September Graduates | Hideyuki Tokuda (Dean, Graduate School of Media and Governance)
2005.03.25
At traditional universities, the term "graduation ceremony" means March. At SFC, however, entrance and graduation ceremonies are actually held twice a year, in March and September. The undergraduate graduation ceremony in March is held at Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall, and the graduate school commencement is held at the Mita West School Building Hall.
The smallest graduation ceremony at SFC was for the first class of students who entered in September. I have many memories from that time, partly because I was in charge of information processing for those September-entry students. Although they were students who had returned from overseas, they naturally had no problem speaking Japanese. However, when I told them they could write their final exam answers in English, several students did so. To my surprise, their handwriting was the amazing script I was so used to seeing during my time at CMU. They were probably more accustomed to thinking and writing in English. At the time, the September-entry students had no upperclassmen and were surrounded mostly by April-entry students; I think these students, who were in a sense a minority, persevered admirably. Regarding their paths after graduation, some went on to graduate school and others found employment, but the job-seeking group had a rather tough time. The industry one student wanted to enter was broadcasting, and to his dismay, the company he hoped to join did not have a system for September hiring. I remember that he had no choice but to intentionally delay his graduation by six months.
Back then, hiring practices in Japan were still lagging; those who found a job immediately after graduating from their undergraduate program were hired as "new graduates," while those with even a few months' gap were treated as "mid-career hires." Partly due to these circumstances, I recall that SFC established a framework allowing students to postpone their graduation. This was more than 10 years ago. I hope that companies that discriminate between March and September graduates like this no longer exist today, but I wonder if that is the case.
Conversely, some foreign-affiliated consulting firms, for example, allow new hires to choose their start date. Instead of having to start work in April no matter what, they can join the company at a time of their own choosing. This, in turn, requires them to decide how to be financially independent during the gap period between graduation and starting work. Whether they can spend this gap period effectively is up to them.
I trust that the first class of September graduates are now thriving in various fields. People like them, who challenged a new system and entered society at a new time, bear the destiny of transforming society. The words I sent to them upon their graduation were, without any hesitation, "Jiga-sakko" (Be a pioneer/Create the new era by oneself). SFC, which has led university reform, shares the very same destiny.
(Date Published: 2005/03/25)