JAPANESE GOVERMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE, SPORTS AND CULTURE 1995[Remaking Universities Chapter 4 Section 2 3]

The general framework for the management of today's universities is defined by laws and regulations, but within this framework management is left to the discretion of individual universities. In order to pursue the reform process independently, universities need to revitalize their teaching-staff policies and facilitate their decision making and management.

University management mechanisms vary according to the characteristics of individual universities, including founder, size, and history. They may also differ among faculties of the same university. As a result, improvements cannot be achieved through uniform measures. Given the growing organizational scale of universities and the increasing sophistication and complexity of the issues confronting them, it is necessary to develop organizations and human resources that specialize in university management and to strengthen organizations in such areas as planning, surveys, and public relations.

Reviews of university management should be implemented from the perspective of increasing universities' self-responsibility and autonomy. Universities are diverse, and it is not appropriate to administer them uniformly. Consideration should be given to a methodology that enables each university to choose the most appropriate system within a range of options.

In its June 1994 report "Improvement of the Recruitment of Teaching Personnel," the University Council made the following recommendations with the aim of increasing the flexibility of personnel decisions in regard to teaching staff.

1. Appointment decisions should take into account varied experience and backgrounds. The appointment of nonacademic members of society should be accelerated, and women should be actively recruited.
2. Public solicitation of teaching staff should be used more actively.
3. Selection criteria and methods should be reviewed and increased emphasis placed on educational ability in line with the philosophies and aims of individual universities and faculties.
4. Organized efforts should be made to improve teaching methods and raise the quality of teaching staff.
5. Foreign teachers should be actively recruited.

In addition to its efforts to revitalize education and research through more-flexible teacher appointment systems, the University Council is currently studying the teacher tenure system, particularly in relation to the fostering of young educators and researchers. It is hoped that this issue will be debated widely.

In September 1995 the University Council submitted a report titled "Facilitation of University Management." In this document the council listed the following specific areas in which universities should work independently to achieve improvements that will enable them to adapt positively to changes in their environment.

1. It is necessary to create systems enabling university presidents to exercise leadership. This requires the improvement of appointment methods and tenure systems for university presidents and, if necessary, the enhancement of support systems. It is also necessary to enable university presidents to play a more active role in personnel decisions and budget allocations. In addition, there is a need for organizational improvements to facilitate internal adjustments and other matters.
2. Universities need to develop centralized decision-making organizations, such as senates, to handle decisions with university-wide implications.
3. Universities should create an environment in which deans and other administrators can fulfill their roles adequately and exercise leadership. This should be achieved by improving support systems and by enabling these administrators to play a more active role in budget allocations.
4. Agenda items for faculty meetings should be selected with care, and the deliberation process should be accelerated. Representative groups and special committees should be actively used.
5. Administrative systems should be developed and improved.
6. Efforts should be made to improve communication with the community and to ensure that students' views are reflected.
7. Cooperative relationships should be formed with school corporation boards and educational organizations.

It is hoped that universities and other institutions will make determined efforts to improve their organization and management on the basis of these recommendations.


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