(467)DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES FOR GOVERNMENTS, UNIVERSITIES, AND ACCREDITORS IN IMPLEMENTING AND EVALUATING THE CREDIT HOUR SYSTEM IN THE U.S. AND JAPAN

摘要

This study examines and compares the methods used to address issues in the credit hour system ofhigher education in the U.S. and Japan. In the U.S., credit hours have been used as a means ofdetermining federal funding allocations, but some institutions have engaged in malpractice such ascredit hour abuse, fraud, and inflation. In response to the problem of misuse of federal financial aidbased on credit hours, and the need for greater accountability for student learning outcomes, thefederal government has recently redefined credit hours as well as encouraged institutions to seekfederal approval for their competency-based education programs that decouple learning from thecredit hour. Following the American model, Japan introduced a credit hour system in higher educationafter World War II to promote students' proactive learning outside of classes;;however, this systemhas not functioned as well as it was originally intended: Japanese university students study for muchfewer hours than what is required by law, and also in comparison to their cohorts in other countries.Additionally, the overwhelming amount of in-class study is one of the factors impeding out-of-classstudy. There have been discussions on what the credit hour system demonstrates with respect toacademic activities and learning outcomes, and how it should be evaluated quantitatively andqualitatively in terms of both external accreditation and internal quality assurance. If credit hours areregarded as common currency, the recent U.S. movement to rethink its system can bring majorchanges in the manner of interpreting and assuring the quality of this currency. Based on documentanalysis, this study examines the U.S. and Japanese approaches to dealing with issues in the credithour system, focusing on three stakeholders: government policymakers, higher education institutions,and accreditors.