Dr Akihiko Kawaguchi is the Vice-President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (NIAD-UE), which is certified by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan as an agency for university evaluation.

He began to serve as an expert of university evaluation before the official system of university evaluation certified by the government started in Japan. He became a professor of Faculty of University Evaluation and Research, NIAD-UE in 2000, when a function of university evaluation was added to NIAD (former name of NIAD-UE; after that it was renamed NIAD-UE) and it started the pilot evaluation of national and prefectural universities which was continued until 2004. He became the Dean of the Faculty in 2002. He greatly contributed to the pilot evaluation and set up the current university evaluation system of NIAD-UE, which started in 2005. Then he became the Vice-President in 2006. He now takes an important role to manage the university evaluation as a Vice-President.

In 2006, he published a book of university evaluation including the significance of evaluation, pilot evaluation and the current university evaluation system by NIAD-UE, self-evaluation of Japanese universities, etc.

He also has been acting internationally for quality assurance. For example, he visited quality assurance agencies in Nordic countries and Netherland for several times. For quality assurance in Asia Pacific region, he is registered as a reviewer of APQN. And now he is the Chair of the Local Planning Committee for 2008 APQN AGM and Conference held in Tokyo, Japan.

Contact Details:

1-29-1 Gakuen-nishimachi
Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8587
JAPAN

Tel: +81 42 353 1623
Fax: +81 42 353 1559

Email: dir-intl@niad.ac.jp
Website: www.niad.ac.jp/