The Renovation of Higher Education Governance in Vietnam and its Impact on the Teaching Quality at Universities

Abstract

Significant changes in the policies of higher education in Vietnam have changed the structure and governance of the system since the mid-1990s. The most commonly agreed-upon positive outcome of the governance renovation process is that the formation of a nationwide quality assurance scheme, which is stimulated by accreditation, in the higher education system has been putting higher education institutions (HEIs) under pressure to ensure a threshold quality level, to be accountable for their performance, and to develop internal quality assurance. The external assessment of higher education quality in Vietnam has had an impact on quality management and on improving conditions for teaching and learning. However, the governance renovation will not help enhance the quality of higher education continuously unless it provides HEIs with incentives to start initiatives.

Keywords:

• governance
• higher education policy/development
• quality
• management
• assessment/evaluation
• funding—state higher education

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Professor Dr. Barbara M. Kehm, Peter M. Kretek, Christian Schneijderberg, and Dawn Nichols for their comments on different versions of the manuscript, and to the participants in interviews for sharing valuable information. I am particularly indebted to the Vietnamese government for providing financial support for my doctoral study, which sets the ground for the production of this paper.

Notes

1. In Vietnam, official documents are very careful about the use of the words “renovation” and “reform”. Reform means a comprehensive and radical change, so mainstream information channels often use the word “renovation” to reflect changes on political, social, and economic lines.

2. .The stratification of HEIs in Vietnam is organized into three main layers: key universities, universities, and colleges. A key university is chosen by the Cabinet and receives more public funding. It is characterized by provision of crucial study disciplines with high quality and capacity to undertake basic research. As a result, a key university is often an elite and research-oriented HEI. National universities belong to the layer of key universities. According to Education Law 2005, a university offers college and university education. The provision of master and doctoral education is assigned by the Cabinet when the university fulfils certain training conditions. A college offers college education.