2. Emergency Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Future Outlook Based on the Pandemic Experience

In addition to the diverse initiatives undertaken during the R2020 period as outlined above, the university has pursued a number of important measures to ensure continuity of learning during the COVID-19 pandemic since AY 2020. Some of these measures constitute “emergency” responses, which others are connected with new developments in the future, so in the context of identifying achievements and remaining challenges from R2020 and formulating initiatives toward R2030, there is a need to review these measures and re-confirm the issues involved. This perspective informs the following account of initiatives in response to COVID-19.

(1) Teaching and Learning Initiatives

In April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the adoption of online classes across all parts of the university, a measure with no precedent in the past. To achieve this shift, we developed implementation structures and student supports on an emergency basis. The first stage of this response involved the payment of a standard grant of 30,000 yen to all students as a form of “emergency learning support” to help them prepare the conditions required for learning online. WE also offered loans of notebook computers, Wi-Fi routers, and other equipment free of charge. For students experiencing financial hardship owing to a sudden change in household financial circumstances or loss of income from part-time work, we provided an emergency student support grant of 90,000 yen (30,000 yen per month for 3 months). In addition, we introduced the Online Classes Starter Kit, a paid service to help students set up their online learning environment. We also used the Ritsumeikan University website, manaba+R and other channels to distribute messages and information to students on topics such as how to take online classes and use associated tools, and information on the COVID-19 virus itself.

We also strengthened our server capacity to ensure that manaba+R and other systems would operate problem-free even when accessed by large numbers of students as online classes commenced across the university. Moreover, in order to support faculty members teaching online classes, we opened a support desk, disseminated information through the academic affairs support web pages, and organized FD activities.

At the start of the fall semester AY 2020, we made large-scale infrastructure improvements to enable effective pursuit of online teaching and learning at the same time as re-commencing some face-to-face classes. We entered into a university-wide license agreement with Zoom, which is used to deliver online classes in real time, and also introduced Panopto, a platform for recording, sharing, and managing on-demand video content. We also improved classroom infrastructure by installing camera/speaker systems for use in real-time class delivery in all Ritsumeikan University classrooms: a total of approximately 600 rooms in all. This has enabled classes to be offered in “hybrid” mode, with face-to-face teaching in the classroom and online real-time teaching conducted simultaneously.

From the fall semester 2020 through the 2021 academic year, we enhanced Wi-Fi access points in classrooms in the expectation that the number of students taking face-to-face classes on campus would increase as COVID-19 infection rates declined. We also developed facilities directly to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as ventilation facilities in classrooms not equipped with mechanical ventilation systems), and the replacement of long tables with one-person individual desks in small classrooms at KIC.

Viewed in a short-term perspective, most of the above initiatives were conducted in the context of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and proved effective for this purpose. In addition, the basic facilities developed for online teaching and learning during the pandemic will form the basis of initiatives in the development of educational methods and infrastructure for the pursuit of full-scale Digital Transformation (DX), following further university-wide discussion on this topic. When making BCP-level changes during AY 2021 under the continued COVID-19 pandemic, we endeavored to offer small-group classes for lower-year undergraduate students on in face-to-face mode wherever possible. This decision was taken in light of the fact that specialized small-group classes are places where the Ritsumeikan University tradition of peer support is put into practice, contributing to the formation of student communities.

(2) Library Initiatives

Libraries remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked to maintain their learning environments. The pandemic necessitated reconsideration of the role of libraries as real-life spaces (places to belong) for students, but we decided to keep them open based on the notion that in order to protect students’ “academic freedom” and guarantee their “right to knowledge,” restrictions on library use should be kept to an absolute minimum even in the face of public health risks such as COVID-19. At the BCP level, we introduced measures and policies to mitigate usage restrictions such as the introduction of postal loan services. We also ensured that an adequate range of databases and electronic journals were available, and continued to offer online services for access to numerous digital materials, as well as expanding the number of books available online.

(3) International Exchange Initiatives for Outbound and Inbound Study Abroad

The pandemic also had major impacts on outbound and inbound international student mobility. The number of participants in outbound study abroad programs stood at 2,080 in AY 2018. In AY 2019 we were forced to cancel short-term outbound programs for approximately 300 students in February and March, meaning that the total number of outbound students in the academic year was 1,941, against a target of 2,300. In anticipation of extremely harsh restrictions on international departures and arrivals in AY 2020 and 2021, we altered our outbound mobility plans to include substitute online programs in July 2021 and continued to support students who had enrolled in Ritsumeikan University anticipating opportunities for international learning.

As a result, in AY 2021, we provided international education programs to a total of 592 students: 19 students who traveled overseas to study, 347 who participated in online study abroad programs, and 226 who participated in online international exchange activities with partner institutions.

(4) Comprehensive Learner Support Initiatives

In the area of comprehensive learner support initiatives, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we took steps to enable the provision of support to students unable to come to campus in person, confirming safety requirements and legal issues and moving ahead of other universities to establish a system of remote consultation and response making use of telephone and online platforms. Notably, we strengthened the functions of the Student Support Room (SSR) and in addition to the existing tertiary support structures (counselling and specialized/personalized care) we enhanced primary support (support for students with issues addressable through self-care) and secondary support (support for students with issues addressable through self-care and provision of care in group formats), promoting the provision of support and development of connections for all the university’s students.

(5) Extracurricular Activities Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity once again to acknowledge the status and importance of extra-curricular activities as learning communities. As we moved toward resumption of face-to-face extracurricular activities, we developed support to enable activities to be conducted in a safe, secure manner both before and after this resumption, as well as other novel forms of extracurricular activity support. We began accepting applications for resumption of face-to-face activities from June 2020, and following interviews with clubs, discussions with the Associate Dean and other processes, we began permitting the resumption of activities by student organizations that were able to implement COVID-19 countermeasures on an ongoing basis. As of March 2022, 276 organizations, around 70% of the total, have resumed face-to-face activities. In addition, we began providing opportunities for new students to interact with clubs online in AY 2020. A Cyber Campus was established in December 2020 as a forum for online exchange, and in AY 2021 we supported both online and face-to-face welcome activities, club and circle recruitment events, and campus festivals as activities targeting both new and existing students.

(6) Community-Building Initiatives

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused damage to many kinds of person-to-person connections, and the impact on the formation of student communities has been especially severe. In acknowledgment of this impact, and in order to sustain learning activities, since the fall semester 2020 the university has been hosting exchange events and presentation forums on an ongoing basis both online and offline. These events have been extremely diverse in format and content, including extracurricular activity recruitment, grants for activities supporting student growth, relaxation sessions and other mental and physical wellbeing activities (organized by the SSR), and study support-related activities (organized by the SSP). In AY 2021 these activities numbered over 80, with a total of more than 3,000 students participating. Moreover, the 24 on-demand classes offered by the SSP attracted a total of 8,903 views. Other initiatives that were accelerated and enhanced in this period include the online exchange platform for undergraduate and graduate students known as RI-sA (the Ritsumeikan Innovators Supported by Alumni Project).

(7) Careers and Graduate Employment Initiatives

To enable students to continue their graduate job-hunting activities free from concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, we offered guidance sessions, seminars, mock interviews, and other support programs in online and on-demand formats, and moved over-the-counter individual consultations online as well. In order to respond more effectively to students’ concerns, we also exchange events for students online. Since AY 2021, we have been offering individual consultations through a variety of channels in line with students’ needs, including face-to-face, online, telephone, and e-mail. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an opportunity to diversify approaches to careers and graduate employment support, including the introduction of an alumni visit platform, website renewal, adoption of digital bookshelves, and installation of private booths for use in online interviews and screenings.

(8) Learning from the Pandemic Related Initiatives

In this way, although the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the capacity to secure opportunities for student learning and growth, Ritsumeikan University pursued a variety of initiatives to ensure that learning did not come to a halt. In retrospect, the insights gained during the COVID-19 pandemic were designed not simply to enable a return to the same campuses as existed prior to the pandemic, nor were they based on simple binary distinctions between face-to-face and online realms: rather, they will inform new approaches to campus life and new forms of learning and growth based on “learning outcomes” and “accountability for learning.” Developments such as technology-driven initiatives toward educational DX and enhancement of support beyond existing frameworks can be seen as forms of pre-emptive action on the concepts laid out in the R2030 Challenge Design. It is also essential to keep in mind that an event that transforms the world in a short period of time, just as the COVID-19 pandemic did, may well occur again in the future. This demands us to consider how best to build an environment for continuity of learning, and acknowledge that playing a responsible role in such situations is one of Ritsumeikan University’s missions going forward.