Rural universities pinning hopes on makeovers

Due to the falling birthrate, the total student body quota of universities will exceed the number of prospective students in the near future. Considering this, rural universities are increasingly wary as students tend to prefer well-known urban universities such as those in Tokyo and Osaka.

To survive this harsh competition, many universities are trying a variety of approaches to attract more students.

Akita Keizaihoka University has decided to change its name to North Asia University on April 1.

The school has already notified prospective freshmen by letter, saying the university is determined to meet new challenges, unconstrained by its past image. The university decided to change its name following an observation by Ken Koizumi, president of the university, that the school brand value "may have its expiration date."

Nasu University, a single-department college in Nasu-Shiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, that opened in 1999, has moved its campus to Utsunomiya and changed its name to Utsunomiya Kyowa University. The name of its urban economics department also has been changed to the City Life Department.

The school's enrollment had fallen below the quota just four years after its founding. In the 2004 academic year, the number of students was only about half of its capacity of 800. The new campus, a seven-story building, is located in the most urbanized area in the prefecture, about 700 meters from JR Utsunomiya Station.

In an effort to lure young people, the university has set up courses with colorful names such as "Become a student CEO," as well as home economics ones, mainly for female students, and apparel industry studies.

Meanwhile, public and private universities in Tochigi Prefecture established the Consortium of Universities in Tochigi in April 2005. Member schools of the consortium cooperate in such ways as acknowledging academic credits earned in other universities and offering extramural lectures.

Similar programs have also been adopted in Yamagata, Yamanashi and other prefectures.

Another attempt to attract students, adopted by two departments of Hokuriku University in Kanazawa starting this year, is to accept admission on a recommendation basis from all 5,200 full-time comprehensive high schools across the nation.

Hiroshima University held education counseling sessions in 11 cities across the nation in 2006.

In the Tokyo, Osaka and Takamatsu sessions, it even offered students lectures on its past entrance exams.

Hiroshi Kuroki, a journalist who specializes in education, said, "What's important for the universities is to work on reforming themselves with an eye to 10 or 20 years from now, and not to resort to employing cheap gimmicks just to gain popularity."
(Mar. 9, 2007)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070309TDY03002.htm