Autumn Matriculation and a Comprehensive Reform of Undergraduate Education: Two Strategies that Shake Up Large and Established Educational Frameworks

President Hamada, when people hear your name, many of them will perhaps first think of "autumn matriculation" for undergraduate students. Just as you did with "tough" and other catchphrases, did you feel that you intentionally chose these sensational words when you said them? Also, the phrase "comprehensive reform of undergraduate education," which includes initiatives such as the aforementioned autumn matriculation, four-term system, and gap term, gives off an impression of being the first major reform the University has undertaken since the postwar university establishment reforms.

My idea regarding "autumn matriculation" for undergraduate students is deeply intertwined with another one of my catchphrases, "moving the forest." I went up to bat with this idea, using it as my main example when contending that major tasks for changing the University—the kind that "moving the forest" suggests—should be implemented. The University has and continues to steadily engage in initiatives to improve the content of each curriculum and class, carry out further internationalization efforts, and increase the opportunities for students to gain real-world experience in society. However, when considering the rapid globalization of the world today, as well as our high expectations for the roles the University should fulfill in society and in sharing knowledge with the rest of the world, it became clear that we had to accelerate these University endeavors at an even faster rate. I strongly felt that to face this challenge of acceleration fully and decisively necessitated the mindset that we were moving a large framework.

There were quite a few people who reacted unfavorably to the implementation of a comprehensive reform of undergraduate education. On the other hand, there were many positive opinions from people expressing hope that perhaps this reform would enable the University to more freely enact initiatives for improving education that the University was unable to enact in previous attempts. The Special Committee for the Review of Undergraduate Education of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences released a response to my announcement of a comprehensive reform of undergraduate education in March 2013. This report, titled The Possibility and Prospect of a Comprehensive Reform of Undergraduate Education, is an example of the existing awareness within the University of issues with the state of the University's educational system as well as a desire to resolve and improve upon them.I believe that this awareness and desire is the reason we have been able to make as much progress as we have on the comprehensive reform of undergraduate education. If I had just called for reform without making any sort of firm foundation from which to discuss it, nothing would have been done.

Many teachers here at the University of Tokyo had been concerned over the same things. They wanted to increase students' mobility, but felt it would be difficult under the current University calendar system. They wanted to engage in more initiatives that cultivate the qualities of self-determination and an active lifestyle, such as interactive classes, but realized doing so would be no easy task under the current curriculums and University structure. I truly believe that we were able to get things moving precisely because there were so many teachers with these concerns throughout the University.

I went with a Somewhat "Rough" Way to Propose Changes to the University Calendar

While it may be difficult for us to accomplish, UTokyo will be left behind in the world competition if we don't commit ourselves to changing key structural aspects of the University. More than anything, we won't be able to take responsibility for students who will lead the next generation. Private universities and other institutions had more of a sense of urgency regarding this matter, and many of them have been consciously increasing their efforts to send students abroad from early on. It came to me that perhaps UTokyo was late in taking such initiatives because we were confident that our educational prowess and the quality of our students would be enough to keep us competitive. That's why moving the large, established University framework—doing something to truly shake its foundations—was paramount. The somewhat "rough" way I proposed my plans stemmed from this belief.

Do you yourself think that your plans were "rough"?

Yes, I do. I say that my plans were "audacious" when speaking to people outside of the University (laughs). I constantly make conscious efforts to express my ideas and opinions in a relatively mild way that people outside of academic circles will not be averse to. It may well have been the only time in my entire life that I've described my plans in a way that was disliked by so many people.

That's because you felt strongly that it was your mission to see these plans through.

When thinking about globalization trends, the declining trust in intellectuality, and other similar events, I felt like they are all occurring at an incredibly fast rate. This realization gave me an extremely strong sense of urgency that something had to be done. It's often said that when you suggest that systems that are currently in place should be changed, countless reasons for arguing against your suggestion will come out of the woodwork. I believe that it is my responsibility as president to overcome these reactions.

The phrase "autumn matriculation" was reported widely in the media during the early stages of your presidency. Was the timing of that phrase also part of your strategy? Since this change to the University calendar certainly constitutes a change to a major structure within the University, declaring these plans right off the bat would naturally trigger opposing opinions. Did you consider that this would happen and intentionally employ the tactic of announcing your plans early?

To be specific, when you try to change a system that is currently in place, you will notice that you are bound to many of the aspects that accompany that system's long history and tradition. This phenomenon proves true when trying to enact any kind of reform, not just educational reforms. Everyone is, of course, more familiar with the old system than the proposed new one. Also, the system is so large and established that everything else around it has been adjusted to work in accordance with it. That means that if you tried to change even one small portion of the system, other parts of it would be dragged into your plans, resulting in nothing getting accomplished. This is the reason why the educational improvements that individual academic staff members have tried to implement were limited in their effect and scope.

Nevertheless, in this age when society is changing at an intense rate, it's exceedingly unwise for the University to resign itself to its immobility while being aware of impending challenges and methods of improving its systems. I believe that doing so is inappropriate for a university that should be active at the forefront of this era. If you try to change one particular part of the system and nothing happens, then there's nothing left to do but to try shaking up the larger framework around it. That's what I believed.

When the newspapers reported on my autumn matriculation idea, I gave serious consideration to whether I should retreat slightly or go ahead with my plan. The result of my assessment was that if I didn't move forward now, the University would become unable to move forward at all. I thought that if we didn't take action, UTokyo would become considerably late in keeping up with all changes in modern society, not just autumn matriculation.

Of course, considering what an ideal university should be is something that universities should do. However, universities must also have the willingness to carry out their own initiatives while taking into account what society expects from them. In this case, when it came to my plans for autumn matriculation, the University was able to receive responses, both in favor and opposed, from society. One may have the impression that educational reform is something that is done only within the University, but that is not the case. I believe that proposing these changes was an opportunity for the University to work together with society to contemplate its future.

I may not have Announced My Plan for Autumn Matriculation if It weren't for 3/11

I feel that another reason I was mentally prepared to lay out my plan at that time was because of the 3/11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami disasters. I sometimes think that if those disasters had not occurred, I may not have announced my plan for autumn matriculation.

Particularly during the immediate aftermath of the disasters, society as a whole felt that we had to reassess everything, from entire societal structures to individual ways of living. I believe that many people were thinking about how post-disaster society should be constructed while considering their values and other aspects of their lives up until that time. These people came to the conclusion that thinking about post-disaster issues through the lens of these former values and mindsets alone would not be enough. In this regard, I feel like I was influenced by the serious circumstances of that time when I proposed my plan for autumn matriculation.

Then, after it was decided that the University would adopt a four-term system, your entire comprehensive educational reform plan came into the spotlight.

I feel that if I had called for a comprehensive reform of undergraduate education at the outset of my presidency, it probably would have been difficult to start enacting change within the University. At the same time, I believe that calling for adopting a four-term system only wouldn't have worked, either. Of course, I am not implying that I had all of this planned out from the beginning.

We began discussions on autumn matriculation in the spring of 2011, which were reported on in the news during that summer. Autumn and winter of that year were spent ruminating over many concerns about how we should take the next step towards our final goal of autumn matriculation. It was a time to determine how far and in what manner we could carry the momentum of the reform we started.

The main reasons for introducing the autumn matriculation system are to strengthen the international mobility of students, reinforce the global competitiveness of our education, and make our students become tougher by having them utilize the time in their "gap term" prior to matriculation. I have constantly been considering to what extent the University would be able to harvest these "fruits" of my autumn matriculation plan. I was acutely aware of the importance of maintaining the kind of tense feeling that is associated with the message "autumn matriculation" as a means to achieve these goals.

Through the spring of the following year, we discussed how we would grow these "fruits." During this period, to mark my own thoughts on the subject, I released my President's Message titled "Revisiting the Introduction of a Comprehensive Reform of Undergraduate Education" in April 2012.

I think that up until this point in time, there has been a strong inclination of having major changes within the University carried out due to external pressure. Was introducing these plans of yours the first instance in UTokyo history in which the University was significantly changed from the inside?

The New University Calendar and Admission by Recommendation were Advanced at the University's Own Initiative

Basically, I have always hated doing what external pressure tries to force me to do. I think I may be a little bit contrarian. I am glad that we were able to advance educational reforms at our own initiative. I am quite impressed with the power of the academic and administrative staff who supported those reforms.

Following in UTokyo's footsteps, the Japanese government has sped up movement toward the globalization of universities in earnest. Another decision that I narrowly managed to make before I was told to do so was introducing the system of admission by recommendation. If we had started discussing this new system after external pressures tried to force us to review the admission system that focuses solely on entrance examinations, it would reflect poorly on us. As both society and the government tend to move fast these days, I believe the University should continue to place value in deliberately taking initiatives that will benefit future generations.

Hasegawa: I see. The reforms you have promoted are different in type, but they can be intertwined with one another under the key phrase "autumn matriculation for undergraduate students."

If I decide to do something at my discretion, and help is given from external sources, then that's great. But if the situation is vice versa, I don't like it.

Aihara: By the way, did you expect to face some backlash from the University community when you decided to promote autumn matriculation?

Actually, I had already expected that there would be a higher chance of failure than success in immediately implementing my autumn matriculation plans. I am moderately confident, though, in predicting the direction that society is going to move towards over time. I came to the conclusion that if undergraduate autumn matriculation could not be implemented right away, the shift towards autumn matriculation still would not be stopped, and that the University would need to continue to take the initiative to implement it. Because I am basically an optimistic person, I intended to keep promoting autumn matriculation for undergraduate students even if I faced a huge backlash.

Aihara: And that's why you have advanced the reforms thus far.

That being said, I was on the verge of discouragement, being criticized by people from both within and outside the University. At the same time, however, I was also helped out by a lot of people.

Aihara: Even people at the Faculty Council were voicing very severe opinions about the reforms.

Hasegawa: I remember that I often used the phrase "stuck between a rock and a hard place" at that time.

Essentially, it would have been better if I had not created this kind of haphazard situation. On the other hand, I believe that the true purpose of academic disciplines—the main pillars of universities—is to pursue the very limits or bounds of the status quo. In this sense, my reform initiatives have a kind of continuity.

Hasegawa: At first, people were saying that there have to be cherry blossoms blooming during a matriculation ceremony. Even now, some people are still saying this. (laughs)

Yes, I know! Besides, others have said that if you're looking across all of Japan, you can see that the cherry blossom season is not just limited to April. I thought it was funny that people were pointing that out.

Hasegawa: People also say that when you look back at history, you can see that the Japanese academic year originally started in autumn.

That's right. Actually, people at that time (the Meiji period) were more attuned to international trends in certain respects, though in a limited sense. It is likely that expectations for the international mobility of students will continue to increase in the future, and society as a whole is also becoming more and more globalized. If you think of the future in 10 or 20 year periods, you can be certain that the shift towards autumn matriculation for undergraduate students will not be stopped.

In your comprehensive educational reform, you proposed "substantializing" and "refining" as pillars of your plan, in addition to "globalizing."

At the core of both "substantializing" and "refining" are the common goals of improving students' self-reliance and activeness. If students are inclined to be passive, then they are the exact opposite of the "tough" students I am trying to encourage them to become. While this also has to do with primary and secondary education and how society itself treats the younger generations, the important thing to consider is what we can do for students at the university level to make them "tough." For example, major universities overseas skillfully utilize interactive classroom activities and active learning methods. These approaches are necessary in helping students enhance their competence. The abilities to perform well on tests and to write outstanding papers are expected as a matter of course, but those abilities alone are not enough. Students also need to learn how to express themselves, understand others and have fruitful discussions based on mutual understanding, and interact with many different kinds of people. These types of experiences will help students to make the best of their intellectual ability in society.

Sometimes people say that the intellectual competency of UTokyo students is higher than that of Harvard and MIT students at the time of enrollment, but because of educational differences, the competencies of these two groups of students are reversed at the time of graduation. Putting aside the discussion of whether this kind of comparison is simply even possible, I understood that my reforms had to focus on how to integrate students' intellectual ability measured by academic performance with their self-reliance and communication skills. I called this combination of skills the "comprehensive intellectual ability" of students.

When I communicated my reform plans in abstract phrases to academic staff who are actively teaching in their fields, they responded by describing aspects of my plan as "substantializing" and "refining." These words would eventually become the keywords that represented the direction of my reforms. I think that the academic staff's awareness of educational issues was summarized in these words.

I think that figuring out how to evaluate the educational competency of researchers is a big issue. You touched upon the strengthening of faculty development (FD), the teaching assistant system, and other similar initiatives in your Action Scenario. How did these areas develop after you announced your plans?

It's Fine to have Some Academic Staff Members Who can Say "Follow Me" with Confidence

The things that I think are important in FD are, above all, the basic attitudes and awareness of academic staff, although the learning of teaching techniques is also part of faculty development. When giving serious consideration to the intellectual potential and curiosity of students, what messages do academic staff members convey to students, and how do they convey them? And how do students respond to and get inspired by them? I believe that the very philosophy that academic staff members have regarding these questions is the foundation of faculty development. Of course, as there are skills with which they can exercise their philosophy in actual classes, some systems for training these skills are necessary.

Since UTokyo is a top research university, perhaps it has been an accepted line of thinking that students will learn as a result of simply observing what researchers are doing. Particularly, academic staff members in the humanities have a strong tendency to resort to this kind of "learning by observing" approach, don't they?

If a teacher can say "just follow me" with confidence, and if students are able to grow through this approach, I think that that would be fine, too. I think that as long as students acquire a basic attitude towards learning, maintaining a diversity of educational approaches is important. Of course, particularly for first- and second-year undergraduate students, introducing more active learning approaches and interactive classroom activities would be a good idea, too. Ultimately, the most important thing is that students are inspired by their studies and become able to expand their intellectual spheres.