Edogawa University is 25 minutes away from Akihabara by Tsukuba Express. It is located about 6 minutes by school bus from Nagareyama Otakanomori Station in Chiba Prefecture, which has been rapidly developing in recent years. Approximately 2,400 students are studying on the green campus surrounding an open courtyard. The university has a unique structure of two faculties and six departments, and offers unique education in small classes.
Based on the philosophy of "human development," the school has continually implemented various reforms, large and small, with the aim of always improving the quality of education.
"Since the school opened, we have been proud of the close relationship between students and faculty and staff," says President Koji Miyazaki, who took up his new position this year in April 2024.
"I've been working at Edogawa University for a long time, so I don't feel like anything has really changed since I became president. If I had to say something, it might be that my room has changed."
" he said with a smile. We spoke to him about education at Edogawa University and its future plans.
Edogawa University President Koji Miyazaki
Create a diverse environment that will motivate and support students
"Edogawa University is a liberal arts university, but since it first opened in 1990, it has promoted informatization, lending computers to all students and focusing on improving the internet environment on campus. Thanks to that, we were able to transition to online classes with minimal confusion during the COVID-XNUMX pandemic, and we have now returned to a normal life of face-to-face classes while retaining the benefits of online classes.
We are also promoting internationalization by developing various overseas training programs in cooperation with overseas universities. In addition to accepting international students from all over the world, students who wish to study abroad for about 3 months in the second semester of their third year can do so by paying only Edogawa University tuition fees if they meet certain application requirements through the "Global Study Program (GSP)."
We are actively involved in helping students obtain qualifications, and have supported them in obtaining over 30 qualifications. Some students are taking advantage of this support to simply obtain qualifications in order to find employment. For example, we provide a supportive environment for students who want to study, such as by providing a reimbursement for exam fees if they pass various qualification exams, including the IT Passport and World Heritage Examination.
Edogawa University also offers a 3 yen breakfast at the student cafeteria, "Dining & Cafe Edogawa," where students can choose from three Japanese or Western dishes from the menu, which is popular among students.
"The government is also promoting this, but there is a big difference in the learning outcomes afterwards depending on whether or not you eat breakfast, so I would like people to use this as an opportunity to improve their health and lifestyle rhythm."
Similarly, when students enroll, they receive sleep advice to help them make the most of their university life, utilizing the research findings of the university's sleep research institute.
There is a reason why Edogawa University provides a variety of environments to motivate and support students in both their studies and daily life.
"There was a time when student recruitment at our university was not going as planned. This prompted us to think about what we were lacking and what we could do. We decided, together with all the faculty and staff, to 'get to know our students better and be more involved with them. Let's support our students in as many ways as possible.' This is how we got to where we are today."
Thanks to these efforts, Edogawa University's current student population is steady.
"The university as a whole is involved with students"
"In the third and fourth years, students can study under the guidance of a professor in small seminars of around 3 people. For example, even in the 'Academic Skills Seminar' course, which is compulsory until the second year and is run by the Center for Basic and Liberal Arts Education, we use rubric evaluation* so that students can understand their own level of achievement and teachers can respond to each student's level of understanding. Furthermore, administrative staff also communicate with students on a daily basis so that they can keep up with changes in their situations, such as what students are struggling with. This attitude of 'involving students as a university' is a great strength for our university in advancing education.
This may not be great news for independent-minded students, but if a student's contact with the university is limited to their seminar professor, their student life will depend on whether they get along with that professor, so we try to create various channels through which students can seek advice about their studies, lifestyle, and everyday life.
In addition, our university has few barriers to taking courses from other faculties, so students can take courses from other faculties according to their interests, and I think they can expand their possibilities without being bound by faculties or departments. For example, a student in the Department of Mass Communication can freely choose to take systems classes in the Department of Information and Culture because he or she wants to become good at IT. Looking back at my time at university, I never even considered taking courses from other departments. By allowing students to take courses because they "want to take this" or "this looks interesting," a small opportunity can broaden the scope of their learning, which will be beneficial for them in the future.
Also, some students took the teacher training course while they had the chance, and ended up working as teachers. Their parents were surprised, saying, "I can't believe my child is going to become a teacher!" You never know what will trigger something.
*Rubric assessment: Assessment using a rubric, a standardized assessment sheet created to enable evaluation of students' learning achievement from various angles.
The importance of "learning through experience" that I want to convey to my students
"Students today are very serious. However, I get the impression that many are a little cautious, saying things like, 'I don't know what to do,' or 'I'm interested, but it seems difficult,' and are motivated but not actually taking action; they're just thinking about it. So rather than just learning at their desks, we want students to see with their own eyes and experience things for themselves, and to come to understand that those experiences were necessary for this. That's why faculty take students outside the school. We want them to value the attitude of seeing things in action and learning from them, and the process. And we try to interact with students with the attitude of 'we don't expect immediate results' and 'we accept failure.'
I think that humans learn a lot from failure. I think we grow gradually through the process of gaining experience. As you go through life as a student, four years pass and before you know it, you'll have achieved something like, "I was able to do this," or "I've done this." So, if you're interested in this kind of environment, I'd definitely recommend taking a look at Edogawa University. There are many teachers here who will say, "Let's work together."
I want students to see and experience various things for themselves through fieldwork etc.
About future initiatives
"As a new project, our university's second learning commons, 'B. Commons,' was recently completed in the library of Building B. It will serve as a base of operations for the '21st Century Media Person Development Program,' which will create new value in the university's library. The '21st Century Media Person Development Program' is an attempt to have students selected from the Department of Mass Communication and the Department of Information and Culture share the knowledge and skills they have acquired in their respective departments and, by taking mutual courses in both departments, embody the results of their learning in both departments to a high degree and hone their application skills so that they can be used in practice in a variety of situations.
Because this project was created by students themselves, they also selected the books. We are also inspired by the students' sensibilities, such as "Oh, so that's the kind of books we should put in," or "I see, the desks should be arranged like this."
I myself will aim to complete the projects I took over from the previous president, but I have no intention of changing the university's major policies. Of course, there are still many areas that need improvement and reform, so I intend to develop them one by one, maintain the good points, and tackle any areas that need improvement and reform during my term.
The 12 new initiatives I am proposing would not be possible without the cooperation of the faculty and staff, but I am very grateful to all of you for your sincere dedication to the students and your work. I hope that not only the students, but also ourselves, can grow together and make this a better university.
I feel that if students are interested in what we are learning at Edogawa University, come with a little motivation or something in their heart, and study enthusiastically here, then I have nothing to complain about."
"B. Commons" - a learning space created by students themselves
Edogawa University President
Koji Miyazaki
Graduated from the Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, Tokyo Gakugei University in 1987. After completing a Master's degree in Special Education at the Graduate School of Education at the same university, he left the doctoral program in Fundamentals of Education at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tsukuba in 1991. After graduating from Edogawa Women's Junior College, he became a professor at Edogawa University's Faculty of Sociology in 2006. He has also held positions such as Director of the Admissions Center and Director of the Academic Affairs Department. He was appointed Vice President in 2019 and President in April 2024.