A must-read for those involved with private universities: How to create a prestigious university with a high deviation score

With the arrival of the ' era of universal university admission ,' in which the total number of applicants falls below the total number of admissions quotas at all universities, universities have been forced into fierce competition for survival.However, it appears that there is a way to create 'prestigious universities' with high standard deviation scores.

If universities reform in this way, they may be able to survive the competition for survival among themselves.

Details are as follows.
・Universities that survive = universities with high deviation scores

When talking about universities, one important factor is the ' standard deviation (academic ability deviation value) .' Standard deviation values are published in the form of rankings and are used as an indicator to measure the ability of each university, and play a major role for students about to take university entrance exams.

Furthermore, most students do not have a definite goal for entering university, such as 'I want to study XX at XX University,' but rather have a vague idea such as 'I want to enter XX faculty,' so if they are accepted into both XX faculty at University A and XX faculty at University B, they tend to choose the university with the higher deviation score (higher ability) , and it is no exaggeration to say that the deviation score of that university will determine their future destiny. This is where the need to raise the deviation score comes in.

・How to improve your deviation score

As you can see, deviation scores play a major role for both students and universities, but how can you improve your deviation score? We will explain how.

1. Make the most of your recommendation slots

According to the notice from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology shown below, each university is now allowed to admit up to 50% of its enrollment quota through recommendation quotas, including students who have been transferred from their affiliated high schools.

Guidelines for university admissions selection for 2004 - Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

2. With regard to the number of students to be admitted through recommendation to a university, including those admitted through recommendation from an affiliated high school of a private university, each university shall appropriately determine the proportion of the number of students to be admitted to each faculty, department, or other admission unit within the admission quota, with 50% as a guideline.

Therefore, actively filling recommendation slots by expanding affiliated schools and partnering with surrounding high schools not only helps to increase the competition rate and deviation value by making the general entrance exam slots 'narrow gates,' but also allows for the securing of a stable supply of students by buying up young talent and locking them in, killing two birds with one stone.

It is with this in mind that many private universities in the Tokyo and Kansai regions are not only establishing affiliated high schools, but alsoestablishing affiliated elementary and junior high schools , and merging with nearby high schools to form affiliated schools .

2. Improve the entrance examination system

As noted in Yoyogi Seminar's 'Entrance Exam Difficulty Ranking Table' shown below, the standard deviation used to compare the deviation values of each university is basically the deviation value of the main 'three-subject' entrance exam schedule, excluding special selection methods.

Please read first Yoyogi Seminar

In addition, special selection methods (such as methods B and C and selection using the National Center Test for University Admissions) are excluded.

Therefore, introducing a variety of entrance examination methods, such as entrance examinations based on the National Center Test for University Admissions, the two-subject ``○○ method,'' the English-focused ``×× method,'' the mathematics-focused ``□□ method,'' etc., and allocating more seats to these methods, while intentionally reducing the number of seats available on the entrance examination dates that are the subject of deviation value comparison, is also effective in raising deviation values.

In addition, allowing students to take the exam multiple times will increase its popularity among applicants and is expected to increase application fee revenue, which is an important source of income for private universities.

In other words, if the admission capacity is 1,000 students, 500 can be admitted through recommendation, 400 of the remaining 500 can be admitted through a special entrance examination method, and the remaining 100 can be selected through an entrance examination method that allows for comparison of deviation values.This means that, unlike simply reducing the number of students admitted to create a ``narrow gate'' and raising the deviation value, it is possible to create a ``prestigious university with an (apparent) high deviation value '' while maintaining the number of students that is the basis for school management.

However, in this case, there is a possibility that a large difference in academic ability will occur between students at the same university, so if a decline in students' academic ability becomes an issue, it may be a good idea to gradually abolish the special entrance examination method, citing reasons such as 'reflection over excessive entrance examination reforms' or 'concerns about a decline in academic ability.'