(1) Education reform mainly to achieve a distinctive education

    in the first-year level

    Nagasaki University provides distinctive education for first year students, such as inter-faculty seminars (all-faculties education), inter-relating the humanities with the natural sciences in the same class for the first-year education (Faculty of Environmental Studies), and remedial education (Faculty of Engineering). These educational characteristics and the Research and Development Center for Higher Education (evaluation and FD research section) make up the educational management cycle, which consists of class practice, class evaluation, FD and class improvement, serve to advance the educational outcome, and prepare for the establishment of the new first-year education management model.

    This effort was adopted for the FY2003 Distinctive University Education Assistance Programs as "The Design and Instruction of Distinctive Education Programs for first-year students: with the Concept of the Educational Management Cycle". In the following year 2004, "Research and review on the educational programs for first-year students through the symposium" and "Creation of the video contents for developmental and remedial education" upgraded first-year education approach. "Construction of education management cycle in inter-relating humanities with natural sciences education", "Introduction of learning portfolio to measure the effects of developmental and remedial education", and "Development of online-based course evaluation system & online FD system" further enriched the management cycle.

    In order to further promote efforts of improving classes in the first-year education, the "Building up of the tutoring support system for first-year students" has been launched since 2005. Taking advantage of this effort being selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as a recipient of the 2005 special expenses for educational improvement grant, the "Division of Program Design for First Year Students" was set up in the Research and Development Center for Higher Education and its framework was finalized to promote first-year education reformation.

(2) Well-rounded education for engineering majors

    The Faculty of Engineering has been continuously conducting organizational collaboration with Niigata University and Toyama University in remedial education designed for graduates of technical high schools since 1994. Based on this cooperation, the Faculties of Engineering of these universities developed the "Establishment of a base for well-rounded engineering education: Education program through partnership among students contemplating careers as creative engineers" , and was chosen for the 2003 Distinctive Higher Education Support Program.

    In FY2004, further efforts were given to improve the "Creative Engineering Center" that was founded under the above mentioned program and "The second Student Artisan・Idea Exhibition in Nagasaki" was organized. In the Idea Exhibition, a contest and a lecture and panel discussion were held to develop creative education by the collaboration of the three universities and their local communities.

(3) Character training

    Nagasaki University, feeling its responsibility to act in response to the local society’s concern regarding "Character training" as an important issue, founded the "Center for Total Human Education and Child Welfare" in April, 2005, to work together with regional educational institutions on the "Character Training General Support Program (Educational Crisis Corresponding Project)" . This Support Program was subsidized by MEXT for the 2005 special expenses for education and research collaboration project.