The paper reviewed the concepts of university-centric higher education, grasped the comprehensive perspective of ‘tertiary education’ from the standpoint of educational programmes rather than institutions, and presented an ideal continuum that contrasts academic and vocational elements across dimensions of ‘purpose’, ‘method’ and ‘control’, ranging from liberal arts education to vocational training. This was applied to the political consequences of the proposal of a vocational-practical framework within the professional university. The importance of ‘permeability’ between different realms is emphasised as a quality in multidimensional tertiary education. National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) were compared as a tool to incorporate learning outcomes and vocational competencies. Notably, an NQF serves multiple purposes as a single policy tool, facilitating dialogue and coordination across various realms to achieve diverse goals in a chain-like manner. As an initial step towards a Japanese version of the NQF, the paper examined sectoral academic reference standards and vocational competence assessment standards. Through these investigations, it became clear that the Japan Association of Higher Education Research faces challenges of exploring perspectives from the centre to the periphery and vice versa in tertiary education.

　 The purpose of this paper is to clarify the development and challenges of the non-university sector in tertiary education in Japan, while paying attention to the international context. The non-university sector in tertiary education includes a wide variety of institutions and education providers, including universities, the non-university sector, and a “third sector” that is not captured by the above.　
　 For western countries, the driver of postwar higher education expansion has been the non-university sector, understood in relation to professional and vocational education as “alternatives” to traditional universities. In the case of Japan, on the other hand, the university sector was the driver of the expansion of tertiary education, not least because the postwar university system organized and integrated all tertiary institutions of higher education as universities. The non-university sector itself has experienced the inauguration of new types of schools in the postwar period, but the short-term non-university sector in particular has a three-way historical inertia and is “drifting” between academic (university) education and professional and vocational education. This drifting in the non-university sector could rightly be positioned as “frontier of tertiary education” rather than “alternatives” to universities.

　 This paper focuses on the professional and vocational university system introduced in 2019. After reviewing previous studies, we use two institutions as case studies to examine their educational programs and students’ approaches to first-year education. The institutions under scrutiny are X, which provides training for specific professional qualifications, and Y, which anticipates diverse professional training without specific qualifications.　
　 Both institutions share commonalities in their educational programs, such as offering specialized courses (Tenkai Kamoku) from the first year. However, while Institution X incorporates a significant number of mandatory courses directed towards specific professional qualifications, Institution Y offers a greater degree of flexibility with numerous elective courses for students to choose from. This difference stems from the types of professions they cultivate.　
　 The behavior of students choosing higher education varies between the two institutions, particularly in terms of whether students consider specialized training schools. More students from Institution X consider specialized training schools than those from Institution Y. Moreover, in Institution X, there is a greater proportion of students with clear future occupational prospects. Common to both institutions, the engagement in class and the evaluation of teaching and learning are influenced by the clarity of occupational aspirations.　
　 Recognizing this diversity is essential for establishing research on the professional and vocational university system in the future.

　 This paper aims to review the diversity of industry-academy cooperative education in tertiary education and its future growth potential. First, it elucidates the distinguishing features of industry-academy cooperative education in tertiary education, based on data, case studies, and other resources. Next, it reviews prior studies on industry-academy cooperative education, considering points such as the degree of development of industry-academy cooperative education and its details by tertiary educational institution and specialization. It finds that industry-academy cooperative education is more highly developed in practical, specialized fields and at specialized schools oriented toward occupational training than at academic research universities. It also considers the future growth potential of industry-academy cooperative education, showing a strong complementary relationship between industry-academy cooperative education in each country and not only its educational systems but also other factors such as labor markets and corporate HR development systems, making clear the importance of further study taking changes in these factors into consideration.

　 In response to the rapid changes in industrial structure and technological advancements, micro-credentials, which involve learning specific fields and demonstrating academic achievements, have gained attention, and initiatives are progressing in various countries. Micro-credentials enable diverse learning paths, allowing individuals to choose and learn from institutions both domestically and internationally. By selecting micro-credentials from such institutions, individuals can acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies, add them to their learning history, and apply them to employment or self-realization, potentially leading to further academic degrees. The key criteria for micro-credentials include transparency, assessment of learning outcomes, and quality assurance. The systematic promotion of micro-credentials requires the establishment of micro-credential frameworks and international mutual recognition. In Japan, the Micro-credential Joint Working Group was established in 2023 to develop and promote micro-credentials, engaging in the formulation of standards and international collaboration.

　 Let us assume that tertiary education development involves incorporating non-traditional learning opportunities into traditional higher education frameworks. If this is the case, understanding competency-based education (CBE) at the higher education level, which is being developed intermittently in the USA, may contribute to considerations related to tertiary education.
　 This paper primarily attempts to clarify the significance of CBE in US higher education, a kind of assessment method that does not necessarily require students to spend seat time, by examining the state of regulatory development related to CBE, which was revived in the United States, particularly during the 2010s, while focusing on the Experiment Sites Initiatives (ESI). Then, based on the results from national surveys of CBE programs, it traces the trends of CBE programs nationwide in the US, which appear rather static. Building on these findings, it examines a specific direct-evaluation model CBE program.
　 In conclusion, this paper highlights the need for leadership and centralized progress management in policymaking for the healthy development of tertiary education as the meeting point of traditional higher education and non-traditional learning. It also underscores the need to emphasize liberal arts in such developments of the tertiary education system to cultivate learners’ abilities as lifelong learners. Incorporating quantity and quality into liberal arts education in a flexible tertiary education system may help to foster public trust in this educational approach. In addition, it suggests the potential utilization of ESI in the higher education policy-making process.

　 This article aims to examine the assessment literacy of student engagement in internal quality assurance at universities in Sweden and to derive suggestions on what kind of assessment literacy students would be able to acquire when they engage in internal quality assurance at universities in Japan.　
　 Internationally, internal quality assurance at universities requires students to engage in educational evaluation. As subjects of their education, students are considered to have important roles in improving their learning outcomes and education programs at universities.　
　 Sweden has a long history of student engagement, and laws legally stipulate the role of student engagement. Taking Sweden as a case study, it would be possible to clarify what is required as assessment literacy for student representatives who are engaged in the internal quality assurance of universities. The role of student representatives as an influence on the quality assurance of university education is extremely important, and the assessment literacy of student representatives is developed by the government, universities, and students’ unions in Sweden. Higher Education Law refers to student engagement as “student influence” on improving education. Universities must provide students with opportunities to be engaged in internal quality assurance. Students have the right to be engaged in educational evaluation through program evaluation in an indirect way and to participate in internal committees as student representatives in a direct way. The article focuses on what is described as assessment literacy of student representatives in internal documents at universities.　
　 As a result of the case studies of three universities (Uppsala University, Stockholm University, and Göteborg University), the following are required as assessment literacy; knowledge of higher education and skills related to ‘discussion’, ‘preparation’, ‘reflection’, ‘assertiveness’ and ‘proactivity’.　
　 In Japan, it is also essential for the development of assessment literacy that students engaging in internal quality assurance reflect on their own learning outcomes, examine if educational content contributes to acquiring their learning outcomes, and try to give constructive opinions for improving education.