(1) Initiatives to Realize Diverse Learning among Diverse Students (development of student learning environments)

1) Enhancement of learning/teaching environments in the undergraduate colleges: the core of university learning

On the premise that it is important for each of our diverse undergraduate students to gain a true sense of growth through their learning, we pursued the following initiatives in R2020.

(i) Initiatives centered on the formal curriculum

a) Initiatives in small-group classes for first-year students

First-year education plays an important role in enabling students to “learn how to learn” at university and achieving the transition from “high school student” to “university student.” The first-year curriculum is therefore an ongoing focus of reform activity at Ritsumeikan University. Specialized, small-group first-year subjects such as Introductory Seminar are especially crucial, as they provide opportunities for attentive small-group guidance and peer learning.

In 2014, in the academic guidelines that provide guiding principles for academic reforms and improvements, we stipulated a standard class size of 30 students for first-year specialized small-group subjects. Over the period from AY 2010 and 2020, 10 of the 13 colleges (these 13 do not include the Colleges of Comprehensive Psychology, Gastronomy Management, and Global Liberal Arts, none of which were established as of AY 2010) decreased the number of students per class in their specialized small-group subjects (see attached table). Moreover, 4 colleges had class sizes of 35 or more in AY 2010, but small-group specialized class sizes in each of these colleges in AY 2020 were either in conformity with the academic guideline of 30 students per class or just slightly above it.

The provision of more attentive guidance that leverages the small-group format and the reform and enhancement of undergraduate curricula to advance learning and growth are both important prerequisites to the success of small-group classes, but optimizing the number of students in these classes is itself a crucial part of providing an environment in which such improvements can be made.

b) Initiatives in seminars for third and fourth year students (Advanced Seminar, Graduation Research, etc.)

Subjects such as Advanced Seminar and Graduation Research have an important position in the specialized small-group learning system, because for students, they represent the culmination of undergraduate learning and a form of learning quality assurance at the point of graduation. In AY 2014, the academic guidelines stipulated a standard class size in these subjects of 20 students. Class sizes in almost all colleges were already lower than this standard in AY 2010, but 8 out of the 13 colleges had nonetheless reduced class sizes even further as of AY 2020. As is the case for first-year small-group subjects, the reduction of student numbers per class is connected with the concrete advancement of the academic improvements envisioned by each college and with further substantiation of learning quality assurance at the point of graduation. As of AY 2020, 14 colleges—including those established post-2010—had made graduation theses mandatory as the culmination of undergraduate learning. Of the remaining 2 colleges, one plans to make graduation theses mandatory for students entering in AY 2022 and thereafter, and the other requires students to register for a Graduation Research subject.

These initiatives are backed by an expansion of faculty personnel in accordance with the faculty organization development plan, which is a plan for the number of faculty positions at the university. Increasing faculty numbers has enabled the breadth of education and research fields and topics to grow, and provided students with an expanded choice of seminar classes and research labs. The outcomes of this are especially noticeable in natural science-based colleges.

Moreover, results of class questionnaires show that students tend to rate their degree of achievement of learning outcomes and usefulness of learning relatively higher for classes taught in these small-group formats than for lecture-style classes. A questionnaire survey of students graduating in AY 2018 also showed that for students in colleges of the humanities and social sciences, “graduation thesis” and “seminars” ranked alongside “extracurricular activities” as the things that contributed most to their growth at university. For students in science and engineering colleges “graduation thesis” was rated by far the highest, selected by more than 30% of students, followed by “extracurricular activities” then “seminars”. Results such as these demonstrate the significant impact that third- and fourth-year seminar classes have on students’ actual sense of growth.

c) Initiatives in the mandatory English language curriculum

The academic guidelines stipulate 35 students as the standard class size in foreign language subjects. This is used as a baseline for ongoing improvement of class sizes in line with the academic and curricular characteristics of each college (such as problem-based learning, communication-focused classes, etc.). In AY 2010 the ratio of students per teacher (hereafter “ST ratio”) in mandatory English language classes was 31.72; in AY 2020 it was 29.16.

In addition, we have been advancing initiatives for internationalization of the curriculum, propelled further through the national government’s Top Global University Project (“SGU^*”). These include expansion of English-medium majors, extension of international liberal arts (Liberal Arts Group B) subjects and English-medium subjects offered by each college, and provision of a greater variety of college-specific study abroad programs—all of which are also connected with the aforementioned improvements in ST ratio. Through these initiatives, learning outcomes in the English language curriculum have improved in the period from the 2010s through AY 2021. As part of the SGU project, Ritsumeikan University has set CEFR B1 level as the standard to be used for verifying students’ foreign language proficiency attainment. The proportion of Ritsumeikan University undergraduate students attaining this standard was 23.5% (7,607 students) at the start of SGU in AY 2013, but had risen to 45.6% (14,561 students) in AY 2021.

Nonetheless, in the course of Plenary Council discussions, the Student Union has noted that a gap exists between students’ sense of achievement and growth and their objective degree of attainment, and discussions on this point are ongoing.

Owing in part to the SGU context, the information regarding foreign languages provided above is focused primarily on the English language. It goes without saying, however, that there is great significance in the study of languages other than English as a means to gain more profound understanding of the world’s diverse cultures and the ability to comprehend international issues in a more multifaceted manner.

* The Top Global University Project (often referred to in Japanese using the acronym “SGU”) is a national government program designed to raise the international competitiveness of Japanese higher education. It involves system reforms in conjunction with the provision of focused assistance to top universities engaged in world-class education and research and global universities taking the lead in international engagement, to support their comprehensive internationalization through university reforms and partnerships with leading universities overseas. In light of the alignment between these goals and Ritsumeikan University’s efforts to cultivate individuals to pursue careers on the world stage as envisioned in The Ritsumeikan Charter, Ritsumeikan University sought to become involved in the Top Global University Project and was selected for funding in 2014.

d) Writing support desks and other initiatives in student support

One of the changes made during the course of R2020 was the introduction of new student support initiatives such as writing support desks. This was a result of the AY 2019 Plenary Council’s confirmation of the need for university-wide provision of writing support in order to improve students’ skills of academic writing as a basis for producing graduation theses. In order to address challenges such as these, we have been pursuing new initiatives under the Co-Creation Policy (2019-2022). Discussions around the Co-Creation Policy have yielded a variety of programs for student support, including the Student Success Program (SSP), Beyond Borders Plaza (BBP), and university-wide writing support programs based on the Kinugasa Campus. These high-level connections between initiatives in the curricular and co-curricular realms are helping to diversify learning and foster independent study skills.