36 natl colleges eyeing autumn enrollment

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Thirty-six national universities are considering or will consider shifting their undergraduate enrollment from spring to autumn, according to a recent survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The universities that are considering or intend to consider autumn enrollment accounted for 49 percent of the 73 that returned valid responses to the survey.

All the 11 universities that are expected to join a University of Tokyo-led association on autumn enrollment said they would consider autumn enrollment.

Meanwhile, 30 universities, or 41 percent, said they would not consider autumn enrollment, while seven universities, or 10 percent, said they have not decided.

Some universities, including Tohoku University and Nagoya University, said they have already introduced autumn enrollment in some departments for international students and Japanese students returning from overseas.

However, many regional universities, teachers colleges and medical schools were cautious. One such university said autumn enrollment does not fit with Japanese society, and a teachers college said teacher training courses should match enrollment periods from kindergarten to high school.