A Comparative Study on Relations between Universities and Non-university Institutions in Japan, the USA and European Countries

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Non-university institutions offer more practice-oriented shorter courses and foster more specific skills than traditional universities. The graduates of these higher education institutions, however, increasingly need to continue studying and to be qualified further because knowledge and skills required in the labor market rapidly change. The demands for higher qualifications/degrees will increase in the knowledge-based society in the 21st century. Therefore it is important to arrange some devices in the education system which facilitate transfers between non-university institutions and universities. Such devices are e.g. courses of study based on credits and modules, ways of measuring and assuring the quality of courses, and last not but least system for credit transfer and accumulation as well as mutual recognition of degrees. They are well prepared in the United States where reverse transfers are also not rare cases, while students who want to transfer across states sometimes face difficulties. In Europe, the Bologna Declaration in 1999 by ministers of education had a great impact on the European countries. Many countries are now carrying out reforms in higher education to introduce credits and two-tier system with bachelor's and master's degrees. According to our survey of all four-year universities in Japan, demands for transfers are increasing, and private universities are especially positive to accept transfer students. Their behavior reflects market mechanism. In this sense, quality assurance in higher education is the issue worldwide.