Educational System of Oriental Medicine in the U.S.A / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

Although many individuals in Japan believe that the general compulsory education system in the United States is solely defined as 6 years for Elementary School, 3 years for Junior High School, and 3 years for High School this is not the case there are a number of variations; moreover, the Federal Government requires that children undergo education up until 16 years of age. There is also an alternative to the traditional school structure, referred to as the “home schooling system”. Private colleges are generally approved by the state, and then undergo an “accreditation” process which is not an absolute requirement; however, for practical purposes it is socially required. This is because accredited schools and colleges may be allowed to offer student loans and provide documentation for student visas. The purpose of “accreditation” is to carry out the “self-evaluation process” and to obtain advice from a third party regarding the development of the organization. The operational systems in schools and colleges in the United States are not the same as they are in Japan. In particular, in the U.S. publicly owned not-for-profit organizations should be governed by the Board of Directors for the public benefit, and precisely for this reason the Chairman may not legally assume the positions of CEO and/or CFO simultaneously; the board members should be fairly selected from the public and should not consist solely of acupuncturists; and gender and/or racial discrimination is not to be tolerated. The mission and purpose of the school or college should be objectively and clearly delineated. The course syllabus should be objectively described in case students transfer to another institution. The Accreditation organization suggests the weak points of the College in detail in order to encourage the development of the College. The main fo-cus of the self-study and accreditation process is the governing system, each operational process, the educational system, and the financial condition of the institution. Although “accreditation” is an ideal system, it requires tremendous energy, extensive time, and financial resources. Simultaneously, a feed back system for each process or aspect of the institution is absolutely essential; however, the U.S. educational system is not always superior to the Japanese school system. The “accreditation system” may occasionally be over-influenced by popularity factors, especially in respect to the “student evaluation system”, that is the system in which the students perform evaluations of the institution.