Expectations and Challenges Revealed Towards the Introduction of Learning Outcome Visualization

As universities are increasingly required to visualize and utilize learning outcomes, the crucial theme is not merely the introduction itself, but "how to connect it to educational improvement."

Against this backdrop, Shobi Gakuen University (Location: Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture; President: Kakuhisa Nagayama) conducted FD training primarily aimed at fostering understanding among faculty, in anticipation of the full-scale introduction of a learning portfolio system from the 2027 academic year. During this FD training, the objectives of the introduction and directions for utilization were shared, and through a post-implementation questionnaire, the awareness of faculty and staff and the issues on the ground were visualized.

## Background Requiring Visualization of Learning Outcomes

In recent years, universities have been strongly urged to visualize learning outcomes and utilize them for educational improvement. In the reports of the Central Council for Education and the standards for accreditation, the grasp of learning outcomes based on diploma policies and the establishment of mechanisms to feed them back into educational improvement are considered important.

However, on the ground, there are challenges such as:

- Students' learning and growth are not sufficiently visualized.
- Interview records and guidance information are dispersed and individualized.
- Information sharing among faculty and staff is cumbersome.

In such situations, it is not uncommon for "data to exist but not be utilized."

Against this background, the introduction of learning portfolio systems is progressing as a foundation for visualizing learning outcomes and utilizing them for education and student support.

## Initiatives at Shobi Gakuen University

At Shobi Gakuen University, this FD training was conducted as a preparatory stage for the full-scale operation of the learning portfolio system in the 2027 academic year, with the aim of enabling faculty and staff to concretely imagine "how it can be utilized."

Approximately 70 faculty and staff participated on the day, and discussions were held on:

- "What improvements can be expected" from the learning portfolio system?
- "How does it relate" to the guidance and practices of faculty and staff?

## The Essence of Learning Outcome Visualization: A Mechanism to Support Students' "Self-Understanding"

In this FD training, the essence of the learning portfolio system was organized as follows:

A learning portfolio system is a mechanism for students themselves to reflect on their learning outcomes, objectively grasp their growth, and serve as a foundation for cycling the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle of learning.

In actual educational settings, many students face challenges such as:

- Not knowing their strengths.
- Unable to envision their future direction.

In response to these situations, the point was emphasized that the visualization of learning outcomes is the foundation for verbalizing "what one can do."

## Value for Faculty and Staff: Balancing Efficiency and Quality Improvement

The learning portfolio system brings significant value not only to students but also to faculty and staff.

In this FD training, the potential for qualitative improvement of educational activities was shown primarily from the following perspectives:

- Centralized management of student information
- Ability to centrally grasp grades, activity history, and interview records, reducing the burden of preparation.
- Improvement in the quality of interviews
- By grasping information in advance, consistent and timely dialogue becomes possible.
- Realization of early support
- Early identification of students in need of support based on signs such as a decline in GPA.
- Organized student support
- Building a seamless support system by sharing information among faculty and departments.

## Survey Results: Expectations and Challenges from On-Site Voices

In the questionnaire conducted after this FD training (67 respondents), diverse opinions were received from faculty and staff, confirming expectations for the introduction and issues for future operation.

In particular, regarding the question "Would you like to use the system?", 88.1% responded "Yes, I would like to use it," indicating that a positive attitude towards the introduction is being fostered.

On the other hand, from the free-form responses, "expectations for introduction" as well as "issues regarding operation" became clear, such as:

- Expectations for utilization in education and student support
- Many expectations were seen that through the visualization of learning outcomes, students' situations could be grasped more multi-dimensionally and utilized for guidance and support.

- Concerns about operational burden and sustained adoption
- Conversely, cautious opinions were also confirmed regarding the operational burden as a new initiative and the extent to which actual utilization would be sustained, suggesting the necessity of designing operations in a manageable way and devising measures for continuous utilization.

- Recognition of the importance of operational design
- Furthermore, recognition was also seen that not only the system's functions but also the clarification of design and policies on how to utilize it within the university is important.

From these results, it was reconfirmed that along with the high interest in learning outcome visualization, operational design and support for sustained adoption after introduction are crucial for fully realizing its effects.

## Solving On-Site Challenges and Supporting Operational Stabilization: "Learning Outcome MOE"

This FD training