Defining Student Affairs in the Standards of Evaluation by Academic Discipline in Japanese higher education |
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Shinichi Cho (NIAD-QE, Japan) |
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine how some major standards of Evaluation by Academic Discipline in Japanese higher education define the student affairs and cover their requirements. In Japanese higher education, there are some quality assurance systems and evaluations in university education. In general, these major evaluation systems are Institutional Certified Evaluation and Accreditation and (Third-Party) Evaluation by Academic Discipline. Especially, the topics of Evaluation by Academic Discipline related to university education start to become an active area of research in Japanese higher education and research activities. Some Japanese previous studies pointed out that the Standards of Institutional Certified Evaluation and Accreditation in Japanese higher education almost cover the student affairs and student services at the minimum level of quality. However, others of Evaluation by Academic Discipline did not point out it. For example, " Institutional Certified Evaluation and Accreditation of Universities Standards for Evaluation and Accreditation of Universities 2012-2019 " of the National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education (NIAD-QE) (http://www.niad.ac.jp/n_shuppan/package/no9_Standards2012-2019.pdf, accessed August 13, 2017), especially, " Standard 7 Facilities and Student Supports " defines some aspects and requirements of the student affairs and student support by this " Standard 7 Facilities and Student Supports ". This " Standard 7 Facilities and Student Supports " includes some aspects of student life in Japan and describes the importance of their opportunities. In contrast, most Japanese researchers and university staff have not focus on the student affairs in the standards of Evaluation by Academic Discipline. Therefore, I examined the requirements and conditions of the student affairs of Evaluation by Academic Discipline in Japanese higher education relying on their standards of evaluation of specific academic areas or functions I collected from some associations of Evaluation by Academic Discipline, for example, Japan Accreditation Council for Medical Education: JACME, Center for Education Research in Medicine and Dentistry: CERMeD, Japan Accreditation Board for Pharmaceutical Education: JABPE, and Japan Association of Nursing Programs in Universities: JANPU. There are three findings. First, some major standards of Evaluation by Academic Discipline cover the student affairs and student services in Japanese higher education. Second, Some associations which have their standards may make an assessment in student affairs. Third, depending on the academic field, I think some associations emphasize the student affairs in terms of student learning outcomes. It may be considered that the study of this paper would help us get the picture of quality assurance and assessment of student affairs in Japanese higher education. |
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