Key challenges in the reform of governance, quality assurance, and finance in Vietnamese higher education – a case study

Abstract

Vietnam's higher education is highly centralized in terms of its governance and management. A couple of higher education reform plans have been introduced over the past decade but they seem to result in poor outcomes. This paper addresses the challenges faced in the areas of governance, quality assurance and finance by a 'key' university located in the middle of Vietnam. These are explored by means of a case study approach involving interviews with a crosssection of significant former senior managers, current senior managers and current middle managers. Reform at this university is proceeding at a very slow pace. The impediments are both institutional and national. The implications of the case study for the reform of higher education in Vietnam are discussed.

Issues in Malaysian Higher Education: A Quantitative Representation of the Top Five Priorities, Values, Challenges, and Solutions From the Viewpoints of Academic Leaders

“…With respect to country-specific studies, the research works centering on the social, political, and economic challenges in American HE (Altbach, Gumport, & Berdahl, 2011); key challenges of governance, quality assurance, and finance in Vietnamese HE (Dao, 2015); challenges of change implementations in French HE (Evans & Cosnefroy, 2013); policy and research challenges in Australian tertiary system (Goedegebuure & Schoen, 2014); dilemmas and challenges in China's move to mass HE (Bai, 2006); policy challenges in Irish HE (Hazelkorn, 2014); research challenges in Japanese HE (Huang, 2014); privatization and marketization of HE in Indonesia (Susanti, 2011); challenges of international students attraction and hosting in Lithuanian HE (Urbanovič, Wilkins, & Huisman, 2016); and some general HE challenges in Ghana (Atuahene, 2008) and South Africa (Wangenge-Ouma, 2012) may be stated.…”

Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam

“…In the context of Vietnamese higher education, for one thing, this is highly attributable to the limited autonomy that institutions and faculties themselves can enjoy [14,47]. The functions and responsibilities of mid-level academic managers in Vietnam are still conceptualised under the state steering of higher education systems.…”

“…The functions and responsibilities of mid-level academic managers in Vietnam are still conceptualised under the state steering of higher education systems. Despite government initiatives to reform institutional governance, public universities in Vietnam remain heavily dependent on state funding to sustain their personnel, curriculum, and infrastructure [47][48][49][50]. MOET prescribes and monitors admission quotas, recruitments of academics, and curricular development.…”

Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Implications for Vietnamese Universities

“…As implementing quality assurance initiatives is still a new phenomenon in Vietnam (Nguyen et al, 2009;Pham, 2012;Dao, 2014;Lam & Vu, 2012), how to support and sustain this important change is a critical concern for all change agents involved.…”