Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the strategic management of Vietnamese higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach The paper examined the external environment of the country’s education system based on the five forces framework by Michael Porter and inspected the strategies of universities and colleges. Findings It was concluded that lack of environmental analysis from both the government and higher education institutions themselves diminishes the intended effectiveness of the reforms; problems of skill shortage in the labor market, staff insufficiency and poor quality are prevalent; and that strategies developed by the institutions are purely responsive to the State’s direction without considering sustainability. Research limitations/implications Lack of literature on Vietnamese higher education limits timely analysis. Practical implications Strategic planning based on a thorough investigation of the environment is imperative to enhance the performance of the education system generally as well as of academic institutions individually. The government plays a key role in developing initiatives to enhance staff capabilities and improve quality of educational outputs. Originality/value There has not been any paper that approached Vietnam’s higher education management under such an analytical framework.

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The Higher Educational Reform Agenda (HERA) for the period 2006–2020 is an arduous effort of the Vietnamese government to overhaul the country’s centralized higher educational system, which fails to meet the needs of the country’s market economy and lags far behind international standards. For now, the strategies of Vietnamese universities and colleges are mainly driven by government planning. As theAgenda is nearing its end and tertiary institutions have completed a pilot project from 2014 to 2017 as part of HERA, it is time for Vietnamese higher education institutions to start reflecting on competitive strategies to prepare for necessary changes moving forward, ensuring their sustainable development and existence.