Kushiro Junior College, a private university operated by the Midorigaoka Gakuen Educational Corporation, which ceased accepting new students in April 2025, will transition to the "Kushiro Public University Junior College Division," a public university corporation, on September 8, 2026, with the approval of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. It will begin accepting new students as a public junior college from April 2027, and applications will be accepted from November 2, 2026.
The new university will have two departments and two majors: a Department of Life Sciences with a Life Science major (20 students), a Department of Life Sciences with a Food and Nutrition major (30 students), and a Department of Early Childhood Education (50 students). The campus will remain the same as the current Kushiro Junior College (1-chome, Midorigaoka, Kushiro City), and will be in a different location from Kushiro Public University (4-chome, Ashino, Kushiro City).
The tuition fee for the first year after becoming a public institution (2027) will be 468,000 yen. The average tuition fee for public junior colleges nationwide (2025, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology data) is 377,357 yen, so this will be slightly higher than the average. The entrance fee will be 190,000 yen for residents of the municipalities that make up the Kushiro Public University Administrative Association (Kushiro City, Kushiro Town, Akkeshi Town, Hamanaka Town, Shibecha Town, Teshikaga Town, Tsurui Village, and Shiranuka Town), and 250,000 yen for residents of other areas.
Nationwide, junior colleges continue to suspend admissions, leading to a decrease in the number of institutions training essential workers in local communities. In Hokkaido, however, the private Asahikawa University Junior College was converted to a public institution in April 2023, continuing to train childcare workers and nutritionists as Asahikawa City University Junior College. The Kushiro Public University Junior College is another example of a similar conversion to public institution, but it is the first time that a junior college has been converted to public after announcing a suspension of admissions.
