Choose the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies! You Won't Regret It! — Tomohiro Ichinose, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies
2022.02.22
What are the "most important duties" of a university? A university is an educational institution, and there is no doubt that its most important job is education. However, entrance examinations are also extremely important for a university, and at SFC (and probably at other faculties of Keio University as well), they are considered the most important duty. We repeatedly explain this to new faculty members who join SFC. Why am I suddenly writing about this in the Okashira Diary? I am writing this Okashira Diary entry, which will be published on February 22, on February 18—yes, the day of the general entrance examination for the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies.
While I can't exactly give you a candid look into our entrance examinations here, just as prospective students have spent years preparing for this day, faculty and staff also go through a long preparation period leading up to the examination day. The Faculty of Environment and Information Studies and the Faculty of Policy Management have several types of entrance examinations, but in terms of the number of enrolled students, the main ones are the Admissions Office (AO) and general entrance examinations. Even if they are applying to the same faculty, prospective students likely prepare in completely different ways depending on the type of examination. The same is true for us. As for the general entrance examination, we focus on what kind of questions to create and on ensuring the smooth operation of everything from the day of the exam to the subsequent grading.
The kind of questions we ask reflects the faculty's stance and the type of students we are looking for. Creating the questions requires a tremendous amount of energy. Who creates the entrance examination questions is a top secret, not only before the exam but also after it has finished. On the other hand, once the examination is held, the questions are widely released to the public. We then wait with trepidation for the reactions, from prospective students' comments on social media to analyses and critiques by prep schools.
Perhaps it's a culture unique to SFC, but the entrance examination questions, including the short essay which can be considered the face of the general entrance examination, and other test subjects, often become a topic of heated debate among the faculty. While we hope to hear that this year's questions had a good perspective, a lively and frank discussion sparks among the faculty, with comments ranging from the difficulty level—whether it was too easy or, conversely, too difficult—to harsh opinions suggesting that our "sense" might be questioned for posing such problems as the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies. We consider this a very important opportunity for faculty development. In other words, we continuously discuss what kind of students we want and what we should be attuned to.
By the time this Okashira Diary entry is published, the entrance examinations will be over, and it will be our turn to wait anxiously to see if the successful candidates will choose our faculty for their studies. To all successful candidates: please choose the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies! I promise you won't regret it!