- Striving to Become University that contributes to Core Human Resource Development and
the Generation of Vitality in the Local Community - Second Phase Midterm Goals
- The 6 Priorities Plan and University-wide Common Plan of the Second Phase Midterm Plan
- Issues to focus on in the 2014 academic year plan
- column3：Plan for Regional Involvement and Regional Involvement Program
The year 2015 is the fifth year of our second phase midterm goals period. The operations of Iwate Prefectural University follow an academic year plan, as well as 6-year medium-term objectives based on a medium-term plan spanning from 2011 to 2016.
Our midterm goals to strive to become a university that contributes to core human resource development and the generation of vitality in the local community are founded on two basic stances : education that puts students first, and research and regional contributions that generate vitality in Iwate.
The university is undertaking an approach to education, research and regional contribution based on 3 basic goals.
Our educational goal is to strengthen our students’ ambition.
We also want to be a university that the region will depend on for research, contributions to the local community, and international exchange. In addition, we also want to be effective and flexible in university administrative operations.
These goals both affirm the mission of the university when it was founded while looking ahead and embracing various environmental changes.
A University that contributes to core human resource development
and the generation of vitality in the region
<Basic Stances>
● Student-Driven Education
● Research and local contribution efforts that vitalize the region
The Midterm Plan, which is intended to achieve the second phase midterm goals, is composed of a 6-Priorities-Plan for issues that have especially high urgency, importance and continuity, and a University-wide Common Plan that will be taken up by the entire university in order to deploy the priorities plan.
① Acquisition of new students that have a strong sense of purpose and passion for learning
- Enhancing the efforts to secure applicants by implementing projects such as the Open Campus Experience.
- Continuous financial aid for disaster affected students.
- Taking further measures to fill the quotas of graduate schools by utilizing the enrollment fee exemption system of graduate schools etc.
② Execution of a systematic and consistent education program
- Making the enhancement and expansion of region-oriented education by performing the Regional Revitalization Learning Program etc.
- Reforming the Basic Education curriculum especially at the Center for the Advancement of Higher Education.
- Examination for establishing the evaluation method of learning results.
- Notifying the utilization of the Guesthouse (tentative name) as well as promoting the academic and student interchange with universities worldwide, in order to increase international students, by reconstructing the Japanese program etc.
③ Supporting the development of student employability and the promotion of employment within the prefecture
- Strengthening efforts with activities such as holding career fairs featuring local companies and hospitals etc. in order to have students settle down in Iwate prefecture.
- Verifying the external test of employability (PROG test) and confirming the relevancy with the IPU-E map (*4).
- Expanding opportunities for Internships in cooperation with universities in the Tohoku region.
- Enhancement of the preparation for civil service examinations on the basis of success until now by holding new courses for students with the aim to become civil officials.
④ Carrying out research that is valuable to the region and publicly disclosing the results
- Publishing research achievements actively and effectively at the research achievement presentation.
- Advancement of research projects featuring local challenges, especially the recovery from the earthquake disaster.
- Measures for acquisition of external funds.
⑤ Strengthening industry-university-government collaborations and making full use of think-tank functionality
- Advancing a cross-faculty Progressive Reconstruction and Recovery Project Research at the Center for Regional Policy Studies as well as strengthening the cooperation with municipalities by setting up the “Regional Revitalization Support Team".
- Promotion of joint researches at Iwate Monozukuri and Software Integration Technology Center.
- Closer cooperation with companies regarding education in order to promote the concept of Takizawa City IPU Innovation Park.
- Further efforts were made to solve local challenges by making the most of expertise at each faculty.
⑥ Nurturing motivated faculty members and staff who will contribute to the realization of IPU's philosophy and goals
- Holding seminars that combine FD (Faculty Development) and SD (Staff Development).
- Deliberate and effective operation of the sabbatical system.
- Review of the faculty performance evaluation.
- Supporting administrative staff with their career development and improving training based on the vision and plan of human resource development.
IPU formulates a “Mid-term Plan” and an “Academic Year Plan” which are compatible with a 6 year long “Second Phase Mid-term Plan” provided by Iwate prefecture for each office and we will build the Internal quality assurance system based on these plans.
The “Academic Year Plan” of the current year is supposed to be formulated (Plan) at the end of the previous academic year and be proceeded by each office (Do).
Approximately in October, in order to confirm the progress of the plan, we organize a hearing between directors of each office and the President as well as the university administration (Check).
In considering their results, each office reflects the issues and improvement measures to the following “Academic Year Plan” (Action).
By repeating this PDCA process every year, we established a system to continuously carry out the evaluation and improvement of the operational administration. At IPU, we compiled the “Operation Performance Report” (referred to as The Report hereinafter)in the process of PDCA for self-inspection and evaluation.
The report will be compiled by the self-inspection and evaluation group at each faculty in association with “Public University Cooperation Iwate Prefectural University Evaluation Committee” in which the President serves as the chairperson as well as the “Self-inspection and Evaluation Sub-committee” created under the committee mentioned above.
Based on the report, we will receive an external evaluation (“Legal Entities Evaluation”) by “Iwate Prefecture Regional Independent Administrative Cooperation Evaluation Committee” established by the Iwate prefecture.One of the features of the Internal Quality Assurance measures at IPU is that the evaluation points of “Accreditation and Assessment” which universities are supposed to undertake once every 7 years are incorporated into the Mid-term plan.
Thus, we carry out “Legal Entities Evaluation” annually and are now better prepared every year continuously to self-inspect items related to “Accreditation and Assessment” every 7 years.
Notes
- *1: Iwate Monozukuri and Software Integration Technology Center
- *2: An effort to improve course content and methods. Faculty Development
- *3: Efforts to improve the skills of administration and other staff concerned with the operations of the university.
- *4: A series of activities in which students evaluate and visualize their own employability based on their own experience.
