For TUJ to thrive, it is critical to be open-minded, innovative, and forward-thinking. The following is a description of goals and strategies centered around our mission and vision. Founded on student success and excellence, these will benefit TUJ students and our institution. We should align our resources with the pursuit of these strategic priorities.

Student Success - Goals for the Individual Experience

TUJ aims to offer a distinctive international experience that makes us the destination of choice for students from Japan, the U.S., and other countries. We strive to be an institution that attracts learners with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and orientations. TUJ should be a place where students want to be.

Institutional Excellence - Goals for the University Community

In today’s world of higher education, sustainability depends on flexibility, innovation, and collaboration. TUJ will strive to meet the needs of today’s students for tomorrow’s workplace. We should find more ways to support lifelong learning. TUJ should continue to play a unique role in Japan’s educational landscape while amplifying our impact and elevating our reputation. Key strategies include the following.


Goal #1: Exceptional Student Experience

Part of the recipe for student success is providing a supportive culture, unwavering commitment to students, and high-quality academic experience through our community of scholars, creators, and practitioners. This includes engaged learning, practical skills development, co-curricular experiences, research, and service. Key strategies include the following.

  • Students First. Prioritize our students’ best interests in all that we do including teaching, student care, individualized attention, understanding, skills development, and careers.
  • Every Employee is an Educator. Every TUJ employee plays a vital role in student success and should focus on students and exceptional service. Provide every staff, faculty, and administrator with the tools necessary to succeed in their efforts to support students.
  • Quality Academic Experience and Innovative Teaching. Enhance the way we teach and engage students through innovative teaching while continuing to provide the benefits associated with a liberal arts education. Offer an educational experience from quality faculty engaged in their field. Developing strengths and excellence while assisting students in achieving their potential.
  • Global Campus, Global Community. Foster an open-minded, positive, inclusive, and thriving community that forges a deep sense of belonging, facilitates engagement, cultivates mutual respect, and enables personal growth. Also, seek to uplift and serve the surrounding community.

Strategic Recommendations

Develop concrete plans and focus resources on achieving the above goals. Areas of focus might include: increasing our graduation rate; providing every educator with the tools necessary to succeed in their work; digitization and streamlining; fulltime faculty hiring; strengthening our adjunct faculty system; enhancing programmatic assessment; adding opportunities to build community on campus, transcend cultural borders, and serve the Setagaya City and Tokyo community; continuing efforts to maintain a diverse and global student body; seeking ways to introduce more hands-on learning into the classrooms; bridging our majors and programs with career pathways; and fostering professional development.

Goal #2: Global-ready Students

TUJ specializes in preparing global-ready students through its curricula, activities, and relationships while fostering a climate of interaction, openness, and collaboration. Key strategies include the following.

  • Internationally-minded Curriculum. Integrating global and Japan-related components into courses, programs, activities, and degrees with the objective of increasing cultural competency and the understanding of issues impacting people from around the world.
  • Essential Skills and Career Readiness. Offer opportunities to develop critical skills in today’s workplace and interconnected world including leadership, communication, problem-solving, teamwork, collaboration, organization, and other interpersonal skills.
  • Career Pathways. Dedicate more programming, training, and resources toward career readiness and the development of internships, externships, and careers.
  • Language Enhancement. Strengthen our language offerings so that non-native English speakers have greater fluency in English and non-native Japanese are proficient in Japanese.
  • Community Involvement. Seek deeper connections with the local community and government to generate opportunities for our students to engage, serve, and network.
  • Values. Advance important values both inside and outside of the classroom including respect, kindness, integrity, accountability, and excellence.

Strategic Recommendations

Develop concrete plans and focus resources on achieving the above goals. Areas of focus might include: a new leadership program for incoming students; entrepreneurial programming and activities; new initiatives for improving language learning; exploration of new post-graduate, BA/MA executive, and lifelong learning programs; more career-focused training and opportunities for students (traditional, entrepreneurial, etc.); collaborative efforts, double degrees, and joint programs for students, staff, and faculty with Japanese universities; and community involvement.

Goal #3: Versatility

To enhance our mission and prepare for the future, TUJ can refresh its academic, operational, and financial models. Key strategies include the following.

  • Growth. Expand our student body such that the resulting increase in resources helps support students, career pathways, teaching, programming, research, service, and talent retention.
  • Sustainability. Adapt to meet market demands and industry needs while ensuring that all degree and non-degree programs are self-sustainable. Invest in our stronger programs.
  • Reduce Financial Barriers for Students. Improve transfer processes, reduce barriers that inhibit success or delay graduation, and strive to keep education affordable.
  • Staffing. Foster an open and collaborative environment that attracts and retains a talented and diverse workforce.
  • Telework. While ensuring exceptional service, shift to more telework so as to conserve resources, improve employee work-life balance, and repurpose space to accommodate growth.
  • Additional Pathways to Excel in Japan. Continue working to improve our position within Japan by addressing matters such as recognition and taxation.

Strategic Recommendations

Develop concrete plans and focus resources on achieving the above goals. Areas of focus might include: investing in specific areas of excellence, performance-based and project-based assessments; quicker admissions decisions and transfer evaluations; stacked and industry-recognized credentials; fiscal certainty and enhanced fundraising; support for faculty research and creativity; solutions to consumption and corporate tax issues; and seeking additional flexibility with respect to the in-person course requirement for visa-sponsored students.

Goal #4: Innovation

TUJ will aim to innovate and adapt to ensure student success. Key strategies include the following.

  • Programming. Add distinctive programs and tap into emerging areas that serve students, lead to career opportunities, and interconnect Japan, Asia, and the world.
  • Online Course Offerings. Offer distinctive courses and programming online with sufficient support that will serve students from around the world and facilitate their success. This is core to relevancy, diversification, and growth.
  • More Flexible Academic Calendar. Greater flexibility and innovation in scheduling to meet student preferences and needs.
  • Visibility. Adopt new ways to highlight TUJ and showcase the Temple advantage.

Strategic Recommendations

Develop concrete plans and focus resources on achieving the above goals. Areas of focus might include: student focus on innovation; offering distinctive online courses and an entire online degree; exploring the creation of an esports program including academic and extracurricular components; supporting faculty networking and outreach; assessing the viability of and developing new programs that are viewed as forward thinking and innovative in our market such as Japanese culture and animation; technology and media (gaming, digital media, cybersecurity, compliance, and graphic design); entrepreneurship and innovation; tourism and hospitality, and digital transformation; more flexible course formats and scheduling; and accelerated degrees or “PLUS” options (3+1 or 4+1 degrees).

Goal #5: Strength, Opportunity and Leadership through Collaboration

Through learning, discovery, and partnerships, we seek to transform lives and livelihoods. TUJ will strive to strengthen and create partnerships at every level that amplify our academic, economic, social, and cultural impact. Key strategies include the following.

  • Institutional. Achieving our mission requires a positive and productive working environment. Openness, regular communication, collaboration, and integration of services are critical. Also, we need to focus on creating stronger bridges between the student experience and post-graduation. Strengthening our alumni program through more effective touch points is also key.
  • Industry. Seek out partnerships with employers to meet their evolving talent and technological needs so that we can develop pathways and collaborations with industry.
  • Enhanced Interaction with Main Campus. Increase in-person interactions and virtual connections with the Main Campus that enable TUJ students to take advantage of an array of opportunities and programs across borders.
  • Enhanced Collaboration with Japanese Universities. Enhance our partnership with Showa Women’s University in terms of programs, initiatives, exchanges, and space while seeking to expand our work with Japanese universities in terms of teaching, research, degree programs, and extracurricular activities.
  • High Schools. Even greater cooperation with high schools through concurrent enrollment, special programs for students, and training/exchanges with faculty and administration.
  • Japanese Government. Work with the government to advance our mission in the areas of taxation, immigration, and collaborative projects.

Strategic Recommendations

Develop concrete plans and focus resources on achieving the above goals. Areas of focus might include: optimizing our organizational structure and operations to break down internal silos and facilitate collaboration; enhancing cooperative relationships with industry including internships, co-ops, and special programs that benefit organizations; increasing programming with Main Campus; building pipelines into TUJ or Main Campus graduate degrees; cross-list courses or offer joint online courses with other Temple campuses; serving as a springboard for Main Campus students, faculty, and researchers throughout Asia; nurture relationships with select universities in Asia---teaching, fieldwork, research, and other collaborations; developing special programs in cooperation with Japanese and other overseas universities; seek out opportunities to offer double degree programs, joint research opportunities, summer study abroad at TUJ, and other special programs; connecting our alumni with students to help mentor, guide, and direct them; and supporting higher education reform in Japan, especially internationalization.

April 2021