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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE, SPORTS AND CULTURE 1995 > Remaking Universities Chapter 4 Section 3 2

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Remaking Universities: Continuing Reform of Higher Education
Chapter 4 Toward Further University Reform
Section 3. Responding to the Demands of Globalization
2. Improving Graduate Schools


Another extremely important task from this perspective is the improvement of graduate schools. Graduate schools are currently the focus of reform efforts, and it is necessary for the Government to facilitate the reform process by creating the necessary environment.


(1) Clarifying Goals and Improving Educational and Research Guidance

Graduate schools were traditionally regarded primarily as centers for training researchers. There was a strong emphasis on research guidance by specific teachers and a tendency for research to be limited to narrow fields of specialization. The priorities from now on will be clarification of the aims of individual graduate schools, the creation of structured curricula that reflect those aims, and consideration of ways to foster broad perspectives and enriched learning. Key requirements for the achievement of these goals include the establishment of systems under which guidance is provided by multiple teachers, the provision of opportunities to receive instruction in separate but related fields, and the creation of systems that allow interaction with people who have differing experience and fields of specialization, including people in other universities and research institutes. It is also necessary to develop standardized curricula that enable a degree of consistency to be achieved within each field of specialization.

The diversification of guidance methods is important, as well. Methods that can make an effective contribution to guidance include the use of case studies and the establishment of office hours. Course evaluation by students is a useful way of improving course content and guidance methods and raising the quality of graduate teaching. An active approach to faculty development is also essential.


(2) Reviewing Existing Organizations and Enhancing Student and Teacher Mobility

The graduate school reform process requires further progress toward modifying existing organizations and diversifying organizational structures. It is necessary to create diverse organizational systems, such as the linkage of multiple faculties and research institutes, to carry out periodic reviews of existing organizations and to modify or abolish organizations in response to new demands. Another requirement is the advancement and diversification of graduate schools by means of the development and expansion of autonomous graduate school organizations, including the appointment of teaching staff independent of undergraduate faculties.

By enabling people who wish to become researchers to engage in educational and research activities under the widest possible range of organizations and themes in their youth, it should be possible to create an environment that will eventually produce research in wide-ranging fields and a variety of new knowledge and technology. To achieve this goal, graduate schools should open their doors wide, actively accepting graduates of other universities as master's degree and doctoral candidates. Consideration should also be given to making use of interviews and other methods as part of the student selection process and to admitting students from other universities according to quotas set by the graduate schools themselves.

There should also be greater flexibility with regard to teaching staff, including interaction with other universities and research institutes and personnel exchange with business corporations and universities. Graduate schools should work in these ways to create more flexible personnel structures.


(3) Improbing the Educational and Research Environment and Establishing the Competitive Principle

Enhancement of the educational and research environment and expansion of research funding are vital to improving graduate schools and making them more attractive to students. It should be possible to improve facilities, equipment, and research funding in various ways, such as allocating resources on a priority basis to graduate schools that have the potential to create an educational and research infrastructure that reflects the needs of the twenty-first century. This approach is also vital to developing superior educational and research centers in various fields.

To revitalize education and research in graduate schools, it is necessary not only to improve the educational and research environment but also to expand and enhance research support systems. This requires the enhancement of human resources, including administrative and technical staff.

In addition, it is necessary to firmly establish evaluation systems and the competitive principle. This is essential both to enable graduate schools to achieve diversified development based on their individual characteristics and to make graduate schools more competitive domestically and internationally in terms of research standards and educational content. Graduate schools also need to maintain a positive stance toward the disclosure of information about their educational and research activities, to make further improvements in their self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and external-evaluation systems, and to place increased emphasis on allocating resources in accordance with these evaluations.


(4) Helping srudents Achieve Financial Independence

At present some promising university students are unable to advance to graduate school for financial reasons. Furthermore, many graduate students must combine their educational and research activities with part-time jobs, such as home tutoring. Urgent measures are needed to alleviate this situation. This requires the continuing expansion of the Japan Scholarship Foundation's programs in terms of both the monthly amounts disbursed under scholarship loans and the number of scholarship loans provided. It is also necessary to enhance and expand the scholarship loan system. Other priorities include the introduction of the research assistant system * , under which graduate students receive a stipend for assisting with research, and the enhancement of the teaching assistant system, under which graduate students are paid a stipend for teacher-support tasks.

Foreign students also face difficult economic circumstances. It is necessary to improve and expand various scholarship systems, including the Japanese Government Scholarship Program.


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