“Taking another step toward a better future for higher education”

NIAD-QE is an incorporated administrative agency created in 2016 by the Japanese Act of General Rules for Incorporated Administrative Agency and the NIAD-QE Act. NIAD-QE supports efforts to improve the quality of higher education in Japan with the goal of contributing to the development of Japanese higher education through the following roles:

1.Evaluation and accreditation of higher education institutions

NIAD-QE operates three evaluation and accreditation schemes: Certified Evaluation and Accreditation (CEA), Institutional Thematic Assessment (ITA), and National University Corporation Evaluation (NUCE).

2.Awarding of Academic Degrees

NIAD-QE provides alternative ways for individuals to earn academic degrees, based on their learning outcomes. As provided in the School Education Act, NIAD-QE is the only entity besides universities that is authorized to confer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in Japan.

3.Cooperation in Quality Assurance

NIAD-QE works to support quality assurance at Japanese universities and colleges, and to promote wide-ranging international understanding of Japanese higher education and confidence in Japanese quality assurance. This role includes: Japanese College and University Portraits, the Japan Network of Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Agencies (JNCEAA), and international cooperation.

4.Research Activities

NIAD-QE conducts basic research that is the foundation of its tasks, i.e., higher education quality assurance, academic degree awarding, and quality assurance cooperation. The scope of its research also includes practical research to verify these tasks and research focusing on policy issues related to quality assurance.

5.Loans and Grants for Facility Construction

NIAD-QE provides loans and grants to consolidate and maintain education and research environments, and to improve financing and management of national university corporations and related institutions.