Summary of training quality assurance work during the period 2006-2016

In her opening remarks at the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa affirmed: Since 2006, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has been one of the first units to participate in the accreditation of training quality by the Ministry of Education and Training. To date, the University has built a system of relevant documents and implemented many activities related to accreditation and quality assurance, and is moving towards building a culture of quality. Over the past 10 years, quality assurance has truly become a necessity for training units within the university, an important condition for international integration and the sustainable development of the University.

Associate Professor Tran Thi Minh Hoa - Vice Rector of the University, delivered a speech at the conference.

The conference heard a report from Dr. Nguyen Van Chieu, Deputy Director of the Center for Training Quality Assurance, on the achievements of quality assurance work over the past 10 years.

Accordingly, in 2006, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities became the first university under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi to establish a Center for Quality Assurance in Education. The Center advises and assists the Rector in evaluating, accrediting, managing, ensuring, and improving the quality of education in all aspects of the University's operations. The Center also conducts research and provides consultancy on issues related to quality assurance in education, scientific research, and community service activities.

To date, three of the university's undergraduate programs in Linguistics, Oriental Studies, and Philosophy have been accredited according to the standards of the Association of Southeast Asian Universities (AUN). Accreditation according to AUN standards has helped faculties and the university adjust their programs, improve the quality of teaching and learning, and promote regional and international integration. AUN accreditation brings many opportunities to the university: students are the primary beneficiaries of this evaluation, as they learn in a continuously improving and quality-assured environment. The AUN accreditation results affirm the quality of the program's output to society, thus increasing employment opportunities for students. In the near future, participation in AUN program accreditation will facilitate the transfer of credits between programs at AUN member universities. This creates an advantage for student and faculty exchange between universities. Furthermore, employers have a reliable basis for finding high-quality human resources, from a training program with internationally recognized quality standards.

However, alongside the commendable results, some limitations of this work have also been pointed out, such as: In terms of awareness, some leaders, staff, and lecturers still do not fully understand the importance of quality assurance and quality culture at their units; the close coordination and linkage between units regarding quality assurance is not high; the number of accredited training programs is not large; quality accreditation for postgraduate training programs has not been implemented; the forms of dissemination and promotion regarding the development and implementation of quality culture are not diverse enough and not very effective…

By 2020, the University aims to build a strong corporate culture throughout the institution, making it a core element in conducting training, scientific research, knowledge transfer, and community service. Educational quality accreditation within the University will be conducted according to the standards of the Ministry of Education and Training and ASEAN. The University's core quality assurance indicators will meet the standards of advanced universities in the ASEAN region and worldwide.

Regarding quality assurance, by 2020, the University will continue its plan for initial quality assurance accreditation of training programs according to the standards of the Ministry of Education and Training and AUN. This includes mandatory accreditation of high-quality training programs according to AUN guidelines, and progress towards quality assurance accreditation of some postgraduate training programs and the University itself according to AUN standards. Other specific targets include: 100% of courses receiving feedback from students; 100% of training programs receiving feedback from students, lecturers, administrators, and employers; and 100% of lecturers conducting self-assessments…

At the conference, delegates also shared and proposed several solutions to improve the effectiveness of quality assurance work, such as: Strengthening information and communication efforts to ensure that staff and faculty are fully aware of quality assurance work, creating consensus in building and developing a quality culture; Closer and more decisive direction in planning, reviewing, and evaluating the implementation of quality assurance tasks; Developing accurate quality assurance plans and roadmaps and focusing on perfecting the system of guiding documents and the network of quality assurance departments within the University; Having adequate investment policies for accreditation activities, maximizing the effectiveness and significance of quality assurance work; Promoting and strengthening exchange, learning, and sharing of experiences in implementing quality assurance work between units within and outside VNU.