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International Students in Japan:
Issues of Recruitment and Admissions
International Recruitment and Admissions for English-Taught
Degree Programs
125th Anniversary Hall, Toyo University
October 2, 2015
Hiroshi Ota, Ph.D. Professor, Center for Global Education
Hitotsubashi University E-mail: [email protected]
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Purpose of the Seminar
• Japanese HEIs need to shift their international recruitment
and admissions from the old-fashioned, “on-campus exam-based
approach” to the global standard model, diversifying their markets
into the world.
• English-taught degree programs can be a breakthrough on this
matter.
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Hiroshi Ota
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Overview of Japanese H.Ed. and Int’l Student Polices
• Large private sector – 79% of HEIs and 73% of students
• Reasonable tuition fees (US$) – National and local public:
$6,800 – 7,800
– Private: humanities and social sciences: $9,600
STEM and others: $12,000
• Gov’t scholarships: 28% of int’l students
• 100,000 International Student Plan (1983-2003)
• 300,000 International Student Plan (2008-2020) 3
Hiroshi Ota
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Source: Nippon.com (2015) 4
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0%
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18-year-old Population and Participation and Acceptance
Rates
93.1% (2014)
56.5% (2015)
Acceptance Rate
= newly matriculated college and junior college
students / total college and junior college
18-year-old population (age cohort)
newly matriculated college and junior college students
College Participation Rate
= newly matriculated college and junior college students /
18-year-old population
(10T)
Source: MEXT 5
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“An Age When All Are Accepted to College”
• Enrollment problems (low domestic enrollment) – Private:
Undergraduate (esp. single-department colleges in the
provinces) – National: Postgraduate (esp. humanities and social
sciences) due to
the expansion of graduate schools’ capacity: 90,000 in 1991 ⇒
260,000 in 2009
– Graduate programs in humanities and social sciences:
Excessively dependent on int’l students due to low incentive for
domestic students.
• Becoming difficult to recruit enough qualified students into
STEM field programs.
• Private univs. which do not meet their authorized enrollment
capacities: 43.2% (250), two-year colleges: 61.0% (192)
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Hiroshi Ota
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Objectives and Policy Rationales for Increasing Int’l
Students
• Institutional level: Polarizing
– For internationalization: English-taught courses and programs
for both exchange and degree-seeking int’l students
– For survival: Revenue-generating approach
• National level: Diversifying
– Traditionally “aid and mutual understanding approach”
– Prevailing “skilled migration approach” with career placement
service
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Hiroshi Ota
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Number of International Students in Japan
Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2015)
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
110,000
120,000
130,000
140,000
150,000
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Num
ber
of In
tern
atio
nal S
tude
nts
Year
8
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International Students in Japan
by Field of Study in 2014
Field of
study
Social
Sciences Humanities Engineering Fine Art
Health
Sciences Others Total
# of
students 51,507 31,942 23,566 5,074 3,168 21,494 139,185
% of total 37.0 22.9 16.9 3.6 2.3 15.4 100
by Place of Origin in 2014
Place of
origin China Korea Vietnam Nepal Taiwan Indonesia Others
Total
# of students
77,792 13,940 11,174 5,291 4,971 2,705 23,312 139,185
% of total 55.9 10.0 8.0 3.8 3.6 1.9 16.7 100
%
change -5.0 -8.9 +77.6 +66.0 -5.3 +12.2 +7.3% +2.7
Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2015)
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International Students Enrolled in Japanese Language Schools
by Place of Origin in 2014
Place of
origin China Vietnam Nepal Korea Taiwan Myanmar Others Total
# of
students 16,607 15,265 5,157 1,837 1,260 655 4,189 44,970
% of total 36.9 33.9 11.5 4.1 2.8 1.5 9.3 100
% change +3.9 +103.3 +96.9 -12.7 -7.2 +61.7 +37.8
# of Int’l students enrolled in Japanese language schools in
2013: 32,626
Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2014)
Grand total: enrolled in language schools (44,970) + HEIs
(139,185) = 184,155 (+9.5%) *Typical path to Japanese degree:
Japanese language school (port of entry) → entrance exam → HEI
(esp. undergraduate program): about 70%
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International Students in Japan by Academic Level in 2014
• Postgraduate students: 39,979 (28.7%)
• Short-term and exchange students (1 to 2 semesters): 12,774
(9.2%)
Source: Japan Student Services Organization (2014)
Typical int’l students in Japan: Privately-financed,
degree-seeking Chinese students enrolled in undergraduate programs,
majoring in humanities & social sciences
by Source of Funding in 2014
Source of funding
Privately financed Japanese gov’t
sponsored Foreign gov’t sponsored
Total
# of students 171,808 8,351 3,996
184,155 (incl. 44,970
language school students)
% of total 93.3 4.5 2.2 100
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Typical Path to Univs in Japan
• UG program: home country ⇒ Japanese language school ⇒ private
univ’s UG program
• Graduate program: home country ⇒ Japanese language school ⇒
private univ’s UG program ⇒ national univ’s graduate program –
Leading research univs: undergraduate → graduate (en-suite
model)
– Reflecting the capacity of enrollment, discipline, and
research: private → national
– Tuition fees and scholarships: private → national
• Univs. heavily rely on the domestic market of int’l
students
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Hiroshi Ota
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English-Taught Degree Programs
• Intention: Lower the language barrier and break into the new
market to increase the inflow and diversity of international
students.
• Number of univs. offering ETD programs – Undergraduate: 6
(2008) ⇒ 28 (2014) – Postgraduate: 47 (2008) ⇒ 76 (2014)
• Number of ETD programs (2015) – UG: 46 programs (national: 24,
L. public: 3, private: 19) – PG: 456 programs (national: 385, L.
public: 8 , private: 63)
Source: JASSO
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Hiroshi Ota
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English-Taught Degree Programs
• ETD programs of 13 “Global 30” univs.
– 245 programs (UG: 37, PG: 208) (2015)
– 5,200 students including 1,600 Japanese (2014) Source: Global
30 and JSPS
• Majority of ETD programs in Japan are…
– Small scale: “show window” (branding) of so-called
internationalization for the domestic market
– Mainly intended for Japanese and returnees: “virtual
study-abroad model” (Shimauchi 2012)
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Hiroshi Ota
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Differences of International Student Recruitment and
Admissions
Japan Other Countries
Overseas Info. Center
JASSO’s 4 centers and 55 “Study in Japan” resource centers
British Council: 229, CampusFrance: 103, IDP: 75, DAAD 14 ,
EducationUSA: 400
Online application Rare (paper-based application) Very
common
Required test score Scores of EJU incl. academic subject tests
or JLPT and TOEFL
Language test, e.g. TOEFL or IELTS, score only
Foreign credential evaluation process
Very rare (virtually nonexistent)
Processed by national center or NPO evaluators and
institutions
Screening method On-campus entrance exam and interview
Document screening only
Application fee Expensive (JPY35,000 ≒ US$300) and no credit
cards accepted
Less expensive (avg. in US: $40-60) and credit cards
accepted
Using commissioned recruiters
Not common in general, but lower-tiered private institutions
use
Quite common except US
Transfer students Very rare Very common in US with credit
transfer and articulation programs
Conditional admissions
Nonexistent Quite common
Affiliated language school
Not so common (private universities only)
Quite common 15
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Urgent Matters: Improvements of Int’l Recruitment and Admissions
Process
• Student quality control: shift from input to output control
(admissions based on minimum standards) → Quantity brings quality
(to secure critical mass)
• Need to expose HEIs to the int’l student market abroad and let
them tackle the market mechanism.
• Reform old-fashioned admissions process, e.g., hard copy-based
application and on-campus exam, to reinforce the recruitment
capacity abroad.
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Hiroshi Ota
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Urgent Matters: Improvements of Int’l Recruitment and Admissions
Process
• Need to embark on proactive recruitment and a smooth,
user-friendly admissions process
– Online-based application and common application
– “Document-screening only method (pre-departure admissions)”
and online interview
– Increase transfer admissions from HEIs abroad
– Multiple admissions, online payment with credit card
– Establish a “national center” for foreign credential
evaluation to support HEIs’ int’l admissions offices
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Hiroshi Ota
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Challenges and Opportunities
• Cast off the old successful experience in the era of the
100,000 Int’l Student Plan that has delayed reforms and
internationalization.
• Improve pre-departure arrangements including accommodations
and scholarships for newly accepted int’l students. Only 23.4% of
int’l students live at student dormitories
• Reform the academic calendar: introducing the quarter system
could be a solution??
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Hiroshi Ota
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Challenges and Opportunities
• English-taught degree programs – Can gain access to the
greater but more competitive
market
– Revisit “Study in Japan”: Why study for a degree in English in
Japan? Stepping stone to a third country? Employment
opportunity?
– Quality assurance: programs, faculty, and students
– Many ETD programs do NOT welcome int’l students but intended
for Japanese students.
• Admission is not science but art.
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Hiroshi Ota
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Thank you for your attention.
Hiroshi Ota, Ph.D.
Professor Center for Global Education
Hitotsubashi University
E-mail: [email protected]
http://international.hit-u.ac.jp/jp/courses/hgp/index.html
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