On the morning of September 24, 2019, within the framework of the UK-Vietnam Higher Education Network, the British Council in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training and the National Economics University, University Cardiff Metropolitan and the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), UK, organized an international workshop: “Quality assurance to build a reputation and a national cooperation mechanism for joint training program quality assurance.
Attending the Conference, from the Ministry of Education and Training, there were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy - Deputy Director, Department of Higher Education; Assoc.Prof. Dr. Mai Van Trinh - Director of Quality Control Department. On the British Council Vietnam side is Ms. Hoang Van Anh - Director of Education and Social Programs. From the National Economics University, there were Assoc.Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Chuong - President; with representatives of departments and socio-political organizations in the whole school; leaders of Vietnamese and UK universities; policymakers, domestic and foreign scientists.
In Vietnam in recent years, joint training has been no longer a new form of education, especially with undergraduate education. Currently, there are many higher education institutions in countries like Vietnam that wish to provide high-quality training programs or joint training programs with foreign education institutions and vice versa, international higher education institutions are also eager to provide their training programs abroad through training cooperation with local higher education institutions. However, how to implement quality assurance, management and quality improvement is a matter of great concern in the context of internationalization of higher education with many programs and joint training program models in Vietnam.
Along with that, joint training is a trend in East Asian countries. In 2017/2018, there were about 149,200 students attending UK-led joint training programs in East Asia, accounting for one-third of the number of students attending UK-affiliated programs globally. Ensuring the quality of training programs is an important factor related to the quality of graduates and the sustainability of the program. This is also a common concern of professional organizations and countries in the United Kingdom and East Asia to develop quality assurance mechanisms, recognition and accreditation steps to be understood and effectively applied in the system.
Speaking at the seminar, Assoc.Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Chuong - President of the University said that insurance and improvement in quality are increasingly important in the context of internationalization of higher education and in the implementation of joint programs. Many higher education institutions in countries like Vietnam want to provide high-quality training programs or joint training programs with foreign higher education institutions and vice versa, international higher education institutions offer their training programs abroad through collaborative training with local higher education institutions. In Vietnam, the UK ranked third in terms of joint training programs quantity, in which joint training programs between the National Economics University and UK universities in recent years have contributed to improving the quality of higher education as well as helping to improve the reputation and global competitiveness of Vietnamese education in general and the reputation of the National Economics University in particular. Not only that, with the aim of sharing the UK's best practices in the approach of ensuring, improving quality and discussing the direction to develop a joint quality assurance mechanism between the UK and Vietnam for joint training programs at national and school level, Assoc. The Rector hoped that the workshop would create an innovative platform to promote the internationalization of higher education in the fields of teaching and learning, research, innovation and promoting the participation of businesses and communities in Undergraduate education.
Aiming at the goal of 100% of higher education institutions being accredited by 2020, considering quality accreditation as an important solution to improve the quality of higher education, the Ministry of Education and Training is actively building tools with all criteria and standards to test non-traditional training programs such as distance training, joint training...; consolidate and invest resources for accreditation systems at universities, in which human resources are the most important.
In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training also focuses on training, fostering and improving professional skills for appraisal experts; encourage the establishment of private accreditation organizations which are independent of state management agencies and separated from schools, and at the same time have a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the quality of evaluation units.
At the seminar, through the presentations, discussions and seminars, the participants had an opportunity to better understand the process as well as the policies related to quality assurance not only in Vietnam, but also the opportunity to discover and learn about the UK quality assurance model through an overview of the UK Quality Framework and activities of Quality Assurance in the UK (QAA), as well as the possibility of cooperation between transnational quality assurance organizations between the United Kingdom and East Asia, including Vietnam, on joint programs.