There has been much interest in visualizing students’ learning outcomes and many studies have been conducted globally, but most of them have measured student abilities through tests or students' self-assessment. In this study, from the standpoint of emphasizing learning outcomes as a societal expectation of higher education, we analyzed which abilities were highly evaluated by the companies employing graduates and which were not. As a method, we conducted a meta-analysis of questionnaires submitted by 85 universities from 2019 to 2023, targeting companies that employ graduates. These questionnaires were collected by universities as supporting data for accreditation in Japan. The results showed that the abilities most valued and appreciated by employers were common sense, manners & integrity, disciplinary knowledge and skills, general knowledge, and basic academic skills. On the other hand, while employers had high expectations for graduates' English proficiency, global awareness, leadership, and communication skills, they were relatively dissatisfied with the current level of these abilities. When we compared these results with a similar analysis conducted from 2012 to 2018, we found no significant changes. Despite the evolving societal expectations for student learning outcomes driven by accelerated globalization and technological innovation over the past decade, the study did not observe significant shifts in graduates’ abilities. The study highlights a challenge for Japanese higher education in effectively preparing graduates with the employability and competencies required by today’s society.

Authors:
Susumu Shibui, National institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education, Japan
Ayaka Noda, National institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education, Japan
Asuka Kaneko, National institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Susumu Shibui is currently a professor of the National institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education, a Japanese national higher education accreditation agency.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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