Lifelong Learning and Community Network

Volunteer student teachers help conduct classes, provide academic support and help out with club activities at elementary and junior high schools in the Tama region, where the students look on them affectionately as big brothers and big sisters. Each year, many student volunteers take part with motives varying from those aiming to be educators to those who enjoy working with children or are interested in volunteer activities. The chance to gain hands-on classroom experience is highly valuable for them.

Chuo University Crescent Academy is the University’s “open university.” It was established in December 1986 with the aim of offering useful educational services not only to currently enrolled students, but also to the public in the form of lifelong learning.

Crescent Academy offers foreign language conversation classes, sports coaching and interdisciplinary classes at the Tama Campus or the Surugadai Campus. In addition, Advanced Law for the Public class takes place at the Surugadai Campus, targeting to those of mid-career corporate legal division staff and corporate lawyers to attend.

Chuo University Community Lecture Events have the goal of benefiting society at large through academic achievements at Chuo University. They are hosted by the University and planned and administered by various branches of the Alumni Association. The target audience includes members of the general public and alumni (graduates), with Chuo University teaching staff lecturing on topics from current affairs or themes of strong local interest and exchanging opinions with the audience. With lecturers’ in-depth knowledge and expertise bringing new depth to familiar themes, the events are highly acclaimed among attendees, and help to maintain strong ties between the University and local communities.

Respecting fundamental human rights has always been an essential part of the Chuo University philosophy, with strong educational emphasis placed on cultivating awareness of the value of peace, freedom and human dignity. Both on and off campus, Chuo University maintains a basic stance of intolerance for discrimination in any form and, in addition to promoting human rights education that raises students’ awareness of the issues, the University has been offering lectures on human rights issues since 1985.

The Office of University Extension Center is composed of three divisions; publishing, insurance and student services, and makes positive contributions to the University’s finances through profit-making activities primarily focused on publishing.

With a distinguished history, the publishing division was established in 1948, and has the primary objective of making research findings accessible to the public. The division publishes a great number of quality textbooks and educational references each year, primarily in the form of specialist academic texts.

Chi no Kairo (Corridor of Knowledge), an educational program jointly produced with the cable TV station Hachioji Telemedia, was launched with a desire to introduce the local community to the Chuo University teaching staff and the research they are engaged in, and make a positive contribution to the community. As of March 2024, 157 episodes have been aired.

The program can be viewed on cable TV throughout Japan, and recently on the Web as well, through video-sharing sites such as YouTube and iUniv.

Chuo University stockpiles disaster relief supplies as part of its disaster preparedness efforts. In addition to stockpiling water, food, and temporary toilets (on the Tama, Korakuen and Ichigaya Tamachi campuses) the University has prepared water treatment equipment on the Tama and Korakuen campuses that can produce drinking water by purifying water from ponds and other sources.

The Tama and Korakuen campuses are designated as evacuation areas for a large region of Tokyo, and have entered into a Mutual Aid Agreement on Stockpiling and Provision of Disaster Relief Supplies with the city of Hachioji.