Photo/Illutration Students take a unified university entrance exam that some private universities use when making acceptance decisions. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

For the first time ever, more than half of Japan’s private universities were unable to fill their enrollment quotas for the school year that began in April.

The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan released the results of its study on Aug. 30, with 600 educational institutions disclosing this academic year’s enrollment figures.

Of those who responded, 53.3 percent, mainly smaller private universities, said they fell short of their enrollment goals.

The percentage of private universities failing to meet their enrollment quotas has been rising since the late 1990s alongside a decline in the number of 18-year-olds.

Private universities depend on student tuition for about 80 percent of their revenue, meaning that not having enough students directly affects their financial standings.

One private university in Hyogo Prefecture only had 76 percent of its spots for this year’s freshmen class filled. It plans to change its admission policy and hand out acceptances before the end of the year so that 80 percent of the spots can be filled.

Normally, private and public universities make admission decisions for the next school year between January and March.

A total of 155 private universities said they filled less than 80 percent of their enrollment quotas.

Between the 2017 and 2020 school years, the education ministry began cutting government subsidies to private universities that exceeded a specified amount of their enrollment quotas.

That led to a decrease in the ratio of private universities that failed to fill the quotas.

But the fallen birthrate and tighter financial household conditions has meant prospective college students are applying to fewer institutions. This has led to more private universities being unable to fill their quotas.

The education ministry is placing a budget proposal for the next fiscal year to develop a computer program that would help private universities contemplating a cooperative partnership or merger find suitable partner institutions.

Osamu Kondo, a senior researcher in the research and development sector of the Kawaijuku cram school group, said the education ministry relaxing enrollment controls has led some large private universities to greatly exceed their quotas.

That, in turn, means smaller private universities that in the past took in those who failed to be admitted to the larger universities no longer have such individuals to enroll.

“Universities with weaker name recognition will have to work even harder to differentiate themselves from other institutions,” Kondo said.

(This article was written by Chika Yamamoto and Senior Staff Writer Fumio Masutani.)

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