Waseda Osaka High School and other schools: the movement towards becoming university affiliated schools and high school-university collaboration

　The rate of decline in the birthrate is rapid. Because the population of 18-year-olds did not decrease when they enrolled in college this spring, few universities were hit hard, but the declining birthrate will have a major impact on the 2 admissions selection process, which current second-year high school students will take. This is something that current second-year high school students who have taken the high school entrance exams know all too well. In this environment, it is becoming more difficult for both high schools and universities to recruit students. As a result, there has been an active movement to strengthen cooperation between universities and high schools.

　One trend is to make high schools affiliated with universities. Although they are called affiliated schools, the university and the high school are managed separately. Waseda Setsuryo High School, an affiliated school of Waseda University, will change its name to "Waseda Osaka High School" to enhance the "Waseda Course". In recent years, all students at Waseda University have been taking data science courses. Even liberal arts students are focusing on mathematics and information education, such as introducing mathematics as an exam subject in the School of Political Science and Economics and increasing the number of required data science courses in the School of Commerce. In light of this situation at universities, Waseda Osaka High School has changed its curriculum for the "Waseda Course" so that students are not allowed to choose between liberal arts and science until their second year of high school, but rather to study mathematics, science, and information thoroughly. This will allow high schools to strengthen their ties with universities. On the other hand, universities will be able to secure students from rural areas and diversify their student body, as the proportion of university entrants from the metropolitan area is high these days and acceptance of students from rural areas is weakening.

　Meiji University has made Nihon Gakuen, which originated as the Tokyo English School founded in 1885, an affiliated school and coeducational institution, and will rename it "Meiji University Setagaya Junior and Senior High School" from the 2026 academic year.

　Furthermore, in 26, Kitasato University will integrate Junten Junior and Senior High School into its affiliated school, making it the "Kitasato University Junten Junior and Senior High School." The school will begin accepting internal transfers from the 26 entrance exams, and aims to merge the schools in 2028.

　Not only can universities secure new students early on, but traditional universities can also expect students who understand the university's education and philosophy to help create a good atmosphere on campus after enrollment. There are also cases where high schools have courses named after universities other than affiliated schools. In affiliated schools and courses, only students who meet the university's admission requirements can advance to the university, and not all students are able to advance.

　Another trend is the collaboration between high schools and universities through comprehensive partnerships. Many universities, including medical schools and women's universities, are proactive in this regard. Many of them give multiple designated school recommendation slots to high schools, but many of them lack educational collaboration. Universities sometimes take on the role of providing commentary and other guidance during "comprehensive research time" at high schools, but how effective is this?

　In some cases, university lectures are offered to high school students through these high school-university collaborations, but the educational benefits are not readily apparent. In reality, both universities and high schools want to secure designated school recommendations through partnerships, but some schools, such as J. F. Oberlin University, are not limited to student recruitment and instead have university professors make videos of assignments that can be used in comprehensive research time and make them widely available. I think these "visiting lectures" are more effective in terms of both education and recruitment publicity.

　Showa Women's University and its affiliated junior and senior high school have been implementing a unique high school-university collaboration for over 30 years. Under this system, known as the "Five-year Student" system, students take classes at the university as "subject-specific students" while still enrolled in high school in their third year. After enrolling at Showa Women's University, the university recognizes the credits earned, allowing students to graduate in three years, or to obtain a degree (double degree) from a partner university such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University in addition to their Showa Women's University degree in four years. Going forward, Showa Women's University's affiliated Showa Junior and Senior High School will also implement this system with Showa Medical University.

　This type of collaboration between universities and high schools can also be seen between national and public universities and local high schools. Fukushima University will reorganize and create a new Faculty of Education, which will collaborate with the "Education Course" at Fukushima Prefectural High School. We hope to see a seamless collaboration between the two schools.

　For high school students, the more universities actively involved in their schools, the more opportunities there are to learn about university education. If university entrance exams are relaxed, universities will be in a position to be chosen. It is important to value your first choice and choose a university that matches your interests.