To All Undergraduate and Graduate Students of
Ritsumeikan University

Ritsumeikan University has long pursued high standards in education and research, attuned to the demands of the changing times. Recent dramatic shifts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental problems, and international affairs lend weight to the feeling that we are entering a new era of great unpredictability (VUCA)^*. The pandemic especially has prompted us to rethink assumptions and accepted wisdom in all areas, including individual lifestyles, society, politics, and economy. This has brought immense changes to the learning, research, and wider life of undergraduate and graduate students (referred to collectively hereafter as “students”) as well, and the impact of these changes continues to unfold. At the same time, responding to the pandemic has posed major challenges for universities, and provided an opportunity to reassess approaches to university education and research. We have truly come face to face with a situation in which nobody in the entire world can uncover problems and formulate pathways to their resolution using only their pre-existing value outlooks and common sense. We have gained a fresh awareness of what is crucial to living through times of uncertainty, in which there is no single correct answer to the questions confronting us. One of the keys is to continue to learn and grow, seeking a better version of ourselves and a better society for all; and moreover to be aware of the roles that we can play, develop our own pathway forward, and play a part in a changing society. In this sense, there is a need to rethink the mission of a university as a place that provides places and opportunities for people to learn and grow.

At Ritsumeikan University, we are continually seeking to cultivate students’ independence and initiative and enhance opportunities for them to learn and grow, attuned to the conditions and challenges of our present era and into the future. We have now reached a point at which it is crucial for the university to engage with students and involve them in discussion regarding how to formulate and realize a future vision for education, research, and the university as a whole in this era of uncertainty.

Ritsumeikan University operates the Plenary Council of the University (referred to hereafter simply as the “Plenary Council”) as a forum for discussing university development with students. The 2022 academic year (AY 2022) is one in which open sessions of the Plenary Council are scheduled to be held. In the Plenary Council this year, we will be seeking to advance the process of creating a university that raises the standards and quality of education and research on an ongoing basis and continues to generate spaces and opportunities for enriched learning and growth, with a view to creating universal value and tackling the various challenges confronting humankind. We look forward to reviewing the initiatives pursued under R2020 and engaging in robust discussion with all participants regarding the outlook for R2030.

In advance of the publication of this document, a Plenary Council Representatives’ Meeting was held on June 3 with the President in attendance, and opinions were exchanged with the student representative bodies—the Student Union and Graduate Student Council—regarding the direction of discussions at the forthcoming October session of the Plenary Council. At this meeting, the Student Union proposed that the discussions be pursued from two standpoints: “present-day students” and “the students of the future.” The Student Union shared comments from university-wide questionnaires that evidence the context for this proposal: namely, the heightened level of student interest in tuition fees as the COVID-19 pandemic brings changes to learning and student life. The Student Union suggested that in light of this interest among students, the Plenary Council should discuss whether current programs in areas such as education and student support are proportionate with the tuition fees that students pay. The Student Union also proposed discussion of how to realize the vision for the university under the R2030 medium-term plan, based on the understanding that student fees and financial management are connected with the creation of academic programs for the students of the future.

In response to the Student Union’s contentions, the Representatives’ Meeting confirmed that the October Plenary Council session will include discussion of educational and student support policies that make use of tuition fees, and models for learning and growth at the university.

*VUCA is an acronym of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, expressing the idea of a society undergoing dramatic and complex changes, in which the future is difficult to predict. Source: “VUCA,” JapanKnowledge Digital Dictionary (in Japanese). https://japanknowledge.com (accessed June 10, 2022)