Executive%20Impact%20The%20business%20of%20education


TOKYO%0AJapan%u2019s%20higher%20education%20system%20is%20undergoing%20major%20changes%20due%20to%20oversupply%20and%20a%20falling%20birthrate%2C%20forcing%20many%20universities%20to%20merge%2C%20while%20others%20face%20bankruptcy%20or%20are%20taken%20over.%20Universities%20across%20the%20country%20are%20making%20desperate%20efforts%20to%20attract%20new%20students%20as%20admissions%20quotas%20fall.%0A%0AHowever%2C%20one%20institution%20which%20remains%20a%20popular%20choice%20is%20Temple%20University%2C%20Japan%20Campus%20%28TUJ%29%2C%20the%20oldest%20American%20campus%20in%20Japan.%20Established%20in%20June%201982%2C%20TUJ%20has%20a%20total%20enrollment%20of%201%2C190%20in%20its%20degree%20programs%20%28undergraduate%2C%20MBA%2C%20Law%20School%20and%20TESOL%29%2C%20as%20well%20as%20853%20in%20non-degree%20programs%20and%201%2C111%20in%20the%20corporate%20education%20program.%20Faculty%20consists%20of%2040%20full-time%20and%20133%20part-time%20teachers.%0A%0ATUJ%2C%20whose%20home%20campus%20is%20in%20Pennsylvania%2C%20was%20designated%20as%20Foreign%20University%2C%20Japan%20Campus%2C%20by%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education%2C%20Culture%2C%20Sports%2C%20Science%20and%20Technology%20in%20February%202005.%20TUJ%20operates%20out%20of%20two%20locations%20in%20Azabu%20and%20Mita%20and%20is%20looking%20to%20expand.%20It%20also%20has%20campuses%20in%20Osaka%20and%20Fukuoka%20where%20it%20offers%20graduate%20programs%20in%20TESOL.%0A%0ATaking%20over%20as%20dean%20for%20the%20challenging%20times%20ahead%20is%20Dr%20Bruce%20Stronach.%20Born%20in%20Maine%2C%20Stronach%20graduated%20with%20a%20bachelor%u2019s%20degree%20in%20history%20from%20Keene%20State%20College%20in%20New%20Hampshire%20in%201974.%20He%20earned%20two%20master%u2019s%20degrees%20and%20a%20doctorate%20in%20international%20relations%20in%20graduate%20studies%20at%20the%20Fletcher%20School%20of%20Law%20and%20Diplomacy%20and%20the%20Harvard%20University%20Graduate%20School%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences.%20Stronach%20has%20been%20in%20and%20out%20of%20Japan%20since%201976%2C%20most%20recently%20as%20president%20of%20Yokohama%20City%20University%20from%20April%202005.%20He%20became%20TUJ%20academic%20adviser%20as%20of%20Feb%201%2C%202008%2C%20and%20until%20March%2030%2C%20he%20was%20still%20YCU%20president%2C%20before%20taking%20over%20as%20TUJ%20dean%20on%20April%201.%0A%0AStronach%20is%20an%20adviser%20to%20the%20Committee%20on%20Foreign%20Education%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20Beijing%20Municipal%20Academy%20of%20Education%20and%20Research.%20He%20has%20authored%20several%20books%2C%20among%20them%20%u201CJapan%20and%20America%3A%20Opposites%20That%20Attract%u201D%20%281988%29%2C%20%u201CThe%20Handbook%20of%20Japanese%20Popular%20Culture%u201D%20%281989%29%20and%20%u201CBeyond%20the%20Rising%20Sun%3A%20Nationalism%20in%20Contemporary%20Japan%u201D%20%281995%29.%0A%0AJapan%20Today%20editor%20Chris%20Betros%20drops%20in%20at%20TUJ%20to%20hear%20more.%0A%0AHow%20did%20you%20end%20up%20in%20Japan%3F%0A%0AI%20always%20say%20I%u2019ve%20had%20two%20lives.%20From%20the%20time%20I%20was%209%20until%20I%20was%2025%2C%20I%20did%20manual%20labor.%20When%20I%20was%2025%2C%20that%20was%20the%20first%20time%20I%20ever%20had%20a%20job%20that%20was%20100%25%20with%20my%20head.%20I%20had%20been%20a%20factory%20foreman.%20Then%20I%20was%20hired%20as%20a%20researcher%20by%20the%20Fletcher%20School%2C%20which%20eventually%20brought%20me%20to%20Japan.%20The%20old%20MITI%20was%20doing%20research%20on%20Kikkoman%u2019s%20first%20major%20factory%20in%20the%20U.S.%20I%20spent%20a%20month%20at%20the%20factory%20researching%20how%20the%20local%20community%20and%20American%20workers%20were%20accepting%20the%20plant%20and%20working%20in%20a%20Japanese%20environment.%20I%20first%20came%20to%20Japan%20in%201976%2C%20working%20on%20a%20research%20project%20between%20Keio%20University%20and%20the%20Fletcher%20School.%20I%u2019ve%20been%20back%20and%20forth%20between%20Japan%20and%20the%20U.S.%20ever%20since.%0A%0AHow%20would%20you%20describe%20TUJ%u2019s%20image%3F%0A%0ADuring%20its%2025-year%20history%2C%20there%20have%20been%20various%20changes%20in%20the%20institution.%20Getting%20official%20recognition%20as%20a%20foreign%20university%20from%20the%20Japanese%20government%20in%202005%20gave%20it%20a%20boost.%20The%20general%20public%20probably%20still%20doesn%u2019t%20have%20a%20clear%20image%20of%20what%20we%20are%2C%20although%20in%20the%20corporate%20sector%2C%20there%20are%20a%20lot%20of%20people%20who%20do%20know%20us%20because%20our%20corporate%20education%20program%20is%20rather%20large.%20Certainly%2C%20in%20the%20academic%20area%2C%20there%20is%20a%20lot%20of%20understanding%20of%20what%20TUJ%20is.%0A%0AHow%20many%20nationalities%20do%20your%20students%20represent%3F%0A%0ASome%2040.%20This%20is%20one%20area%20that%20I%20want%20to%20develop%20further.%20Diversity%20is%20one%20of%20the%20points%20we%20have%20been%20stressing.%20For%20years%2C%20the%20Japanese%20government%20has%20been%20talking%20about%20increasing%20the%20number%20of%20foreign%20students%20in%20Japan.%20So%20far%2C%20about%2070%25%20of%20all%20foreign%20students%20in%20Japan%20are%20Chinese.%20What%20I%20want%20to%20see%20is%20an%20increase%20in%20the%20number%20of%20foreign%20students%20of%20other%20nationalities%20as%20well%2C%20so%20there%20is%20a%20real%20diversity%20of%20foreign%20students%20in%20Japan.%0A%0AWhat%20is%20TUJ%u2019s%20capacity%3F%0A%0AWe%20can%20go%20as%20high%20as%20we%20want%20to%20when%20it%20comes%20to%20everything%20but%20facilities.%20We%20are%20working%20in%20a%20couple%20of%20different%20directions%20to%20determine%20how%20we%20are%20going%20to%20expand%20our%20facilities%20in%20Minato%20Ward.%20For%20example%2C%20we%20are%20negotiating%20to%20develop%20an%20old%20unused%20elementary%20school.%0A%0AWhat%20about%20increasing%20faculty%3F%0A%0AAs%20a%20tuition%20driven%20institution%2C%20we%20must%20increase%20enrolments%20first%2C%20then%20hire%20new%20faculty.%20Our%20faculty-student%20ratio%20of%2020%20is%20one%20of%20our%20strengths.%20It%u2019s%20better%20than%20standard%20Japanese%20universities.%0A%0AAs%20dean%2C%20I%20guess%20you%20have%20to%20wear%20many%20hats%20%u2013%20administrator%2C%20number%20cruncher%20and%20teacher%2C%20if%20you%20have%20time.%20How%20do%20you%20balance%20it%20all%3F%0A%0AI%20do%20miss%20classroom%20time%20and%20haven%u2019t%20actually%20taught%20for%20about%2010%20years.%20Being%20dean%20means%20I%20have%20to%20think%20about%20the%20entire%20institution.%20Once%20you%20become%20an%20administrator%2C%20you%20have%20to%20understand%20what%20your%20role%20is.%20If%20you%20have%20time%20to%20teach%2C%20that%u2019s%20great.%0A%0AIt%u2019s%20a%20business%2C%20yes%2C%20in%20that%20we%20have%20a%20budget%20and%20have%20to%20have%20a%20surplus%20in%20that%20budget%20every%20year.%20I%20am%20responsible%20for%20all%20elements%20of%20the%20operation.%20As%20much%20as%20an%20academic%20doesn%u2019t%20like%20to%20hear%20this%2C%20the%20budget%20comes%20first.%20If%20you%20don%u2019t%20have%20the%20money%20for%20the%20academic%20programs%2C%20you%20don%u2019t%20have%20the%20programs.%20Running%20a%20business%20is%20really%20simple%20compared%20to%20running%20a%20university.%20Because%20you%20are%20creating%20this%20intangible%20for%20society%20and%20yet%2C%20you%20have%20to%20hit%20the%20bottom%20line%20and%20run%20it%20like%20a%20business.%20Marrying%20those%20two%20things%20together%2C%20something%20as%20difficult%20as%20producing%20education%20and%20research%20and%20doing%20it%20to%20budget%20is%20difficult.%0A%0AJapanese%20universities%20are%20going%20through%20tough%20times.%20What%20effect%20will%20this%20have%20on%20higher%20education%3F%0A%0AFrom%20an%20overall%20perspective%2C%20the%20decrease%20in%20the%20youth%20population%20hurts%20all%20universities.%20The%20thing%20I%20worry%20about%20most%20is%20not%20just%20the%20obvious%20demographics%20with%20fewer%20students%20chasing%20a%20set%20number%20of%20seats.%20It%20is%20the%20knock-on%20effect%2C%20which%20is%20that%20universities%20might%20dumb%20down%20and%20lower%20standards%20in%20order%20to%20attract%20students.%20That%20will%20have%20a%20ripple%20effect%20on%20everybody.%20Right%20now%2C%20Japanese%20universities%20are%20too%20easy%20on%20their%20students%20and%20I%20preached%20this%20many%20times%20when%20I%20was%20president%20at%20YCU.%20If%20the%20effect%20is%20to%20make%20universities%20even%20softer%20on%20their%20students%2C%20that%20is%20horrible%20for%20Japanese%20higher%20education.%0A%0AWhat%20about%20for%20Temple%3F%0A%0AFirst%20of%20all%2C%20the%20effect%20is%20especially%20drastic%20in%20the%20rural%20areas.%20Everybody%20still%20wants%20to%20come%20to%20Kanto%20for%20their%20higher%20education%20and%20Temple%20is%20drawing%20students%20from%20all%20over%20the%20country.%20The%20second%20thing%20is%20that%20in%20this%20kind%20of%20competitive%20atmosphere%2C%20we%20can%20be%20more%20competitive%20in%20approaching%20our%20niche%20market%20%u2013%20those%20students%20who%20don%u2019t%20want%20the%20same%20old%20Japanese%20education.%20Here%20they%20have%20a%20100%25%20English%20language%20environment.%20All%20of%20the%20things%20that%20Japanese%20universities%20are%20trying%20to%20do%20to%20reform%20their%20undergraduate%20education%2C%20we%u2019re%20already%20doing.%20Education%20is%20what%20happens%20in%20the%20classroom.%20There%20are%20very%20few%20classrooms%20in%20Japan%20where%20students%20can%20interact%20with%20fellow%20students%20and%20faculty%20the%20way%20we%20do%20here.%0A%0AHow%20do%20you%20market%20Temple%3F%0A%0AOn%20a%20campus%20in%20the%20U.S.%2C%20the%20biggest%20recruiting%20tool%20is%20campus%20visits.%20If%20you%20get%20a%20body%20on%20campus%2C%20the%20probability%20of%20that%20person%20enrolling%20is%2050-60%25.%20But%20in%20Japan%2C%20the%20most%20important%20thing%20in%20recruiting%20is%20word%20of%20mouth%20about%20the%20quality%20of%20education.%20If%20your%20students%20are%20happy%20and%20if%20you%20are%20running%20your%20organization%20correctly%2C%20happiness%20equates%20to%20getting%20a%20good%20education.%20If%20a%20student%20can%20say%20%u201CI%u2019m%20glad%20I%20am%20here%2C%u201D%20that%20has%20a%20multiplier%20effect%20on%20siblings%20and%20friends.%0A%0ANow%20that%20you%20are%20at%20TUJ%2C%20are%20you%20going%20to%20live%20in%20Tokyo%3F%0A%0AI%u2019m%20not%20moving%20to%20Tokyo%20because%20I%20love%20living%20in%20Yokohama.%20It%u2019s%20a%20great%20lifestyle.%20I%20can%20bicycle%20from%20my%20apartment%20to%20Hayama%20beach%20in%2040%20minutes.%20I%20also%20like%20to%20play%20golf.



source https://www.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=50916576053

0 nhận xét:

Đăng nhận xét

Happy New Year !!

Wishing you all a very happy NEW YEAR, dear friends !! Here is an image of sunrise over Andaman sea as taken from Havelock islands in Andam...

My Instagram