This article by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Kim Son (Vice Rector) was presented at the scientific conference "Culture of Quality in Universities," held on October 20, 2011.
1. Culture of quality in universities
The importance of cultural concepts in education has increased since the 1990s and continues into the 21st century. One of the cultural concepts in education is "quality culture". There are different understandings of quality, for example: (1)
Quality is excellenceIn this view, high standards are valued. Quality must be the best, the most excellent. One can speak of something that is of quality and something that is of even higher quality. People often talk about improving quality, which means promoting excellence. Of course, everyone wants to do their best to achieve quality. But there is no country where all universities are excellent. Second understanding (2)
quality is suitability for the intended purposeWith this concept of quality, the question arises whether a particular university achieves the goals it sets. In this understanding, the concern is the quality of the processes. This concept of quality is geared towards development. But, does this approach guarantee quality if a university can set itself goals that are too low to achieve them easily? This means that we must not only discuss fit for purpose but also consider the suitability of purpose. The third concept (3)
Quality is added value.This concept emphasizes what happens to students. Of course, education is student-oriented. Accordingly, quality means added value for students in education and training. It is the method of producing learning outcomes and identifying achievements in graduating students. The basic question about quality would be: “What has that student learned in school?”. Concept (4) is
Quality is worth the money.This concept emphasizes competence. It measures output against input. This is the concept supported by governments. This concept is considered to be immeasurable in terms of customer satisfaction. Along with the rapid rise of the concept of "students as customers," quality is described as: "something is of quality when it meets customer expectations; quality is customer satisfaction." There are also many other concepts. Regarding the culture of quality, there are also many differing opinions. One definition asserts that...
A culture of quality is a system of organizational values that creates a conducive environment for establishing and continuously improving quality. *Based on this understanding of quality culture, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has been developing a new system of values to create an environment for establishing and improving quality. In practice, these values are becoming a cultural hallmark of the University.
2. Initial steps in building a culture of quality at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities
2.1. Building a culture of quality is closely linked to ensuring the quality of teaching and learning for both teachers and students.For a long time, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has affirmed...
Quality is the lifeblood of the school.Based on that, the school is transitioning.
University management takes university quality management as its core principle.. Imbued with Article 15 of the Education Law, it affirms: “
Teachers play a decisive role in ensuring the quality of education.The school has conducted evaluations of lecturers' teaching. While there were differing opinions at the beginning, this activity has now become well-established and a regular, continuous practice; a new cultural aspect is emerging. A new value is being affirmed. Specifically, the school has collected student feedback on the quality of teaching.
Foreign languages,Processing and finalizing the results of the foreign language teaching quality assessment.
46 lecturers.
- During the 2007-2008 school year,We have conducted a survey of students regarding the quality of lectures at
08 Departments:Oriental Studies, Psychology, Journalism, Tourism, Literature, International Studies, Archival and Office Management, Information and Library Science. Processing and completing quality assessment results.
47 lectures;Based on the feedback from 4077/4820 students currently enrolled (representing 92% of the total student body).
- School year 2008-2009:In the first semester of the 2008-2009 academic year, a survey of 2289 students evaluated 32 lectures given by lecturers in the following departments: Tourism, History, Journalism and Communication, Literature, Library and Information Science, and Political Science. In the second semester...
2008-2009A survey of 3526 students evaluated the lectures of lecturers from 8 faculties: Literature, International Studies, Linguistics, Tourism Studies, Sociology, Philosophy, Library and Information Science; Archival and Office Management. - Notably, in the 2009-2010 academic year, the University conducted a survey of student evaluations.
18,508Students evaluated the lectures of lecturers from 13 departments: Faculty of Journalism and Communication; Faculty of Tourism Studies; Faculty of Oriental Studies; Faculty of History; Faculty of Archival and Office Management; Faculty of International Studies; Faculty of Linguistics; Department of Political Science; Faculty of Psychology; Faculty of Sociology; Faculty of Management Science; Faculty of Philosophy; Faculty of Literature. The survey results show that the quality of teaching by lecturers in the university has improved each semester and each academic year. This can be seen in the results below:
|
School year |
overall school GPA |
| 1 |
2007-2008 |
3.80 |
| 2 |
2008-2009 |
3.95 |
| 3 |
2009-2010 |
4.13 |
2.2. Quality culture is closely linked to quality assurance in departments/majors/training programs.Today, program evaluation and university/college evaluation are present in most countries with higher education systems. Universities operate in an internationally competitive environment. Students can study at different universities; they can study at one university and then transfer to another. Therefore, standardizing the curriculum within a single field of study is an objective requirement of education. Over the years, the university's international cooperation activities have both expanded in scope and improved in quality. To develop training to meet social needs and international integration, the university has implemented Vietnamese Studies programs with universities in the United States, South Korea, China, and Japan in the form of certificate programs (courses ranging from 3 months, 6 months to 1 year) and bachelor's degree programs (using the 2+2 method). The number of foreign students enrolled in joint training programs has steadily increased, from 47 students in the 2003-2004 academic year to 350 students in the 2008-2009 academic year. In addition, approximately 250 foreign students annually study Vietnamese Language and Culture at the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, bringing the total number of students studying at the university in the 2008-2009 academic year to 650. The total number of self-funded foreign students over the three years (2005-2009) was over 1500. In the 2010-2011 academic year alone, the university collaborated with partners to organize short-term training programs for 682 foreign students. In addition, the university also focuses on internationalizing its training programs by opening joint master's degree programs such as Master of Organizational Management, Master of Developmental Psychology, and Master of Tourism Management, with degrees awarded by the University of Toulouse 2 (France). This form of postgraduate training has provided opportunities for the university's lecturers to access advanced teaching content and methods from abroad. The number of students enrolled in joint postgraduate training programs has steadily increased, from 21 students in 2007 to 83 students in the 2008 academic year. The science and technology management training program, in cooperation with Lund University, Sweden, has a total of 143 postgraduate students. To contribute to improving the quality of training and providing opportunities for faculty and students to access up-to-date information, the university proactively invited over 70 foreign experts to teach during the three years from 2006 to 2009. Students from the Oriental Studies and International Studies faculties often have the opportunity to study abroad. In the 2010-2011 academic year, the university received 851 international scientists and students to participate in conferences, scientific exchanges, internships, studies, and research. 138 faculty and student representatives from the University (121 faculty members and 17 students) were given opportunities and sent abroad for scientific exchange, conference attendance, research, and study. Following the plan of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is implementing an internationally recognized training program (16+23). This program, broadly understood, is a training program from prestigious foreign universities among the top 500 universities in the world, adapted to meet Vietnamese requirements. This raises the issue of mutual recognition of degrees. To achieve collaborative and joint training, academies and universities must establish a fundamental foundation of training programs that allow students to transfer credits within a country and across universities in the region and globally. Furthermore, program evaluation serves as a prerequisite for two other quality assurance activities: benchmarking and ranking. Program evaluation is also an objective internal requirement of each university within the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-Hanoi). The mission and objectives of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have been clearly stated, and the university must “
To become one of the leading centers for high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate training and scientific research within the system of training and research institutions; to create the foundations for catching up with the level of universities in advanced countries in the region and around the world in the next decade; to practically and effectively serve the cause of national construction and the development of the capital city.”The mission or task of a university must first and foremost be linked to its educational mission. Based on its mission and objectives, the university must define the goals in its training programs. From these training goals, training strategies are established, and these strategies are implemented. During the implementation of the strategy, issues arise that require revisions and improvements to the training programs to ensure their suitability. The purpose of these fundamental requirements is to ensure the university has an effective approach to fulfilling its mission. In the evaluation and planning process, the commitment to development and improvement plays a central role. The evaluation process is a continuous, cyclical process requiring flexibility, high connectivity, and rapid responsiveness, etc. Effective evaluation methods in the educational activities of universities include the evaluation of programs. It is closely linked to the decision-making process, including decisions about the financial planning of the institution. Although the above requirements must be met, not all aspects and elements of the system must be applied simultaneously or annually. However, activities within the unit's evaluation and planning system must be scheduled periodically. This is because the results of these evaluations can be used to develop unit development plans. Accordingly, the training process is closely linked to the evaluation process.
| Training |
Evaluate |
| The school's mission and training objectives, and strategy. |
Evaluate the requirements, objectives, priority objectives, mandatory objectives, and issues related to training objectives. |
| Design a training strategy that aligns with the school's objectives. |
Consider different training strategies, comparing training designs against benchmarks to assess the feasibility and likelihood of success of the designed strategies. |
| Implement training |
Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of training strategies and programs, identifying problems and reviewing needs, assessing whether the set objectives have been achieved... |
| The decision is made on whether to continue, shorten, or extend the training. |
Identifying current and emerging needs, highlighting the advantages of training, reassessing problems, and reconsidering needs to make training more effective. |
Evaluating training programs for the reasons mentioned above has become a requirement of objective reality to ensure the school's mission and objectives are met. Therefore, in addition to the high-quality Linguistics program being evaluated according to the requirements of the National University, the school is currently evaluating the training programs of four other majors:
- Tourism Studies
- History Department
- Archiving and Office Management
- International Studies
2.3. A culture of quality is closely linked to improving and enhancing the quality of training.The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has been evaluated and accredited. Following the evaluation, the University has based its corrective actions on the feedback from the external evaluation team; for example, in Standard 4 on training activities, the external evaluation team pointed out the following shortcomings of the University:
""Innovation in teaching methods has not been strong enough; grade management is not yet scientific."and made the following recommendation to the school:
“The plan to transition to a credit-based system is a good opportunity to expand innovation in teaching methods, especially active teaching methods; a consistent training management program is necessary within the school: data needs to be centralized and units can access it to obtain or update information.”
The school has implemented a solution to address the issue:
Transform the training method from a semester-based system to a credit-based system.The transition to a credit-based training system has facilitated the university's ability to establish linkages, partnerships, and credit transfers with foreign universities, as well as student exchanges based on mutual recognition of certain courses.
Innovating teaching methods:The innovation of teaching and learning methods among faculty and students at the University has been strongly and extensively implemented. Teaching according to the curriculum is a mandatory requirement for all lecturers teaching subjects at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. As mentioned above, in recent years, the University has paid special attention to and regularly organized student feedback sessions on lecturers' teaching activities, teaching methods, and a range of other related issues in most units.
Improving the inspection and evaluation process:The methods and procedures for testing and evaluation have also been diversified, ensuring continuity, seriousness, and objectivity in accordance with the training regulations; the invigilation and marking of all exams/tests are carried out rigorously; the forms of testing/testing have assessed the knowledge and skills of learners in each subject. Alongside the implementation of the credit-based training management software, issues related to the publication and storage of student academic results, diplomas, and certificates have also been improved in a more complete and clear manner. Student grades at the end of each semester and at the end of the course are announced promptly, accurately, and in accordance with regulations.
Enhancing innovation in training information:The university implemented a comprehensive communication plan regarding the credit-based training method among students; promoted active participation from academic advisors; and strengthened cooperation and exchange of training and credits with advanced universities worldwide, especially those in the US and Europe. In the years following accreditation, the university extensively and thoroughly applied the course syllabi; and planned for all lecturers to participate in teaching the courses they had developed and implemented.
Course materials/guidelines;Pilot program using the course website...
Conclude:Quality culture, evaluation, assurance, and accreditation in education is a relatively new field in Vietnam. Even in countries with developed education systems, this is still a highly debated area. In higher education, quality culture is simply understood as the thoughts, perspectives, and orientations of an individual or organization towards the quality of teaching and learning, aiming for continuously improving quality levels over time. It requires leaders, staff, lecturers, and employees in the institution to constantly reflect on how to improve teaching, learning, scientific research, and other aspects of work. Speaking of quality culture means speaking of evaluation and improvement. Continuous, step-by-step improvement helps each individual and organization develop a mindset of continuous improvement to achieve better quality. Evaluation and improvement, improvement followed by evaluation and improvement, form a quality cycle.
planningThe purpose, objectives, and steps involved in a task, from small to large scale.
performaccording to those plans,
testing and evaluationduring and after the implementation process,
actTo make changes and learn from experience in the implementation process. This cycle repeats itself for all school activities. This is the path to building a culture of quality in universities.
Note* Ahmed, SM (2008
): Quality Culture, College of Engineering & ComputingFlorida International University, Miami, Florida (Quoted from Nguyen Phuong Nga in
"Some aspects of a culture of quality in universities"- Report on the acceptance of the scientific research project (Code: QCL.09.01)
