Lakeland College

History of Lakeland College, Japan Campus

Lakeland College traces its beginning to German immigrants who settled in the Sheboygan area of Wisconsin in the 1840s. In 1862, a group of these immigrants established MissionHaus (Mission House), a combined academy and seminary. The school provided Liberal Arts education followed by traditional seminary training for students destined to become ministers. As the needs of the students changed, Mission House changed its purpose. By the end of the 19th century, the school developed strong programs in a number of disciplines.

Known simply at Mission House for 95 years, the College adopted the name Lakeland College in 1956. The era of Mission House had ended. Lakeland College used the inherited land and buildings to develop a liberal arts college.

In 1989, Lakeland College first considered opening a branch campus in Japan. Dr. David Black, who had experience at another university which had established a branch campus in Tokyo in 1988, was appointed president of Lakeland College. Dr. Black’s vision for Lakeland included developing the rurally located campus into a port-of entry to American higher education for international students and a port-of entry to the world for American students.

In 1991, the Board of Trustees approved Lakeland’s agreement with a consortium of two-year schools in Japan. Unfortunately the timing was bad. More than 40 American colleges and universities had started operating branch campuses in Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of them had financial problems and started to close. Lakeland also faced financial difficulties with its consortium partner. The situation became so bad that Lakeland decided to dissolve the relationship in 1995.

Lakeland, however, was not willing to abandon the Japanese campus. The campus had been visited by representatives of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1993 and was officially designated as an accredited branch campus offering an Associated of Arts degree (a two-year degree).

A student exchange program in which American students spent one or two semesters at LCJ was begun in 2003. This program was the first step in providing an international atmosphere among the student body at the campus in Japan.

After years of seeking similar benefits to Japanese universities in Japan, the U.S. government and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) entered serious discussions in 2004 on the government recognizing US universities in Japan. By this time, there were only four American institutions in Japan. In December 2005 MEXT recognized LCJ as a foreign branch campus. LCJ was the first private American institution of higher education to receive recognition from the ministry.

This new status offered the following benefits:

• LCJ had the authority to sponsor visas for foreign students
• LCJ students became eligible for student discounts on commuting passes from train and bus companies.
• Japanese universities could accept credits earned at LCJ if students wished to transfer to a Japanese university.

In 2006, the first international students were recruited to matriculate at LCJ on student visas sponsored by the school. Although a few American exchange students were allowed to attend LCJ on cultural visas, with LCJ’s ability to sponsor student visas, students from many countries became eligible to study at LCJ. The percentage of foreign students began to grow. By 2011, approximately 30 percent of the student body was non-Japanese, representing 25 different countries.

In an attempt to encourage community outreach, LCJ started in 2007 the Open College, a program to provide non-degree bearing courses to adult learners offered in the evening and on Saturdays. The associate dean of LCJ met with the mayor of Shinjuku to start a dialogue with the city government that same year and to express a willingness to wok more closely with the Shinjuku government.

LCJ moved from its cramped location to a larger building in terms of floor space in 2008. The size of the library was doubled for example.

In Fall, 2008, a team of inspectors visited LCJ from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools for reaccreditation. The team praised LCJ faculty and students for their dedication and hard work and approved accreditation for ten years for this site.

A free lecture series open to the general public was also started in 2008 as part of the school’s community outreach program.

LCJ began negotiations with Japanese universities to expand opportunities for its students in 2008. LCJ provided teachers for a new, all-English program at Hitotsubashi University, as part of a verbal agreement in 2010.

After two years of negotiations, LCJ signed a Letter of Agreement with the School of Global Studies, Tama University in November 2010. Under this agreement, LCJ and SGS students could take classes for credit at the corresponding institution. LCJ students who needed to stay in Japan after finishing their A.A. degrees could transfer easily to SGS to complete their B.A. degrees. Faculty development and exchange were also part of this agreement.

In December, 2010, the first non-Japanese students transferred to LCW after completing their A.A. degrees at LCJ.

In Fall 2011, the first group of LCJ and SGS students will begin taking courses at the corresponding institution, expanding the number of choices of courses for students at both institutions.

Lakeland College Mission