December 24, 2021

To all students

Information about AY 2022 Classes

The spread of COVID-19 beginning in 2020 has radically altered the environment surrounding education. In the 2020 academic year, due to the State of Emergency, Keio was not able to conduct face-to-face classes during the beginning of the Spring Semester. Even after the State of Emergency was lifted, many classes continued to be held exclusively online. For the 2021 academic year, approximately half of available courses had in-person components, and student life on campus began to gradually return to its pre-pandemic form.

Moving into the 2022 academic year, ① Students who have been subject to wide-ranging restrictions over the course of a two-year period will return, and classes and educational/research activities will be restored, to campuses, with the necessary measures to control infections remaining in place. ② An analysis was conducted comprehensively across Keio University on the advantages of online classes which have been accrued and demonstrated to date. As a result of careful consideration and taking into account the diverse educational goals and policies across Keio faculties and graduate school, Keio plans as an institution to have over 90% of course classes offered in person across its campuses.

In order for students to have peace of mind and enjoy their campus experience, Keio University has been continuing to prepare and enhance campus facilities by improving ventilation systems in classrooms throughout the 2021 academic year and generally working to implement infection prevention measures. Preparations have also been underway to make best use of the knowledge gathered over the last two years to create new styles of learning incorporating online spaces. We also plan to create new class formats that will combine in-person and digital elements based on their effectiveness towards improving students' education and academic excellence.

Each faculty and graduate school will be responsible for deciding how best to implement class formats for the educational and academic growth of their students. You can confirm specific details about a course's format (in-person, online, etc.) using class syllabi, etc.

Furthermore, Keio University plans to continue to provide systems for the many foreign exchange students unable to enter Japan due to the government's new measures for strengthening border control and other students with pre-existing health conditions or special circumstances unable to take in-person classes, to continue their studies.

Meanwhile, even though recent infection rates have been comparatively low, it remains difficult to predict the ongoing threat posed by variant strains of COVID-19, and thus more important than ever everyone follows infection control guidelines. Moving forward, Keio University will also be reviewing classroom capacities and other infection prevention measures for each of its campuses. We ask that all Keio students continue to pay close attention to and heed basic precautions related to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Furthermore, beginning in the 2022 academic year the undergraduate faculties have been notified that all undergraduate students who are enrolled at Keio University during 2022 must include no more than 60 credits of "distance learning" (online classes) to count towards graduation on their transcripts as determined by the "Standards for Establishment of Universities" released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) However, for online classes taken during the 2020 and 2021 academic years, such classes are considered special exceptions under COVID-19 prevention measures and thus will be exempt from the maximum credit limit. Further details will be announced in the Course Registration Guide for the 2022 academic year and similar resources. Please take them into consideration when planning your academic coursework.

More information about the start of classes for the 2022 academic year will be announced beginning in Mid-February and as necessity dictates.