The following are excerpts from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Educational Renaissance series. This part of the series, to be continued next week, focuses on efforts that higher educational institutions have been making to turn those enrolled into "university students."

MIKI, Hyogo--Since assuming the role three years ago, Kansai University of International Studies (KUIS) President Atsushi Hamana has been determined to shake the hand of every freshman during the school's matriculation ceremony.

Wearing his academic gown, the 51-year-old Hamana invited each of the 427 newly enrolled students onto the stage at their entrance ceremony on April 2. The students appeared puzzled as the president shook his way through the new student body.

This was only one of the welcoming events the private university organized for the incoming students.

"Kobe Walker," for example, was an all-day tour in which Hamana and some senior students guided a number of new students on a tour of the city's sightseeing spots, including Chinatown, known as Nankinmachi. Back on campus, others enjoyed a barbecue.

"My message to the incoming freshmen is: 'As students of our university, we can be confident and can learn together,'" Hamana said. "We hold a series of welcome events to convey this message."

One of KUIS' major management policies is summed up by the phrase, "Strike while the iron is hot." Shortly after the institution was established in 1998, it had trouble with high dropout rates and unmotivated students.

In a bid to develop the self-confidence its students need during their time at the university, KUIS realized it would be crucial to develop a strategy to encourage its students from Day 1, and these welcoming events are the first step in this process.

The year after it opened, KUIS launched an incentive program under which the school will wave 5 percent to 10 percent of tuition for outstanding students. About 20 percent of the student body has earned this discount.

In 2004, the university also launched a mileage system, through which diligent students can earn "miles" by obtaining certain certificates or licenses, or by helping with extracurricular activities. For acquiring a certification, for example, a student can receive between five and 10 points, while students deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to a campus festival receive 10 points. When students amass 1,000 points, they can claim a training program in the United States, though nobody has yet reached that level.

KUIS motivational efforts have not gone unnoticed. The school has become known for taking good care of its students, and as a result, the dropout rate over the past three school years has been cut in half to about 4 percent.

This year, KUIS started a new program, requiring freshmen to take a new course called, "service-learning." Service-learning is experimental education that involves students in community service. It also encourages them to act in concert with their learning and goals. The approach is expected to help students develop skills in research, negotiation and planning, at the same time stimulating an interest in their future careers and contribution to society. In Western countries, service-learning is particularly popular at high school and university levels.

KUIS decided it would try to get its students involved in nearby communities because of concerns Hamana has about students' attitudes.

The president often asks students about their dreams for the future, only to find that most respondents replied they would like to work at a small or medium-sized company because it guarantees a "moderate" livelihood. To his disappointment, many others have even said they have no particular dreams.

"Our reputation as a university that takes good care of its students may mean that we are overprotecting them," Hamana said. "It's no good if our students are happy to settle for the tiny community that is KUIS and become less motivated to learn something new."

As an initial step for the service-learning course, Vice President Yasuo Yamashita, 48, and Hideko Yamamoto, 39, a lecturer at the Education and Social Welfare Department, took three sophomores to Cambodia in March to assess the students' views on what the course should be.

During their weeklong stay in the country, which is slowly recovering from the ravages of its political turmoil of the 1970s and '80s, the students worked at local hospitals and orphanages. Yamashita noticed they learned a great deal from their participation and he said he was convinced of the effectiveness of real-life experience for students.

However, for the first year of the service-learning course, the Cambodia trip is voluntary, citing security and health issues in the country.

Instead, freshmen can become involved in community service locally--mainly in Miki--in areas related to their respective majors. For example, the students can help to establish exchanges between local children and South Korean kids, or can participate in community-level learning programs for the elderly.

"Service-learning can definitely motivate new students," Yamashita said. "Now is the time for the faculty to face up to a real test of its ability."

As Yamashita says, the question is how much burden the course places on the faculty.

For example, Yamamoto met with the three participating students over several weeks before leaving for Cambodia, while researching ways to ensure their safety. He also produced a leaflet about the tour for the participants' parents.

When they returned home, the participants proposed organizing a fund-raising activity for Cambodia. Yamamoto has since been discussing the matter with the students.

"Merely visiting somewhere on their own does not motivate students to learn," Yamamoto said, in reference to his role as facilitator.

The success of the service-learning course is likely to come down to whether other faculty members can make a commitment similar to that of Yamamoto. KUIS' attempt to change the way its students learn also throws up the challenge of changing the faculty's teaching methods.

Schools offer new students tips on university life

As the country's higher educational institutions face the prospect of having fewer applicants than admission places, more and more universities are looking at so-called first-year experience programs.

First-year experience programs are designed to motivate students and help them develop communication skills, with a view to attaining basic skills as university students. In some cases, these programs are not just limited to incoming freshmen.

More and more schools have found it necessary to offer first-year experience programs because they are being pressured to ensure the quality of the programs on offer. Also, if students lose motivation to study, many of them may eventually drop out.

In March, the Japanese Association of First-Year Education at Universities and Colleges was established, with Prof. Reiko Yamada of Doshisha University serving as the president. The organization claims a membership of about 200, made up of faculty and staff from about 50 universities.

In December, the National Institute for Educational Policy Research conducted a survey of the deans of 1,980 departments at national, public and private universities regarding their first-year experience programs. Ninety percent of the 1,378 departments that responded offered a similar program.

When asked about the kind of programs offered to their freshmen, most of the respondents focused on teaching basic computer techniques for information processing and communication; advice on how to write academic papers; instructions on using libraries and sourcing necessary documents; and tips on time management and how to structure their studies effectively.

Source: yomiuri.co.jp