Background and History of Establishment

１.Background of Field-Specific Evaluation

Since the enactment of the School Education Act, institutional evaluation has been made mandatory for universities. Since 2004, all universities have been required to undergo accreditation by a third-party certification body at least once every seven years. The recognition that institutional accreditation is a fundamental requirement has been widely shared among universities. However, it was soon pointed out that institutional evaluation alone was insufficient to ensure the quality of education. As a result, the importance of field-specific evaluation, which focuses on educational programs, has been increasingly recognized.
In the 2008 report by the Central Council for Education, the clarification of three key policies—Diploma Policy (degree awarding policy), Curriculum Policy (policy for curriculum design and implementation), and Admission Policy (policy for student admissions)—was emphasized. Additionally, the report highlighted the need to establish a framework for field-specific quality assurance. In 2010, the Science Council of Japan submitted a proposal on "The Approach to Field-Specific Quality Assurance in University Education," which led various academic disciplines to publish reference standards for curriculum design to ensure field-specific quality assurance in university education.
In the field of healthcare professional education, efforts toward field-specific evaluation began relatively early. Although the reasons and necessity varied, after a trial period, pharmaceutical education introduced field-specific evaluation in 2013 through the Japan Accreditation Board for Pharmaceutical Education, and medical education followed in 2017 through the Japan Accreditation Board for Medical Education. Additionally, in the midwifery field, since professional graduate schools are required to undergo accreditation every five years for specialized education, the Japan Midwifery Evaluation Organization was established, and field-specific evaluation for professional graduate schools began in 2008.

２.Concept of Field-Specific Evaluation
in the Japan Association of Nursing Universities

• １）Background of the Concept

  The Japan Association of Nursing Universities (JANPU) focused on field-specific evaluation due to two key factors in addition to the broader trends mentioned earlier.
  The first factor was the rapid advancement of nursing education into higher education. Following the enactment of the 1992 Act on the Promotion of Securing Nursing Personnel, the number of nursing universities, which had remained at 11 institutions, began to grow rapidly. Each year, approximately 10 new faculties and departments were established, and as of May 2018, the number of JANPU-affiliated programs had reached 277—a remarkable 25-fold increase over two decades.
  The expansion of undergraduate programs led to the growth of graduate schools, further advancing nursing education, research, and the quality of nursing practice. While this was a positive development, it also raised concerns about faculty shortages and turnover, which could potentially lead to a decline in educational quality. Additionally, the overall increase in student enrollment contributed to the massification of nursing education, similar to trends in other academic fields.
  The second factor was the diverse positioning of nursing education within universities. Nursing education programs were established at various levels, including single-department universities, faculties, departments, and specialized majors. This structure was unique to nursing education and differed from other healthcare professional education fields such as medicine and pharmacy.
  This diversity influenced decision-making, authority, faculty numbers, and faculty distribution, affecting various aspects of nursing education. Furthermore, the extent to which nursing education was addressed in institutional evaluations and the degree to which it received substantive assessment varied significantly depending on its positioning within the university.
  For single-department universities, nursing education programs were more likely to undergo comprehensive evaluation. However, in multidisciplinary universities, nursing departments often had limited involvement in self-assessment and institutional evaluation processes. As a result, many nursing education programs lacked a structured system for substantive evaluation, which became a significant challenge.

• ２）Initiatives for Field-Specific Evaluation

  The healthy development and evolution of nursing universities is essential for producing professionals who can meet the changing healthcare needs of an aging society and ensuring the advancement of nursing research. Recognizing this, JANPU positioned field-specific evaluation of nursing education as a key issue and established a permanent committee to work toward its implementation.
  JANPU’s efforts began in 2002, when it started gathering international information and examining evaluation standards. With funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), JANPU conducted three trial evaluations at eight universities between 2007 and 2011, confirming the significance and necessity of field-specific evaluation while refining evaluation criteria and systems.
  Based on these findings, in June 2015, the JANPU General Assembly approved the establishment of the Japan Nursing Education Evaluation Organization (provisional) and allocated 30 million yen in preparatory funds. Subsequently, in July 2016, the Preparatory Committee for the Japan Nursing Education Evaluation Organization (provisional) was officially launched.

３.Foundation of the Japan Nursing Education Evaluation Organization

The Japan Accreditation Board for Nursing Education (JABNE) was established as a general incorporated foundation on October 15, 2018, with an initial contribution of 30 million yen from its founding organization, the Japan Association of Nursing Universities (JANPU).
The purpose of JABNE, as stated in Article 3 of its Articles of Incorporation, is to ensure the quality of nursing education in Japanese universities by conducting fair and appropriate evaluations of nursing education programs, thereby enhancing educational and research activities and contributing to public health, medical care, and welfare.
At the time of its establishment, several guidelines for quality assurance in nursing education were being published. In September 2017, the Science Council of Japan released the Reference Standards for Curriculum Design for Field-Specific Quality Assurance in University Education (Nursing Field). Subsequently, in October 2017, the MEXT Working Group on Nursing Human Resource Development in Universities published the Nursing Education Model Core Curriculum, which outlines learning objectives aimed at acquiring core nursing competencies at the undergraduate level.
In June 2018, JANPU revised and published the Core Competencies and Graduation Achievement Goals for Undergraduate Nursing Education for the first time in seven years. By the time JABNE was launched, universities had access to a comprehensive set of reference materials for curriculum development, demonstrating that field-specific evaluation was well-aligned with the evolving educational landscape.

４.Progress Since Establishment