The "Grand Design for Higher Education towards 2040 (Report)" by the Central Council for Education emphasises the promotion of student-centred pedagogy in higher education. It also highlights the importance of disclosing the quality and outcomes of education. In various foreign countries, university- or nation-wide student surveys have been conducted, and the data has been utilised for educational improvement and institutional accreditation. Although various efforts and investigations have been conducted by individual universities in Japan thus far, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) recognises the absence of a nationwide data collection system and the lack of data from a student perspective. Therefore, MEXT initiated the implementation of a nationwide student survey from the 2019 fiscal year, aiming to contribute to the improvement of university education, societal understanding, and policy development. Our university has been participating in this survey since its first trial implementation. For more details about the survey, please refer to the following link (https://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/koutou/chousa/1421136.htm).

　This report presents the tendencies of responses from our university students, specifically addressing ten items in response to the question, "How much were the following items included in the classes you have taken since entering the university?" in comparison with the national university trends (this report covers only five of the items). Learning patterns differ depending on the field of study and personal attributes, and while these results do not indicate individual learning tendencies, they may provide some useful insights for policy formulation regarding our university's educational activities.

　The target students at our university (second- and final-year undergraduate students) amounted to 5,215 individuals, of which 1,213 cooperated by providing their responses (response rate: 23.3%). A total of 72 national universities, 80 public universities, and 430 private universities participated, yielding responses from a total of 112,341 students.

　The significance and necessity of learning content of the courses have generally been explained, and classes have been designed with certain ingenuity. Referring to the two graphs below, it appears that our university's students, in comparison with other universities, recognised that the significance and necessity of the subject matter of the courses were explained, and that they expressed motivation to further explore the learning content.　

　Furthermore, by examining the following graph, it can be inferred that our university's instructors made certain efforts to facilitate students’ understanding in the classes.

　The next graph illustrates the responses of students regarding whether clear guidelines and suggestions were provided for autonomous learning activities such as preparation and review. By observing the tendencies in these responses, we may gain insights into the potential for future improvements in our university's pedagogical activities. When considering students’ responses that include "often" and "to some extent," the tendencies align with those of all national universities. However, solely considering responses of "often," our university falls below the overall response tendencies of any university types. Understanding students’ expectations towards instructors and learning goals between instructors and students is essential elements for enhancing educational outcomes. By clearly communicating the expectations of instructors regarding out-of-class learning activities to students, the quality of our university's educational activities may be further enhanced.

　It seems that our university actively utilises Teaching Assistants (TAs). As shown in the graph below, the vigorous contributions of our university's TAs can be inferred in comparison to all other university categories. Our university has established the Hirodai TA system (https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/capr/ta) and has been actively striving for the improvement of educational activities. This initiative is recognized by students, and many students acknowledge TAs’ supportive roles for their learning.

　This report has presented the tendencies of responses for five out of the ten items in relation to the question, "How much were the following items included in the classes you have taken since entering the university?" In the next report, we will provide an overview of students' perception regarding assignment recognition and the presence of English-taught classes.