The Ritsumeikan Learning Model denotes the systematized style of learning at Ritsumeikan University that centers on learners—in other words, students themselves—which underpins the university’s work to enhance undergraduate education. The Ritsumeikan Learning Model aims to enable students to carry out or attain the things described on the web page below in their student life.

RU Educational System

These guidelines prescribe the approaches taken in each College to improving the quality of education, with the aim of helping students to become autonomous learners.

Specifically, the guidelines cover: (1) each College’s human resource development goals, educational objectives, and three core policies (Admission Policy, Curriculum Policy, Diploma Policy) how they are interrelated, and how the curriculum is organized in accordance with them; (2) enhancement of small-group education and learning support at each year level; (3) implementation of first-year education designed to aid the transition to university-level learning; (4) clarification of the College’s core subjects and foundational major subjects and how they are interrelated; (5) enhancement of education attuned to globalization; (6) improvement of the full-time faculty instructor ratio for the purpose of raising educational quality; and (7) the promotion of organized Faculty Development (FD) for the purpose of raising educational quality.

Campus spaces and facilities for learning and exchange, which form part of an environment designed to enable learning styles in which diverse students learn for themselves and from one another. These commons include Piara within the University Library, the Student Lounges within College buildings, and the Commons located all over the Osaka Ibaraki Campus.

An abbreviation of “Digital Transformation” (the X is commonly used as an abbreviation for “Trans”). Said to have been coined by university professors overseas in the 2000s, the term expresses the idea of changing all facets of our lives for the better through the use of digital technologies. The Ritsumeikan Academy is incrementally pursuing the DX of education and research with the aim of activating students’ learning and advancing research to new levels.

Activities undertaken by the Ritsumeikan Academy to promote the globalization of education, research, and learning. At Ritsumeikan University, as stated in the main text, the Global Initiative is being pursued mainly through work to give shape to the SGU concept.
For details, please refer to the page below.

Global Initiative

The Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization. With the aims of forming research hubs focused on problems that must be solved in order to form sustainable societies, and fostering the next generation of young research leaders, R-GIRO cuts across conventional organizational boundaries within Ritsumeikan University and combines the natural sciences and humanities/social sciences, promoting interdisciplinary research activities and generating valuable research outputs.

This ratio represents the average number of students per faculty member: the most basic measure of the quality of an educational environment. Ritsumeikan University has achieved improvements in ST ratios through its work to develop and enhance educational conditions through the R2020 period, enriching class content and methods, and raising the quality of communication between instructors and students primarily through enhancements to small-group education.

The Common European Framework of Reference: an international standard for measuring language proficiency, based on research by the Council of Europe and used officially in Europe and other areas since 2001. At Ritsumeikan University, each College assesses its students’ English language proficiency using the external testing tools prescribed in its own policies. This makes it difficult to ascertain proficiency levels in a unified manner across the entire university. The CEFR is used to address this problem.

An FAQ site built in anticipation of the need to provide student support services online, as part of the shift to web-based classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The site enables students to access support online across a number of different categories, including information on classes and extracurricular activities, and announcement of programs in areas including study abroad, graduate employment, and earning qualifications.
For details, please refer to the page below.

「学修」「学生生活」「留学生/海外留学」「進路/就職」に関する支援サイト

FD stands for “Faculty Development,” a form of organized educational improvement. The Institute for Teaching and Learning takes the lead in conducting a variety of activities in this area, in line with Ritsumeikan University’s definition of FD, which states: “their purpose is to realize the ideals and educational goals set forth by Colleges, Graduate Schools, and other academic institutions, based on the founding spirit and educational ideals. In order to achieve this, FD activities promote systematic research and training by faculty members in collaboration with staff members and with the participation of students regarding the appropriateness of the arrangement, content, methods, teaching materials, evaluation, etc. for the curricula and individual classes. Their validity and effectiveness are continuously reviewed and improved.”
For details, please refer to the page below.

Institute for Teaching and Learing Center for Teaching and Learing

A statement of how the Ritsumeikan Academy positions and approaches sports. As part of R2020, the Academy established a new sports policy focused on promoting sports beyond the borders between curricular and extracurricular activities, and fostering people who can think and act for themselves. The Ritsumeikan Declaration on Sports was established in order to give expression and concrete form to these ideals and goals.
For details, please refer to the page below.

立命館スポーツ宣言

No, this tuition revision formula is to apply to new students entering in AY 2023 through AY 2026, and will not apply to students currently enrolled in the university.
Ritsumeikan University has a policy of clearly stating tuition and fees for the duration of a student’s enrollment at the time the student enters the university. Students who entered in AY 2022 and prior (i.e., current students) will continue to be subject to the tuition and fee amounts stated at the time of their entrance (there is no change).

As stated in the answer to Q12, Ritsumeikan University’s policy is to clearly state tuition and fees for the duration of a student’s enrollment at the time the student enters the university. Therefore, even if the Academic Maintenance and Improvement Fee is applied to new students entering in AY 2024, it will not apply to the tuition and fees payable in AY 2024 and beyond by students who entered in AY 2023 or prior.

On the other hand, the proposal is that in the period from AY 2023 through AY 2026, students entering the university in and after the year in which the Academic Maintenance and Improvement Fee is applied will be subject to the same fee. Therefore, in the event that the Academic Maintenance and Improvement Fee is applied to new students entering in AY 2024, it will also be applied to those entering in AY 2025 and 2026. However, the fee will remain the same for these students and will not be increased.

Specifics will be discussed and decided by the Executive Board of Trustees, but with regard to students entering in AY 2023, taking into account societal conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academic Maintenance and Improvement Fee will NOT be applied, regardless of revenue/expenditure conditions.

The primary aim of the financial management policy for R2030 is to support the advancement of the R2030 Challenge Design and other programs to improve and raise the quality of academic activities. Moreover, the intention is to fund strategic and pre-emptive initiatives in the Challenge Design using revenue other than student fees (i.e., asset management revenue) and then, following a review of the effects and outcomes of both these initiatives and pre-existing programs, to determine which of the initiatives needs to be continued or conducted on an ongoing basis.

Ongoing programs will be subject to financial management that includes funding through basic revenue sources such as student fees, but at the same time we will pursue further revenue diversification and cost reduction efforts, so instituting new initiatives as ongoing programs will not automatically lead to a revision of tuition levels.

The proposed approach to tuition policy is designed to connect continued academic improvements and quality enhancements with the maintenance of a sound financial balance, and the promotion of new challenges through R2030.

Ritsumeikan University considers it important not simply to maintain the learning environment currently provided to students, but also to raise the quality of learning and research. For this reason, the approach in such cases is not to reduce tuition, but rather to use it to make educational improvements.

Tuition revisions apply to students newly enrolling in the university, but this does not mean that academic conditions will be improved for these students only and not for current students. The university will work to maintain and improve academic conditions for current students at the same time.

There is a need to accumulate funds to cover future maintenance and replacement as a result of ageing facilities, new advancements in education and research, changes in learning styles, and the like. Rules for accumulating and drawing on reserve funds are prescribed in the R2030 basic financial management policy. The university drew on these funds in order to institute emergency measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but to do so in order to cover ongoing activities and expenditure is an unsustainable approach to management that would create a burden for the students of the future, so it is not considered appropriate.