Student affairs for the 2023-2024 school year: Innovation, creativity and understanding learners

On behalf of Hanoi National University, there were the participation of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai - Deputy Director, Dr. Nguyen Minh Truong - Deputy Head of Student Affairs Department.
On the side of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, there was the participation of Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Party Secretary, Principal of the school, along with teachers in the Board of Directors, leaders of 17 training units, leaders and specialists of the Student Affairs and Student Affairs Department and related functional departments. In particular, the Conference attracted 150 teachers who are academic advisors and homeroom teachers who are directly involved in the management, support and care of students at VNU-USSH.
In particular, the Conference was attended and shared by consultants from the University of Foreign Languages, who are also members of the VIBE Project of VNU.
Student affairs is the core task of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Speaking at the opening of the Conference, Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan said that the Conference on Student Affairs in 2023 has many new points, in which the important point is that the student affairs are considered a key task by the school in its activities. This activity has received the consensus and support of the entire school apparatus with a staff of up to 180 people including leaders, lecturers, academic advisors at training units and leaders and staff at functional departments. Moreover, the career guidance, care and support work of VNU-USSH has received the attention and support of VNU leaders and functional departments, and member universities have a lot of experience in this activity. Principal Hoang Anh Tuan emphasized that from a management perspective, the school's Board of Directors thoroughly grasps the policy of implementing student affairs to bring the best values ​​to students, not only creating favorable conditions for the process of equipping knowledge and professional skills, but also creating a good environment for training moral qualities, personality, manners and lifestyles for students. "Taking care of students is "of utmost importance" because students are the general measure of the quality of an educational institution, the index that constitutes the reputation and ranking of a university, and the current and future human resources for society. More than anything, students for the school are the financial resources of any educational institution" - Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan affirmed.
To effectively implement the above policy, the school is gradually implementing it synchronously, scientifically, and consistently in all policies and actions. In particular, the content needs to pay attention to the "personalization" factor of the learner. For each generation of students, the school needs to have policies and actions appropriate to the age and psychology of the generation to avoid conflicts. Each teacher needs to face the reality of having to adapt to the new generation of students, so the perspective on caring for students also needs to be renewed.
Principal Hoang Anh Tuan hopes that the Conference will evaluate the achievements that have been made, thereby identifying new requirements, new challenges and providing effective solutions to innovate and create in supporting learners. “Dare to do, dare to accept, look straight, speak the truth, this will be the “Dien Hong Conference” that changes the color of VNU-USSH in the coming time” – Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan shared. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai - Vice President of Hanoi National University highly appreciated the determination of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in innovating student affairs, learning from practical experiences of universities that have achieved many achievements in this activity.
Recounting real stories about students' approaches to learning and personal capacity building activities, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai emphasized that the field of social sciences and humanities is playing an important role in the development of society, especially in the context of the world undergoing many strong changes in technology. Teachers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in particular and universities in general need to innovate modern teaching methods to keep up with the global digitalization trend.
The mission of scientists, lecturers, especially teachers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - the leading university in Vietnam in training and research in the field of social sciences and humanities - is not only to meet the direct needs of students but also to guide them towards a sustainable vision for the future.

Each teacher is an "ambassador" bringing the school's brand and training quality to students and society.
In the Report entitled “Current situation and difficulties in supporting and caring for learners”, Dr. Dinh Tien Hieu - Deputy Head of the Student Affairs Department identified that the current generation of students has many advantages. They are enthusiastic, dynamic, creative, oriented towards global values, and are also a generation that always wants to be recognized, to be valuable people in life, to express themselves, to individualize and have strong opinions.
In March 2023, the School organized a conference with the right theme "Management, care, and support for learners", with many valuable contributions on the psychological characteristics of Gen Z students (Dr. Truong Quang Lam), experience in supporting the connection between students and businesses (Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Chi), and ways to promote comprehensive resources in student affairs (Dr. Nguyen Thi Nam Hoang).
The conference was held in Ba Vi on August 25 and 26 with the theme "Management, consultation, care, and support for learners" once again affirming the consistent, thorough, and drastic viewpoint of the School in innovating the field of student affairs. Over the years, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has constantly innovated the content and form of management activities, care and support for students and has achieved many encouraging results, ensuring the rights and obligations of students during their study at the school, in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training and Hanoi National University.
Political and ideological education, student rewards and discipline, administrative work and policy implementation, scholarship consideration, internal and external budget scholarships, health insurance for students, student training and assessment, etc. are carried out seriously, systematically, in accordance with procedures, regulations and rules.
The school's management and student affairs staff have made great efforts. Many innovative initiatives in the Student Integration Week at the beginning of the year, the implementation of the One-Stop Administrative Procedure Support Portal Project, the Online Job Portal, and the organization of Job Fairs, the organization of a series of career orientation seminars: "Skills to conquer employers", "Master CV - Secrets to writing CV from the perspective of employers", "Bachelor of History - Cultural Studies: Application opportunities from the basic foundation", ... have initially shown an important shift towards support, care, service, and services.
However, besides the above achievements, student affairs at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities are facing many difficulties and challenges.
Student affairs is one of the core tasks of the University, spanning many areas of work, including education and training, propaganda, management, services, consulting, career guidance, support, and comprehensive care for the material and spiritual lives of students both inside and outside the classroom, to ensure the goals of higher education.
Although the team of homeroom teachers and academic advisors have made great efforts, a small number of homeroom teachers and academic advisors have not fully grasped the regulations and rules to guide students, and professional advice (on majors, course registration, etc.) is still limited. The lack of a regular schedule for homeroom teachers and academic advisors to regularly participate in class activities with students also significantly affects the interaction, connection, sharing and support of learners. In addition, many issues related to the school's regulations and rules on student management such as assessment of training scores, rewards, discipline, health insurance, civic activities, scholarships, etc. require academic advisors to have professional skills, and to spend time carefully studying documents and updating information.
The process and coordination methods for student affairs between the student affairs department and related departments have not yet been effective in meeting their potential; the facilities and quality of support services, care for students' material and spiritual lives, especially psychological counseling and school social work, counseling and career guidance for students have not kept up with changes in the actual situation, and there are not many effective solutions to improve students' employability after graduation... The dropout rate in some majors is still high.
A number of students are overprotected by their families, so they are “narcissistic” and rarely participate in group activities. A proportion of them are afraid of difficulties, do not dare to take risks, and are strongly influenced by social networks, have poor concentration, and are easily distracted. Therefore, teachers who work with students need to understand the characteristics of the generation, listen to and share their feelings and emotions in order to have appropriate approaches and support. Proposing some solutions to improve the work of supporting and caring for students, Dr. Dinh Tien Hieu emphasized that the work of supporting and caring for students is the responsibility of all teachers in the school. Each teacher and staff is an ambassador bringing the image, brand, and training quality of the school to students and society. The proposed solutions include: Coordinating/connecting student work between the school and units so that students are supported and cared for in a humane environment, rich and diverse in operating models; Increasing the organization of extracurricular activities to improve skills and increase connectivity for students.

The core of student affairs is to bring the best value to learners.
The conference received sharing from lecturers and experts from the University of Foreign Languages, VNU with reports on the topic "Learner psychology and values ​​that can be provided to learners" presented by Dr. Dao Thi Dieu Linh - Head of the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Foreign Languages, a member of the VIBE Project; Report "Developing empathy skills and emotional intelligence in staff working in student affairs" presented by Dr. Dao Thi Dieu Linh and Dr. Ta Nhat Anh; Report "Sharing experiences in management, support and care for students at ULIS" presented by MSc. Khoa Anh Viet - Deputy Head of Student Affairs & Politics, University of Foreign Languages, a member of the VIBE Project.    
Dr. Dao Thi Dieu Linh emphasized that what teachers bring to students is not only knowledge but more importantly, values ​​to develop their personal capacity as well as humanistic values. The more innovative and creative the student affairs are, the more value they bring to learners, which will also bring sustainable development to the school.
Sharing lessons learned from the practical work of students at the University of Foreign Languages, VNU, MSc. Faculty of English - Deputy Head of the Department of Student Affairs and Politics said that in addition to the school's strong policy, this activity needs the support and assistance of the students themselves. Bringing students directly into this activity as collaborators is an effective solution that the University of Foreign Languages ​​has implemented and achieved encouraging results.
The report contents received enthusiastic discussions from teachers from training units and functional departments of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU. Some specific solutions were proposed at the Conference to improve the quality of management activities, career guidance, support and care for learners.    
VNU-USSH's drastic solutions to improve the quality of student affairs
Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong - Vice Principal of the school emphasized that, facing the fierce challenges of competition in higher education, and the increasingly open training and education environment, improving the quality of training services, enhancing support activities, care, service, and creating satisfaction for learners, is an inevitable trend of modern university management, in line with the standards of advanced universities in the region and the world. Vice Principal Dang Thi Thu Huong said that in order to improve the efficiency and professionalism in student affairs at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in the coming time, the University will focus on a number of key solutions:
Firstly, change awareness, approach, organization and implementation of student affairs activities, transforming from a student management model to a model of consulting, caring for and supporting learners.
The core of student affairs is the Student Affairs Department and Student Affairs Department, the team of teachers, homeroom teachers and student affairs officers, but it is also the shared responsibility of all staff, lecturers, civil servants and workers in the whole school. From the green, clean and friendly landscape environment, ensuring good learning conditions, to the smiles of the security guards and janitors, to the professionalism of the teachers in charge of student affairs, to the dedication and standards of the teaching staff, ... all contribute significantly to the student affairs of the school.
Second, complete one more step on the document system according to the requirements of quality improvement, enhance the quality of management activities, care and support for learners.
Review, adjust, and issue documents guiding the work of academic advising and class leaders. Review, adjust, and update the Student Handbook, adjust regulations on scholarships for 9 basic science majors, scholarships from sponsoring units and individuals, research and issue regulations on cooperation with businesses; review, adjust the admission process, improve the process of evaluating training scores, innovate the activities of the Integration Week, as well as Dialogues with students, etc. in the direction of serving learners.
Third, further enhance the professionalism of the staff specializing in student affairs, innovate academic advising work at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Innovate the activities of the Youth Union and Association, linking student affairs with the work of the Youth Union and Association.
Fourth, apply information technology to make student management work scientific, reasonable and highly effective. Build a hotline to receive student feedback. Arrange a fixed time each month for homeroom teachers/training staff to meet directly with the student class they are in charge of.
Fifth, strengthen connections with employers and alumni to increase cooperation opportunities, promote school development, and especially search and connect job opportunities for students in the school.
Sixth, promote communication about students' responsibilities and rights, as well as the School's innovative activities in advising, caring for, and supporting learners.
Some photos at the Student Affairs Conference for the 2023 - 2024 school year: