JIHEE Japan Institution for Higher Education Evaluation

The certified evaluation and accreditation conducted by the Japan Institution for Higher Education Evaluation, a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, (hereinafter referred to as "JIHEE") is based on the Evaluation Standards for junior colleges (hereinafter referred to as the "Evaluation Standards"), methods and procedures set forth by JIHEE. The evaluation process is designed to analyze the results of Self-Inspection and Evaluation of the overall educational and research activities of an institution and determine the level at which the institution as a whole satisfies the Evaluation Standards.

When conducting evaluation, JIHEE allows each institution to fully demonstrate its individuality, distinctive quality and special features, thereby focusing on the autonomy of the institution.　Furthermore, JIHEE considers the institutional evaluation not as an enforced or obliged measure, but as an indispensable means for enhancing the educational and research activities of each institution and for effecting managerial reform.

Therefore, to enable institutions to conduct voluntary and positive Self-Inspection and Evaluation in accordance with their mission, goals and educational objectives, the Evaluation Standards, composed of six standards, the contents of which are restricted to fundamental and common features to any institution In addition to these six standards, institutions are required to establish their own unique standards and Points Evaluated covering the area in which institutions place an emphasis upon their individuality and distinctive qualities.

In addition to its own unique standards, each institution can describe as remarks its characteristic educational and research activities or enterprises that it wishes to emphasize.

The six standards set forth by JIHEE consist of the Points Evaluated, and Perspectives for Evaluation. The intent of each standard is summarized in the section entitled "The Objective of this Standard"

Based on the above, the certified evaluation and accreditation conducted by JIHEE supports the efforts for reform and improvement by individual institutions while providing the general public with information on the overall activities of each institution. For this purpose, we carry out an objective and comprehensive evaluation of the "Self-Inspection and Evaluation Report" prepared in accordance with the "Handbook for Evaluation and Accreditation" taking into consideration the mission, goals and educational objectives set forth and publicized by each institution, and the Standards for Establishment of Junior colleges and other relevant laws, as well as the results of evidence and On-site Inspections.

Scope: Mission, Goals and Educational Objective

The Objective of this Standard

As bastions of knowledge, the institutions are widely known to the public that develop the infrastructure critical to a knowledge-based society. The institutions also aim at conducting teaching and research in specialized subjects and at developing in students such abilities as are required for vocational or practical life. As such, each institution has commonality as a social infrastructure, while in the modern society where multidimensional values are required to be created, it is essential for each institution to have individuality and distinctive qualities leading to diversity of research results. Based upon the foregoing, each institution must set their mission and objectives (i.e., future vision or social mission and goals based on the institution’s founding principles), and make them public. The objective of this standard is to check if an institution has taken these actions.

Specifically, in addition to defining their mission and goals (i.e. education and research, and social contributions), each institution is required to clearly define the educational objectives (i.e., the goals of human resources development for each academic program) in the school regulations, and incorporate them into 1) policy on awarding diplomas (diploma policy), 2) policy on the contents and methods of educational curriculum (curriculum policy) and 3) policy on student admission (admission policy), and to build an educational and research organization that is consistent with the mission and goals to accomplish such mission and goals and educational objectives in a planned manner.

The mission and goals of the institutions and educational objectives of the departments form the basis for the management and overall activities of the institutions. The institutions are required to establish an institution-wide system to ensure these mission and goals are reflected in the overall activities of the institution.

Scope: Student Admission, Support for Students, Learning Environment, and Responses of Student Opinion

The Objective of this Standard

An institution as an educational establishment must admit such number of students as may be necessary to accomplish its mission and goals, promote their growth, and endow them with professional knowledge and an ability to be fully utilized in society. The objective of this standard is to check if an institution has established an organizational environment to accomplish such objectives in terms of students.

In admitting students, an institution must formulate an admission policy based on educational objectives, and put systems of selecting entrants in place in a proper manner consistent therewith. The institution must then create learning environments where students can grow after admission, ensure stable school life, address organizational learning support, and endeavor to foster students of sufficient abilities to enable them to build their own careers by provision of guidance for social and professional independence. To this end, it is necessary to accurately collect, identify, and utilize student’s opinions and requests.

Scope: Certifying graduation, educational curriculum, and learning achievement

The Objective of this Standard

The educational curriculum is an essential part of learning, a core function of an institution. An institution must establish clear educational objectives for each department and division in the light of its mission and goals. In order to achieve this, an institution is required to implement diploma, curriculum and admission policies, and establish standards for awarding credits and certifying graduation and completion, and to rigorously apply and incorporate them in the process of creation and implementation of an educational curriculum. It is vital for enhancing educational quality to bring transparency to the institution's education through development of teaching methods and using feedback of inspection and evaluation of learning achievement, and to continue to improve educational curriculum, its content/method, and learning guidance in response to external evaluation.

Scope: Education and learning management, assignment of faculty and staff, training, and support for research

Needless to say, faculty and staff are the core assets supporting the institution’s activities, and both organizational improvement and individual professional development are required. In terms of organizational development, it is essential to create a certain environment where the President can properly exercise its leadership, and build an education and learning management where authorities are appropriately decentralized and roles and responsibilities clearly defined based on education and learning operation, and assign the right faculty and staff in the right place to have them fully demonstrate their abilities. In terms of individual professional development it is essential to effectively develop professional abilities for each faculty and staff member by way of FD (Faculty Development) for improving educational contents/method, or SD (Staff Development) for enhancing the necessary quality and ability for operation of the institution. These efforts enhance the outcome of the institutional activities.
“Collaboration between faculty and staff”, rather than unconditionally separating the job of faculty and staff, is becoming more important for effective operation of an institution today. It is also essential for an institution to properly support faculty’s research activities since its key function is education and research,
The term “staff” in this standard refers to administrative staff, professors and other faculty members, the President and other executives, and technical personnel, etc.

Scope: Management Discipline, Board of Directors, Administration, Financial Base and Fiscal Balance, Accounting

The Objective of this Standard

The institution must formulate mid- and long-term plans of the incorporated entity in order to achieve its mission, goals and educational objectives. It is also necessary to improve and develop the environment and conditions required for implementing such plans while verifying enterprise operations from decision-making to execution in accordance with the plans.

The terms "management, administration and finance" used in this standard refer mainly to operation and financial activities of the incorporated entity. In response to the demands of society to institutions, it is becoming more important to strengthen management discipline and integrity addressing the changes in society, the function of the Board of Directors for achieving the institution’s mission and goals, facilitated management and operation between the institution and incorporated entity, and their cross checking functions.

Finance also plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the independence public nature, stability, and continuity that represent the fundamental principles of the incorporated educational institutions system. Mid- and long-term plans aimed at achieving the mission and goals of individual institutions will be effective only when they are integrated with pertinent financial schemes. Furthermore, securing a financial base and proper accounting is indispensable for the institutions to achieve steady growth along with increased social trust.

Scope: Organizational system, Self-Inspection and Evaluation, PDCA Cycle

The Objective of this Standard

The institution should consider the quality assurance of the institution as their own responsibility, given the importance attached to the independence and autonomy of the institution. Thus, we consider the internal quality assurance via continuous Self-Inspection and Evaluation providing evidence about the institution’s independence and autonomy, as one of the most material Points Evaluated.

In order to effectively implement the internal quality assurance, it is necessary to create a permanent organizational system and define its responsibilities. The internal quality assurance needs to be implemented, both on educational quality assurance in accordance with the diploma, curriculum and admission policies for departments, divisions, and graduate schools, and on quality assurance for the entire institution based on mid- and long-term plans, and must be performed as part of institutional improvement and reform.

In addition, it is also important to exercise the internal quality assurance as a scheme to improve the entire institution, based on the results of evaluation and accreditation, and other external quality assurance.

The six standards set forth by JIHEE are fundamental and common to institutions. Other than these six standards, for the scope focused on as representing its individuality and distinctive quality, the institution establish its own unique standards, Points Evaluated, and Perspectives for Evaluation for conducting Self-Inspection and Evaluation.

In addition to its own unique standards, the institution can describe as remarks its characteristic educational and research activities or enterprises that it wishes to emphasize (up to three items).