ENGINEERING BULLETIN

More than 40 percent of the national universities are warming to the University of Tokyo plan to shift the start of the undergraduate academic year from spring to fall, a survey found.

Major private institutions, including Waseda University, Keio University and Ritsumeikan University, have also shown willingness to ponder the move, which a University of Tokyo panel recently advocated to bring the system in sync with international norms.

The survey, conducted by Kyodo News between Monday and Wednesday, covered the presidents of all 81 national universities except the University of Tokyo and graduate schools unaffiliated with universities, as well as 12 major private universities. The response rate was 100 percent.

The University of Tokyo, known locally as Todai, has called on nine other national universities, including Kyoto University and Hokkaido University, as well as Waseda and Keio, join it in shifting the academic year and said it will set up an organ in April to facilitate coordination.

Of those 11 universities, only Kyoto did not express a willingness to participate, making it highly likely that coordination will start in April.

Kyoto University did not answer the survey questions directly and only said it would review the timing of enrollment together with ways to conduct its admission examinations.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda welcomed the University of Tokyo's initiative at a government meeting Wednesday.

photo: University of Tokyo

full text of the news: The Japan Times