in compliance with the inter-university agreement concluded, the universities concerned shall establish a council or other entities comprising authorized persons for JD programs or persons delegated to have such authority, and hold regular meetings.

### ☐ Selection, screening, etc. of entrants to JD program

(i) The universities concerned shall determine and agree on the method of selecting entrants and students in their inter-university agreements. It is recommended that the Japanese university and its partner university in a foreign country jointly select entrants because they should agree on the acceptance of students. For selections made independently by the universities as well as selections made jointly in part, the Japanese university shall decide in advance the procedures from selection to
approval in detail in consultation with its partner university.

(ii) When advertising JD programs, the universities concerned shall announce sufficient information in advance so that no question will arise. The said information shall include degrees to be conferred, requirements for graduation, descriptions and approaches of education, schedule, tuition and fees, learning workload and scholarships, welfare services and other forms of support.

(iii) For admission of students to JD programs, the universities concerned shall bear in mind the difference in qualifications for admission in the school education system of the countries concerned, and handle applications in an appropriate manner in compliance with the respective systems. (For example, the legal system of a certain country may grant admission to university to persons who would not satisfy the qualifications for admission in Japan, that is, students of partner universities in foreign countries may not officially enroll in JD programs unless they satisfy the qualifications for admission to university in Japan.)

## ☐ Student registry and record

Students in JD programs may need to register at both Japanese and foreign partner universities, so the universities concerned shall responsibly and appropriately handle and manage the student registry and record (e.g., the universities concerned shall determine in advance the handling of student registries and records after abolition of JD programs.)

## ☐ Size

The program size shall be in a range appropriate so that the universities concerned and relevant organizations can manage the JD programs with respect to, e.g., the number of students accepted in each JD program and impact of the program size on the existing educational and research organizations.

### 3. Curriculum Design, Examination for Conferral of Degree, etc

## Human resources to be developed

Each Japanese university and its partner university in a foreign country shall have and share a clear vision of human resources to be developed in JD programs.

## ☐ Language

For smooth coordination of curricula and promotion of exchanges, the universities concerned shall:

(i) make various arrangements, such as provision of academic programs and classes in common languages that are universally spoken around the world (including English), in both a Japanese university and its partner university in a foreign country; and
(ii) build a sufficient support system, including language education programs, to ensure that students can smoothly engage in study, if classes are given in Japanese in the Japanese university and another language in the partner university.

## Form of education

The Japanese university shall discuss and agree on the forms of education with its partner university in a foreign country in compliance with the laws and regulations of Japan and the foreign country concerned (e.g., courses offered at universities which require students to actually attend; courses which allow students to attend online without study abroad; courses offered by academic staff of the partner university who visit and stay in the other country, etc.)

## ☐ Classes with various types of media in a highly advanced manner

As in Section 2 (3) of Chapter 2, it is possible to conduct classes using various types of media in a highly advanced manner in classrooms and elsewhere at Japanese universities and their partner universities in foreign countries. An objective of JD programs is, however, to expect students in ICC to visit/come and stay at universities, respectively, for a certain period of time for educational opportunities, and therefore, it would be inconsistent with the objective if it became possible for students to stay at one university or in one country, alone, to take intensive advantage of various media and other tools to attend classes, and complete the JD program.

To this end, each university shall set the maximum number of credits from classes using various types of media in a highly advanced manner at 30 credits when establishing an ICC.

Meanwhile, the provisions of paragraph (5), Article 32, of the Standards for Establishment of Universities and other laws and regulations prescribe that the number of credits earned for classes using various types of media in a highly advanced manner shall not exceed 60 credits. These provisions are applicable to any ICC, so that universities are required to note that the number of credits from such classes shall be limited to a maximum of 60 credits.

## ☐ Requirements for graduation and completion

It is necessary to satisfy both the requirements for graduation from each degree program and also for completion of JD programs at the Japanese universities and their partner universities in foreign countries.

(i) Credits and program years: The number of credits (124 credits or more at undergraduate of Japanese universities) and program years (four years or more at undergraduate of Japanese universities) required for graduation from, or completion of, degree programs at each university, as well as the requirements of JD programs (62 credits or more at a Japanese university and 31 credits or more at its partner university in a foreign country in JD programs at the undergraduate
level), shall be satisfied.

(ii) Thesis: For the compulsory thesis required for completion at each university (writing a thesis is compulsory in master and PhD degree programs in Japan)—except in cases where students are assigned to alternatively engage in a specific research project or take a qualifying examination—students shall have their thesis examined and pass an examination. It is assumed that students will be supervised by academic staff of both the universities concerned jointly.

## ☐ Earning of credits

(i) Japanese universities shall confirm the credit system (academic workload including course hours, method of recognizing credits, etc.) and any differences in schedule regarding the acquisition of degrees, order of courses to be taken, academic calendar and other aspects with their partner universities in foreign countries.

(ii) JD programs shall focus on course work and comprise courses whose names give a clear indication of the content of the courses. When recognizing credits obtained at partner universities in foreign countries, Japanese universities shall respect standard course hours per credit at the foreign universities into the Japanese standard course hours per credit.

## ☐ Courses Jointly Designed

(i) Notwithstanding the provision of paragraph (1), Article 19, of the Standards for the Establishment of Universities (Japanese universities shall set up a series of courses needed by themselves), “courses jointly designed” are special courses to be organized and implemented jointly by Japanese universities and their partner universities in foreign countries exclusively under the JD program. Every university forming a JD program shall avoid recognizing courses already organized and implemented by the other university as its own.

(ii) Prior to organizing the courses jointly designed, the universities concerned shall agree on descriptions and approaches of education, teaching materials, grading methods, expenses of course implementation, and other aspects, and appropriately determine the role of each party.

## Examples of efforts prior to organizing courses jointly designed

Joint determination of class style (lecture/seminar), syllabi, number of credits, formulation of evaluation guidelines for grading (absolute or relative evaluation), team teaching, etc.
## ☐ Grading

(i) To make curricula acceptable and universally international, the universities concerned shall clarify the standards of competencies that students are required to attain to earn degrees, and grade the performance of students in a transparent, objective and strict manner by, for example, introducing a grade point average (GPA) or mutually cross-checking evaluation.

(ii) The universities concerned shall discuss and agree in advance on the viewpoint, standards and other aspects of grading.

## ☐ Thesis

Taking into account systems and actual situations of partner universities and the countries, the Japanese universities shall fully consider the methods of supervision, including joint supervision for quality assurance.

## ☐ Degree examination for graduation

(i) Japanese universities shall fully collaborate with the partner universities in foreign countries to ensure appropriate examinations for graduation approval by, for example, setting out standards to jointly examine conferral of degrees.

(ii) The qualifications and specialties of academic staff in charge of examination for graduation approval at partner universities in foreign countries are not necessarily identical to those at Japanese universities. The universities concerned shall secure the equivalence of such qualifications and specialties between academic staff examining conferral of degrees at the universities.

## Supervision system

The universities concerned shall have a satisfactory system to supervise students.

(i) They shall take appropriate measures especially for master degree and PhD programs so that students in such programs can receive research supervision from all academic staff members of the universities who are responsible for their degrees. Such measures may include the designation of a leading supervisor and sub-supervisors for each student out of the academic staff members of all universities responsible for the degree of the student concerned.

(ii) Japanese universities shall make arrangements so that students at their partner universities in foreign countries can receive the supervision of academic staff of the Japanese universities by, for example, online.

## ☐ Academic staff

(i) Any IC-D/M organizing JD programs at a Japanese university shall have full-time academic staff equal to or exceeding the standards stipulated in the Standards for the Establishment of Universities and other laws and regulations. Such departments/majors may include academic staff who work concurrently for
another department/major of the faculty/school in which the said departments are situated, in the number stipulated. However, such department/major shall have at least one full-time academic staff member who does not work concurrently for any other department, and that full-time staff member shall exclusively engage in coordination with the partner university in a foreign country in addition to his/her own educational and research activities.

(ii) Academic staff at each university shall be regarded as those employed by the said university under employment contracts and will not necessarily be required to work concurrently for JD programs even if they participate in the operation of JD programs. (No Japanese laws and regulations will require any academic staff member at foreign partner universities to conclude any employment contract with the Japanese university with which he/she works in implementation of JD programs.)

## ☐ School site, buildings, facilities, equipment, etc

The universities concerned may use any facilities, equipment and other resources on the premises for JD programs but shall refrain from interfering with the smooth operation of both JD programs and any other educational and research activities of the existing departments/majors.

## ☐ Mobility of students (studying abroad and period of attendance at university)

One important principle of JD programs is to provide opportunities for students to spend time at partner universities in foreign countries for a certain period of time to take advantage of different educational opportunities, so the universities concerned shall secure such educational opportunities by means of:

(i) formulating curricula so that students can attend a certain number of classes collectively for a certain period;

(ii) reducing the burden as much as possible for students who move between Japanese and foreign universities;

(iii) taking care not to create an excessive burden of course taking and other extra-curricular activities, including job-hunting; and

(iv) ensuring the balanced mobility of students to participate as much as possible.

## ☐ Study environment

The universities concerned shall fully consider ensuring an appropriate study environment throughout the entire track for the JD program.
### 4. Other

☐ Tuition, scholarships, etc.

(i) The universities concerned shall consider the benefit of students so that they will not bear an excessive burden of tuition in compensation for the value of JD, etc. which is incurred as a result of registering at more than one university. (For instance, the universities shall avoid double charge of tuitions.)

(ii) The universities concerned shall pay attention to balance and fairness among students at the Japanese and partner universities in foreign countries.

(iii) The universities concerned shall consider the financial burden of studying abroad on students (special financial supports, etc.)

(iv) The universities concerned shall consider the welfare of the students.

## Safety net

The universities concerned shall set out necessary policies and measures in advance in preparation for a case where a student must abandon his/her studies or fails to satisfy the requirements for completion of the program for any reason; or that it becomes difficult for either university to continue the JD program (due to acts of God, civil unrest, etc.). Such policies and measures may include the transfer of students to another department or major, treatment of credits already earned as those for other departments or majors, and provision of supplementary courses, all of which shall be implemented through the responsibility of the university concerned.

## ☐ Evaluation and quality assurance

It is necessary to ensure the quality of degrees when implementing JD programs. The universities concerned shall clarify the value added to each JD in comparison with any other single degree conferred by each university, and assume accountability for the capacity and other aspects of learning outcomes of students who have completed the JD program, not just to the students themselves but also to society. To this end, the universities concerned shall take every possible step to avoid concerns being raised about the quality of the JD program after students have completed said program.

(i) When organizing a JD program, the university concerned shall publish information about it promptly to students and the public as well as to foreign countries.

(ii) The universities concerned shall establish a permanent steering committee or other body which will discuss JD programs from time to time with their partner universities in foreign countries.

More specifically, a permanent steering committee or other body, formulated in a Japanese university by the Japanese university and its foreign partner university to implement JD programs, shall ensure the quality of the JD program.
Members of the permanent steering committee or other body shall include professors of the Japanese university who hold a PhD in the same academic field as, or a similar field to, the JD programs, and who have experience in conferring PhD degrees.

(iii) Japanese universities shall include their JD programs in self-assessment for certified evaluation and accreditation.

(iv) To confirm the official quality assurance of partner universities in foreign countries, the Japanese universities shall confirm--when organizing JD curricula—what kind of subject quality assurance or vocational qualification organization has given authentication to the foreign partner university.

NB: To maintain the quality assurance of JD programs implemented by higher education institutions in Japan and gain credibility from foreign countries, the Japanese universities actively committed to JD programs are strongly expected to take the initiative in sharing relevant information and assuring quality through peer review and other activities. Such peer reviews will preferably be those with the participation of persons well versed in quality assurance, and persons from private companies, research institutes, foreign universities and other organizations, rather than those normally conducted by academic staff of the universities themselves. It is also worth considering building a mechanism whereby peer reviews can be conducted in academic journals published by universities.

## ☐ Recognition and evaluation by society

It is extremely important to respect the viewpoint of students and have JD programs recognized and highly valued by society, including by private companies for which students will work in the future. The universities concerned shall promote, give account of, and make known the effectiveness and other aspects of JD programs to society.