THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Circular No.09/2017/TT-BGDDT dated April 4, 2017 of the Ministry of Education and Training on prescribing requirements, processes and procedures for opening of academic disciplines or majors, suspension or cancellation of enrolment, revocation of decision on opening of disciplines or majors at the master’s or doctoral level

Pursuant to the Law on Education dated June 14, 2005; the Law on Amendments to certain articles of the Law on Education dated November 25, 2009;

Pursuant to the Law on Higher Education dated June 18, 2012;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 141/2013/ND-CP dated October 24, 2013 specifying and providing instructions for the implementation of several articles of the Law on Education;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decision No. 123/2016/ND-CP dated September 01, 2016 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Ministries and Ministry-level authorities;

Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 32/2008/ND-CP dated March 19, 2008 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 70/2014/QD-TTg dated December 10, 2014 on the Statutes of Higher Education Institution;

In the light of the request of the Director of the Higher Education Department,

The Minister of Education and Training hereby adopts the Circular dealing with requirements, processes and procedures for opening of academic disciplines or majors, suspension or cancellation of enrolment, revocation of decision on opening of disciplines or majors at the master s or doctoral level as follows:

Article 1. Scope of adjustment and subjects of application

1. This Circular prescribes requirements, processes and procedures for opening of academic disciplines or majors, suspension or cancellation of enrolment, revocation of decision on opening of disciplines or majors (hereinafter referred to as major) at the master’s or doctoral level.

2. This Circular shall be applied to universities, academies and higher education institutions (inclusive of member higher education institutions of national universities or regional universities) and research institutes that are permitted to offer doctoral training programs (hereinafter referred to as institution); entities and individuals involved in master’s- or doctoral-level training activities.

Article 2. Statutory eligibility requirements for opening of master’s- or doctoral-level majors

Universities, academies and higher education institutions (hereinafter collectively referred to as master’s-level training institution) shall be licensed to open master s-level majors only if the following requirements are met:

1. Proposed majors that are awaiting approval for opening (hereinafter referred to as proposed major) must satisfy the following requirements: 

a) These new proposed majors are tailored to learners demands and workforce requirements to match the local, regional and nationwide socio-economic development needs; correspond to functions and roles of master’s-level training institutions; be defined in the developmental aims, objectives or plans of master’s-level training institutions approved under the resolution adopted by the Committee of a university, a higher education institution (hereinafter referred to as Committee) or the Board of Management;   

b) The proposed majors must be defined in the Fourth-level Classification of Education currently in force (hereinafter referred to as Classification of Education) relative to the intended training levels and 8-digit codes (in conformity with provisions laid down in the Prime Minister s Decision No. 38/2009/QD-TTg dated March 9, 2009 introducing the Chart of Classification of Education for the national education system), which is replaced by the Classification of Education with 7-digit codes (in conformity with provisions laid down in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 01/2017/QD-TTg dated January 17, 2017 introducing the Classification of Education for the national education system). Where new majors have not yet been defined in the latter Classification of Education, the master’s-level training institution must clarify:

- Scientific arguments and forecast of social demands for these majors based on results of demand investigation, survey and research (including at least 02 opinions on the necessity of these majors received from 02 entities or organizations having demands for human resources trained at this level).

- Current status and previous performance in certain overseas countries, enclosing at least 02 master’s-level curriculum frameworks for reference purposes offered by foreign training institutions accredited and recognized, permitted to carry out training activities or confer the master s degree, by competent authorities (except for particular majors allowed for enrolment of students in Vietnam, or related to national security and defense);  

c) Undergraduate-level majors, whether the same as or similar to the master’s-level majors (if the same majors are not available), shall serve as the entrance requirement for master’s training programs offered according to the formal education system by master s-level training institutions and have been completed by graduated students;

d) Regulations on the similar majors to the new proposed majors shall be decided by the master’s-level training institutions and must be specified in the proposal for opening of the new majors.

2. These master’s-level training institutions must be fully staffed with lecturers and scientific officers that meet required quality standards in order to officially offer these proposed majors at the master’s level on condition that the following specific criteria are met:

a) Have a staff of at least five (5) tenured lecturers who hold the title of professor, associate professor, Doctor of Philosophy and doctorate degree in majors the same as or similar to the proposed majors and are not in the list of tenured lecturers that serves as the eligibility requirement for opening of master’s-level sub-majors belonging to other majors; out of this staff, charge at least 01 professor or associate professor in the major the same as a proposed major with leading and taking necessary actions to initiate training programs as well as accountability for the training quality to his/her host training institution and the public;  

b) An increasing adjustment to the number of lecturers, stated in Point a of this Clause, in certain majors that are defined in the Classification of Education with 7-digit codes shall be allowed only if each of these majors is a combination of multiple sub-majors in the Classification of Education with 8-digit codes according to the principle that it is required that, in each component sub-major, there would be at least 01 lecturer holding the title of professor, associate professor, Doctor of Philosophy or a doctorate degree in the major the same as the proposed major who is responsible for undertaking and managing training contents of sub-majors as components of the compound major and is neither in the list of tenured lecturers in other majors nor the list of tenured lecturers as the requirement for opening of master s-level sub-majors belonging to other majors. In such case, the Dissertation Examination Committee shall be established to mark theses in component sub-majors of the compound major;

c) With respect to new majors permitted to be offered at the doctoral level in Vietnam or those which have not yet been included in the Classification of Education, if it is impossible for a training institution to find tenured lecturers in the majors the same as the aforesaid majors as prescribed by Point a of this Clause, at least 01 lecturer who holds the title of professor, associate professor or doctor of philosophy or doctor in the major similar to these aforesaid majors or in relevant majors, and has had experience in giving lectures or working in the fields of proposed majors, shall manage offer of training programs in these proposed majors and undertake to assume accountability for the training quality to his/her host institution and the public;   

d) Lecturers in basic theoretical and specialized knowledge must hold the doctorate degree while other lecturers are required to hold the master’s or higher degree.  Master s-level training institutions must have an adequate staff of tenured lecturers to deal with at least 70% of the training volume; both domestic and foreign guest lecturers who have entered into fixed-term lecturing agreements with master’s-level training institutions shall take charge of the remaining training volume.  Tenured and guest lecturers must be duly trained to ensure that they are appropriate for the contents on which they are assigned to give lectures;

dd) Within a period of 5 years till an application for opening of these proposed majors is filed, all of the lecturers referred to in Point a, b of this Clause and all of those giving lectures on basic theoretical and specialized knowledge must have at least 3 research papers published on either domestic or overseas specialized journals, or have been awarded 01 patent or utility solution in the fields of proposed majors; master’s-level training institutions have acted as the host entity of at least 02 research projects or assignments at the institution level or 01 research project or assignment at the Ministry, equivalent or higher level which relates to the fields of proposed majors; 

e) With respect to health-related majors, each minor or specialized subject must be undertaken by 01 lecturer referred to in Point d of this Clause; in order to give lectures on any healthcare-related course, lecturers and instructors of practice classes must obtain practicing certificates in healthcare and medical services, have been working directly for healthcare establishments that meet required conformity standards for healthcare establishments offering internship in the field of healthcare service in accordance with applicable laws and regulations;    

g) With respect to non-public master’s-level training institutions, at least 40% of lecturers referred to in Point a, b of this Clause must be in the working ages.

3. These master s-level training institutions must provide facilities, instruments, libraries and teaching materials that meet training requirements of proposed majors at the master’s level, specifically including:

a) The adequate number of classrooms and libraries furnished with search rooms providing diversified sources of information and materials (domestic and foreign books, teaching materials and journals) which have been updated within a period of 5 years till the application for approval of opening of master s-level majors is filed in order to meet requirements as to teaching and taking courses in the master’s-level training program and working on the thesis; or electronic libraries which are granted copyright on access to the database relating to the proposed majors or linked with domestic or foreign training institutions in the same field or discipline of study for the purpose of using the shared database for the proposed majors;

b) The adequate number of laboratory rooms, practice or internship facilities, experimental production plants with necessary equipment to suit requirements as to teaching, learning and scientific research activities in the proposed majors and ensure that all items included in the list of equipment and instrument must be fully provided with the aim of assisting in training activities in the stipulated majors or major groups (where appropriate);

c) Computer rooms having internet connection to enable master’s degree candidates to access information on demand;

d) The website which is updated on a regular manner, makes a public notification of training institution’s commitments to the educational quality; makes available to the public the list of tenured and guest lecturers, admitted students, graduated students and proportion of graduation to enrolment in specific training programs and majors (except for majors that require information security in accordance with applicable laws and regulations); publicly disseminates tuition fee rates and training costs of master s-level training institutions. 

4.Training program and certain other requirements for offer of the training program:

a) Clearly define whether the training program is research-oriented or practically-oriented;

b) Complete design of the training program in conformity with requirements of the Regulations on Master s Degree Training and other applicable rules and regulations, ensure consistency with agreed training objectives and requirements concerning minimum knowledge volume or competence that learners will acquire after graduation. Design, assessment and public disclosure of the training program shall be subject to regulations adopted by the Ministry of Education and Training; 

c) Have already made a public statement of the training program and graduation requirements of specific majors and currently available qualification levels, including the minimum graduation requirements that graduated students must reach the 7thlevel of the National Qualifications Framework of Vietnam;

d) Form partnership with international universities in training and science and technology activities (except for the majors that require information security in accordance with applicable laws);

dd) Collaborate with enterprises and employers in training, science and technology activities relating to the proposed majors with regard to practically-oriented training programs;

e) Have already submitted a request for inspection of higher education quality or have been recognized as conformable to education quality standards according to applicable regulations and inspection plan of theMinistry of Education and Training;

g) Organize an in-charge entity having professional competency in administering master s-level training activities; have already adopted regulations on master’s-level training offered by master’s-level training institutions;

h) Do not violate applicable laws and regulations on conformity requirements for opening of training majors, student admission, organization and administration of training activities in currently available majors, and regulations regarding higher education within the period of 3 years till the application for approval for opening of training majors is filed.

5. When offering master’s-level training in majors for which these training institutions main offices have obtained approval, these training institutions’ branches must meet minimum facility requirements in accordance with Point a, b, c Clause 3 of this Article.  In either cases where such branches are quite distant from main offices or there are disadvantages in means of transportation (e.g. lecturers are unable to commute to and get home from such branches), the number of tenured lecturers at these branches must equal at least 40%  in comparison with  the number of tenured lecturers referred to in Clause 2 Article 2 hereof, and the rest of tenured lecturers must remain at the main offices of these training institutions.

Article 3. Statutory requirements for opening of majors at the master’s level

The training institution may open doctoral-level majors when the following requirements are met:

1. Proposed majors that are awaiting approval for opening (hereinafter referred to as proposed majors) must satisfy the following requirements: 

a) Comply with requirements set out in Clause 1 (except Point c) Article 2 hereof;

b) Master’s-level majors, whether the same as or similar to the doctoral-level majors (if the same majors are not available), shall serve as the entrance requirement for doctoral training programs offered at the doctoral-level training institutions and have been completed by graduated students.

2. These doctoral-level training institutions must be fully staffed with lecturers and scientific officers that meet required quality standards in order to officially offer these proposed majors at the master’s level on condition that the following specific criteria are met:

a) Have a minimum staff of 01 professor, 03 holders of Doctor of Philosophy or doctorate degree or 02 associate professors and 03 holders of Doctor of Philosophy or doctorate degree who are tenured lecturers in majors the same as or similar to the proposed majors and are not in the list of tenured lecturers that serves as the eligibility requirement for opening of doctoral-level majors in other major groups; out of this staff, charge at least 01 professor or associate professor in the major the same as the proposed major with leading and taking necessary actions to offer training programs as well as accountability for the training quality to his/her host training institution and the public. These tenured lecturers must fully meet stipulated eligibility requirements as to doctoral students’ advisors set out in the Regulations on doctoral enrolment and training currently in force;

b) An increasing adjustment to the number of lecturers, stated in Point a of this Clause, in certain majors that are defined in the Classification of Education with 7-digit codes shall be allowed only if each of these majors is a combination of multiple sub-majors in the Classification of Education with 8-digit codes according to the principle that it is required that, in each component sub-major, there would be at least 01 lecturer holding the title of professor, associate professor, Doctor of Philosophy or a doctorate degree in the major the same as the proposed major who is responsible for undertaking and managing training contents of sub-majors as components of the compound major and is neither in the list of tenured lecturers in other majors nor the list of tenured lecturers as the requirement for opening of master s-level sub-majors belonging to other majors.  In such case, the Dissertation Examination Committee shall be established to mark dissertations in component sub-majors of the compound major;

c) With respect to new majors permitted to be offered at the doctoral level in Vietnam or those which have not yet been included in the Classification of Education, if it is impossible for the training institution to assign the adequate number of professors, associate professors, Doctors of Philosophy or holders of the doctorate degree in the majors the same as the aforesaid majors as prescribed by Point a of this Clause, it is compulsory that at least 01 lecturer who holds the title of professor, associate professor, Doctor of Philosophy or the doctorate degree in the same majors as the proposed majors or the relevant majors, and has had experience in giving lectures or working in the fields of proposed majors, shall take charge of and manage offer of training programs in such proposed majors and undertake to assume accountability for the training quality to his/her host institution and the public;  

d) Lecturers involved in the doctoral training program or doctoral students’ advisors must conform to standards stipulated in the Regulations on doctoral enrolment and training currently in force; have had research papers published, be trained to become adaptable to courses or research topics that they have been assigned;  

dd) Within a period of 5 years till an application for opening of these proposed majors is filed, each of the lecturers referred to in Point a, b and c of this Clause must have at least 3 research papers published on either domestic or overseas specialized journals in the fields of proposed majors; doctoral-level training institutions have acted as the host entity of at least 05 research projects or assignments at the institution or higher level in the fields of proposed majors out of which there must be at least 01 research project or assignment at the Ministry, equivalent or higher level; 

e) With respect to non-public doctoral-level training institutions, at least 40% of lecturers referred to in Point a, b of this Clause must be in the working ages.

3. These doctoral-level training institutions must provide facilities, instruments, libraries and teaching materials that meet training requirements of proposed majors at the doctoral level in the proposed majors, specifically including:

a) The adequate number of classrooms, laboratories and research centers furnished with necessary equipment in order for doctoral students to work on their dissertations; working spaces provided for advisors and doctoral students;

b) Traditional libraries making diversified sources of information and materials accessible to doctoral students during the period of working on their dissertations such as domestic and foreign books, teaching materials and journals which have been updated with latest versions within a period of 5 years till the application for approval for opening of doctoral-level majors is filed; electronic libraries which are granted copyright on access to the database relating to the proposed majors or linked with domestic or foreign training institutions in the same field or discipline of study, whether domestic or foreign, for the purpose of using the shared database in the proposed majors;

d) The website which is updated on a regular manner, makes a public notification of their commitments to the training quality, discloses the list of tenured lecturers, successfully tested research projects, international cooperation programs relating to the proposed majors, the list of students admitted to doctoral training programs, graduated students and students awarded doctorate degrees each year in relevant academic courses or majors (where available, except for majors subject to information security requirements in accordance with applicable laws); publicizes the list of  research projects that doctoral students are working on (including information about training of doctoral students within the research framework), lists of research projects open to doctoral students; makes available to the public tuition fee rates and training costs of doctoral-level training institutions, and any financial aid offered doctoral students (where applicable);

dd) Training institutions’ scientific journals

4. Training program and certain other requirements for opening of the training program:

a) Have publicly disseminated graduation requirements at different qualification levels with the minimum requirement that graduated students must reach the 8thlevel of the National Qualifications Framework of Vietnam;

b) Establish international cooperation programs relating to the proposed majors in which there are exchanges of lecturers, students and learners; draw up the plan to invite foreign experts or expat experts to give their lectures, guide doctoral students in the proposed majors;

c) Comply with requirements set out in Point b, e, g, h Clause 4 and Clause 5 Article 2 hereof that are relative to training programs at the doctoral level.

5. Research institutes founded according to the Prime Minister’s decision or recognition in writing shall be allowed to open doctoral training majors when meeting requirements set out in this Article, except for those referred to in Point b Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 4. Authority to make a decision on approval for opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level

1. The Minister of Education and Training shall decide to grant approval for opening of majors at the master s and doctoral level only if requirements set out in Article 2, 3 hereof have been observed. Granting approval for opening of master’s or doctorate degree training majors in certain special cases in order to meet high-quality workforce training demands or in certain particular training fields shall be subject to the decision of the Minister of Education and Training.

2. The Director of the National University shall be vested with a discretionary power to make a decision to open majors for master’s and doctoral training programs offered by subsidiary academic faculties, branches and member universities or colleges when all requirements set out in Article 2 and 3 hereof are satisfied.     

3. The heads of training institutions that have been certified as conformance to national standards or vested with autonomous powers to open training majors shall have autonomous authority to decide to grant approval for opening of majors at the master s and doctoral level only if requirements set out in Article 2, 3 hereof have been observed.

4. The Director of a Regional University shall be vested with delegated authority to make a decision to open majors for master’s and doctoral training programs offered by its subsidiary academic faculties, branches and member universities or colleges when all requirements set out in Article 2 and 3 hereof are satisfied.    

Article 5. Processes and procedures for application for approval for opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level

1. When having the demand for opening of an academic major and after completing the self-assessment process (filling out the Form given in the Appendix II hereto appended) in which eligibility requirements for opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level, set forth in Article 2 and 3 hereof, are fully met, the requesting institution shall take the following steps:

a) The Committee in a public training institution or the Board of Management in a non-public training institution shall resolve on the proposal for opening of academic majors;

b) Review and finalize requirements concerning lecturers, facilities, equipment, libraries, teaching materials, research and international cooperation activities (hereinafter referred to as conformance requirements) for the purpose of opening majors at the master s and doctoral level (filling out the Form given in the Appendix IV hereto appended); 

c) Validate master’s and doctorate degree training programs and conformance requirements referred to in Article 6 hereof;

d) Submit the application for approval for opening of majors to the competent authority vested with the power to grant a decision on approval of opening of majors at the master s and doctorate level as prescribed by Article 4 hereof in order to consider and make its decision on approval of opening of these majors in accordance with Article 7 hereof.

2. Application package for approval of opening of majors shall include the following components:

a) Written request for opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level, submitted by the requesting institution (including a summary of proposal development process; statement of fulfillment of regulatory eligibility requirements for opening of majors, and confirmation that there is none of violation against Point h Clause 2 hereof; 

b) Proposal for opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level developed under the provisions of the Appendix I hereto attached, including the following main contents: necessity of such majors; competence of the training institution (e.g. the staff of tenured or guest lecturers, scientific officers in the proposed majors; facilities, equipment, libraries and teaching materials; scientific research and international cooperation activities); program of study (Appendix V), training plan and quality assurance plan (including target students, enrolment requirements, enrolment plan in the first five years); memorandum of approval of the proposal for opening of majors which is issued by the Science and Education Commission of the training institution;

c) Form of self-assessment of fulfillment of eligibility requirements completed by the training institution (Appendix II) and curriculum vitae of specific lecturers (Appendix III);

d) Documents on the training program design, development and assessment process, including the decision on establishment of the training program development division, the decision on establishment of the committee on assessment of the training program and fulfillment of conformance requirements (hereinafter referred to as assessment committee), conclusion of the assessment committee, written explanation for modification or supplementation of the training program and conformance requirements according to the conclusion drawn by the assessment committee (if any).

3. Application for opening of majors shall be made into 2 original sets sent, whether in person or by post, to competent authorities, and must be published on the website of the requesting training institution within the maximum period of 20 days prior to submission of the application for approval of opening of majors.  

Article 6. Assessment of master’s and doctorate degree training programs and conformance requirements

1. After verifying conformance requirements, the requesting training institution shall establish the assessment committee. The decision on establishment of the assessment committee must clearly define educational title, qualification, study major and host institution of each committee member.

2. Notwithstanding regulations on standards and organization structure of the assessment committee laid down in the Circular No. 07/2015/TT-BGDDT dated April 16, 2015 of the Minister of Education and Training together with regulations on minimum knowledge volume and qualification that students must attain upon graduation at each training level of higher education and the process for design, assessment and validation of undergraduate, master s and doctorate degree training programs), the number of committee members must be odd; the remaining number of committee members must act as representatives of at least 02 different training institutions, must acquire experience in offering training in the same or similar majors (if the proposed majors are new ones) and in majors at the same level as the assessed training program, including at least 01 professor or associate professor (except for members acting as representatives of the training institutions where learners work after graduation).

3. The assessment committee shall consult draft curriculum or training programs and applicable regulations to carry out assessment of and draw conclusions on the curriculum or training programs; concurrently, consult conformance requirements of the training institution which have been confirmed (according to the Form given in the Appendix IV hereto attached) in order to assess and conclude whether or not the training institution meets quality assurance requirements of training curriculum or training programs in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. With regard to majors in which training requires machinery, testing, laboratory and practice equipment, the assessment committee shall examine conformance requirements prior to conclusion.

4. The assessment record bears the signature and full name of the committee chair and secretary and the stamp of the training institution (2 copies of this assessment record attached to the application).

Article 7. Processing of application and grant of the decision to approve opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level

1. Upon receipt of the application for opening of majors from the requesting training institution, the competent authority shall process that application:

a) If the application package is valid, the head of the competent authority shall grant the decision to approve opening of majors at the master s and doctoral level;

b) If the application package is invalid, the competent authority shall inform the requesting training institution in writing of application processing results and invalid contents.

2. The application for approval of opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level shall be processed within the duration of 30 business days of receipt of all documents required by the training institution.  Where necessary, the Ministry of Education and Training shall undertake a field inspection of compliance of the requesting training institution with conformance requirements.

Article 8. Suspension of approval of enrolment of students for majors at the master’s and doctoral level

1. The training institution shall be subject to suspension of approval of enrolment of students for majors at the master’s and doctoral level under the following circumstances:

a) It has failed to conform to one of the eligibility requirements for opening of such majors, which are defined in Article 2 or Article 3 hereof;

b) It has carried out enrolment, admission and training of students outside of its registered premises;

c) It has failed to meet training program or curriculum inspection standards of its proposed majors in accordance with regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training; 

d) It has committed any offence against laws and regulations on education that is subject to suspension of enrolment of students imposed as an administrative penalty;

dd) It violates Clause 1 Article 12 hereof;

e) It falls into other circumstances prescribed by laws and regulations.

2. Suspension of the enrolment and admission process

a) When it is established that the training institution commits one of the violations referred to in Clause 1 of this Article, the Ministry of Education and Training shall carry out inspection to measure the severity of violation;

b) Based on the severity of violation committed by the training institution, the Minister of Education and Training shall grant a decision to suspend the enrolment and admission process;

c) The duration to suspend the enrolment and admission process varies from 12 to 24 months;

d) The decision on suspension of enrolment for and admission in majors at the master’s and doctoral level must specify clear reasons for such suspension, suspension period, specific measures to protect rights and benefits of lecturers and students; must be published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Training.

3. After the period of suspension of enrolment and admission expires, and if the causes for such suspension are corrected and the training institution remains conformity to requirements set out in Article 2 or Article 3 hereof, the Minister of Education and Training shall issue a decision to approve re-opening of majors for student’s enrolment.

Article 9. Revocation of the decision to approve opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level

1. The training institution shall be subjected to the revocation of the decision to approve opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level issued by Ministry of Education and Training when one of the following circumstances occurs:

a) There is any fraudulent act in applying for approval of opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level;

b) There is any serious violation against regulations on enrolment, management and organization of the training process;

c) By the deadline for enrolment, causes for such suspension have not yet been corrected;

d) It has committed any offence against laws and regulations on education that is subject to revocation of the decision to approve opening of majors imposed as an administrative penalty;

dd) It falls into other circumstances prescribed by laws and regulations.

2. The decision on revocation of the decision to approve the master’s- and doctoral-level training must specify clear reasons for such revocation, specific measures to protect rights and benefits of lecturers and master’s and doctorate degree students; must be published on the website of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Article 10. Responsibilities of the training institution, assessment committee and entities whose lecturers are invited to join the assessment committee

1. The head of the training institution shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Assure integrity and accuracy of the application package and proven authenticity of conformance requirements for opening of majors at the master’s and doctoral level;

b) Supply all information, materials and evidences required by the assessment committee and competent authorities;  

c) Have the burden of maintaining requirements for conformity to the quality standards for master’s- and doctoral-level training activities;

d) Establish the assessment committee and undertake assessment of the training program and conformance requirements in accordance with applicable laws and regulations;

dd) Provide funds and payments for assessment of the training program and conformance requirements in accordance with applicable laws and regulations;

e) Training institutions vested with the discretionary power to open majors as prescribed in Clause 3, 4 Article 4 shall be required to deliver the decision to approve opening of majors and application components referred to in Point b, c and d Clause 2 Article 5 hereof to the Ministry of Education and Training for its audit purposes;

g) Carry out the internal audit and violation handling process prescribed by laws and regulations (even inclusive of discretionary power to termination of enrolment and cancellation of the decision to open majors issued by the Director of National University and the heads of training institutions granted autonomy to open majors); be managed or audited by the Ministry of Education and Training and competent authorities having relevant jurisdictions in terms of requirements for conformity with quality standards for master’s- and doctoral-level training activities of the training institution. Where the training institution violates regulations on opening of majors, the head of the training institution and persons concerned shall bear disciplinary responsibility and other legal liability in accordance with laws and regulations, depending on the severity of violation.

2. The Chair and members of the assessment committee must ensure seriousness, objectivity and honesty and take responsibility for honesty and accuracy of the assessment results during the process of assessment of the training program and conformance requirements; shall be subjected to audit and supervision of the Ministry of Education and Training and competent authority having appropriate jurisdictions; in case of violating assessment-related regulations, shall assume their disciplinary responsibilities and other legal liabilities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, depending on the severity of violation.

3. It is requested that entities whose lecturers are invited to join the assessment committee provide opportunities for their staff and lecturers to join the committee.

Article 11. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Education and Training

1. Verify submitted application packages and eligibility requirements for opening of proposed majors, issue the decision to approve opening of proposed majors, suspend enrolment and revoke the decision to approve opening of master’s- and doctoral-level majors of training institutions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

2. Provide direction, guidance on, and carry out audit of, opening of majors at the master s and doctoral level in accordance with applicable regulations and ensure conformity with stipulated training quality standards.

3. In case of violating regulations on grant of approval of opening of majors, officers involved in commission of any violation shall bear disciplinary responsibility and other legal liability in accordance with laws and regulations, depending on the severity of such violation.

Article 12: Transitional provisions

1. With respect to proposed majors approved for master’s- and doctoral-level training before the entry into force of this Circular, within the duration of 24 months from the date of entry into force of this Circular, the training institution must review and revise these majors in order to meet requirements laid down in Clause 2, Clause 3 and Point b Clause 4 Article 2 (in terms of majors open for master s-level training), Clause 2, Clause 3 and Point b Clause 4 Article 3 (in terms of doctoral-level majors) hereof; shall submit a report on any possible revision to the Ministry of Education and Training.

2. In cases where the training institution does not enroll students for its training programs at master’s- and doctoral-level after 5 and 8 successive years respectively and if it wishes to resume its enrolment and training process, the training institution shall be obliged to re-submit application for re-opening of majors in accordance with regulations laid down herein.

3. If the new proposed majors have not yet been included in the Classification of Education, after 2 graduate courses, the training institution must carry out assessment of the training program, quality and effectiveness, employment opportunities offered graduated students; opinions of the employers on the training program and human resource demands as the basis for requesting the Ministry of Education and Training to add new majors to the Classification of Education.

Article 13. Effect

This Circular takes effect on May 19, 2017; replace the Circular No. 38/2010/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training dated October 22, 2010 prescribing eligibility and documentation requirements and process for approval of offer of training programs, suspension of enrolment and revocation of the decision to approve offer of training programs at the master’s and doctoral level.

Article 14. Implementation

The Chief of the Office, the Director of Higher Education Department, Heads of relevant entities affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Training, universities, academies, higher education establishments, research institutes obtaining approval of offer of doctoral-degree training programs, and organizations or individuals concerned, shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.

For the Minister

The Deputy Minister

Bui Van Ga

APPENDIX I

PROPOSAL FOR OPENING OF MAJORS AT THE MASTER’S AND DOCTORAL LEVEL
(Attached with the Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training dated April 4, 2017)

PROPOSAL FOR OPENING OF MAJORS AT THE MASTER’S AND DOCTORAL LEVEL

- Major’s name:

- Code:

- Name of the training institution:

- Training level:

Section 1. Necessity of formulating the proposal

1. Provide a brief summary of the training institution (including year of establishment and history of the training institution).

2. Describe results of the survey, analysis and assessment of the demand for personnel holding the master s or doctorate degree in the proposed majors to match socio-economic development needs in a city, province or area where the training institution is based; analyze and assess the consistency of this demand with the planning for human resource development at the local, regional and national level (conducted by the training institution or local jurisdiction with a period of 3 years prior to the date of application for approval of opening of proposed majors).

Affirm that such opening of proposed majors has been defined in the plan/strategy for development of the training institution and has been ratified by the Committee s resolution.

3. Clearly specify which academic units will directly undertake training in the proposed majors.

4. Describe reasons for opening of the proposed majors at the master s and doctoral level.

5. With respect to new proposed majors that are not included in the Classification of Education, describe scientific arguments for the new proposed majors, including:

- Forecast of social needs for human resources that will be trained in the future.

- Social roles of the proposed majors; employment positions that students are able to hold after graduating; potential employers (there must be at least 02 opinions on necessity of the training program given by 02 entities or organizations having the demands for human resources after completion of the training program).

- Current status and previous performance of these proposed majors in certain overseas countries, enclosing at least 02 curriculum for reference purposes offered by foreign universities accredited and recognized, permitted to carry out training activities or confer the master s degree, by competent authorities (except for particular majors allowed for enrolment of students in Vietnam, or related to national security and defense issues).  

Section 2. Capability of the training institution

1. General overview of the training process

- Current training majors, levels and approaches.

- Training scales at different levels, approaches to offer training programs.

- Number of training courses and number of students admitted to the training programs who have completed the undergraduate and master s degree training programs.

- Employment rate of students awarded master s or doctorate degrees in the proposed majors reported for the last 2 years.

2. Staff of tenured lecturers and education officers

- Number of tenured lecturers categorized by the training level....: Specify …professor(s), ....associate professor(s), including ….tenured lecturers in the same majors as the proposed majors, ….tenured lecturers in the majors similar to the proposed majors. 

- Number of guest lecturers categorized by the training level…: Specify …professor(s), ….associate professor(s), and their workplace.

- Number of tenured education managers categorized by the training level…

- Tenured technicians and employees providing instructions for laboratory and practice subjects (where available).

(Lists of tenured staff members compiled according Appendix IV)

3. Facilities

- Classrooms, auditoriums.

- Laboratory rooms, practice premises.

- Training equipment.

- Libraries, teaching materials, reference books and materials.

- Information technology networks.

- Outsourced facilities used for external practice and internship purposes (if any).

(Lists thereof compiled according to Appendix IV ).

4. Research activities

- Scientific research projects which have been carried out during the last 5 years till the training institution submits application for opening of majors.

- Research topics of theses and dissertations, and recommended advisors or supervisors.   

- Published research works of tenured lecturers and research fellows.

(The attached list thereof compiled according to the Appendix IV).

5. International cooperation in education and scientific research activities.

Outcomes of cooperation with international universities in activities in the education, science and technology fields relating to the proposed majors (exchange of lecturers and students; participation in lecturing, design of training programs, holding of conferences, seminars and scientific research, etc.).

Section 3. Training program or plan

1. Training program

- Specify proposed majors, major codes, designation of training program and training levels.

- Grounds for design of training program.

- When adopting a training program from another domestic or foreign university (even when the proposed majors have been listed in the Classification of Education), specify the university or country where such training program is derived and attach the duplicate copy of the original version of the training program; give evidence of permission for use of the training program and capability of the training institution to carry out this training program.  

- As for the new proposed majors which have yet been included in the Classification of Education, attach at least 02 reference training programs of accredited foreign universities, at least 02 uncontentious opinions on such training programs obtained from organizations or entities having demands for human resources in these fields.

- Provide a brief overview of the training program, including general and specific objectives, graduation standards; total volume of knowledge gained during the entire program (total credits), volume of general knowledge, volume of basic knowledge (compulsory and elective courses), majors and theses (in terms of the master s level); volume of gained knowledge in specific courses, doctoral sub-theses and general literature reviews and dissertations (in terms of the doctoral level).

2. Plan for enrolment, training and training quality assurance

2.1. Enrolment plan

- Plans for enrolment of students for majors, enclosing proposed number of students to be trained for first 5 years.

- Students qualified for admission, eligibility requirements for applicants (qualifications, majors, graduation ranks and working experience); graduation requirements.

- List of majors which are the same as or similar to the proposed majors.

- List of minors learnt for knowledge supplementation purposes.

2.2. Training plan:Time length of the entire training program; training framework in each academic year or semester, which is adapted to match the standard program (designation of courses, number of credits, name of in-charge lecturers, majors and host entities of guest lecturers).

2.3. Plan for training quality assurance

- Plan for development of the staff of lecturers and administrative officers in the short, medium and long term to meet demands in case of any increase in the training scale and for conformity with statutory requirements for opening of majors (in terms of new proposed majors and any majors that have yet been included in the Classification of Education).

- Plan to elevate facilities and investment of funds in training activities to meet requirements of the training plan and match tuition fees.

- Plan to create international cooperation in training activities (e.g. exchange of lecturers and students; participation in lecturing, design of training programs, etc.), holding of conferences, seminars and researches.

- Plan for training cooperation with the entities offering job opportunities to graduated students.

- Tuition fee/learner/academic year or course.

Section 4. Attached evidences

1. Resolution of the Committee (of a public training institution) or the Board of Management (of a non-public training institution) on opening of proposed majors.

2. Memorandum of ratification of the proposal issued by the Science and Education Commission.

3. Forms or templates of verification of conformance requirements concerning the staff of tenured lecturers, technicians, facilities, equipment, libraries, teaching materials (the Appendix IV); curriculum vitae of tenured lecturers holding the title of associate professor, doctorate or master s degree in the majors the same as or similar to the proposed majors which are hereto attached (Appendix III), and graduate certificates or diplomas with attached transcripts (in case of graduating abroad, certifications equivalent to these graduate certificates or diplomas issued by the Agency of Testing and Education Administrators are required).

4. Decision on establishment of the Proposal Preparation Board and Assessment Committee for assessment of the training program and conformance requirements (specify members’ qualification levels, titles, majors and host entities).

5. Record of assessment of the training program and conformance requirements (e.g. the staff of tenured lecturers, facilities, equipment and libraries); the Assessment Committee’s conclusion stating that the aforesaid can match requirements of master’s- and doctoral-degree training majors.

6. Written representation of responses to opinions of the Committee for assessment of the training program and conformance requirements (where applicable).

7. Evidence of the contents specified in Clause 1 Article 2; Point c, d, dd, e, g, h Clause 4 Article 2 and Point a, b, c Clause 4 Article 3 hereof.

8. Form of self-assessment of fulfillment of eligibility requirements that is carried out by the training institution (Appendix II).

APPENDIX II

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF FULFILMENT OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING OF MASTER’S- AND DOCTORATE-DEGREE TRAINING MAJORS
(Attached with to the Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training dated April 4, 2017)

FORM OF SELF-ASSESSMENT OF FULFILMENT OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR OPENING OF TRAINING MAJORS

Name of the major:……………………Code:………………

                                                Level:

Conclusions of the training institution: 

APPENDIX III

ACADEMIC CURRICULUM VITAE
(Attached with to the Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training dated April 4, 2017)

ACADEMIC CURRICULUM VITAE

I. BRIEF BACKGROUND

Full name:                                                                     Gender:

Date of birth:                                                                  Place of birth:

Temporary residence:                                                   Ethnicity:

Highest degree:                                                                  Awarding year and country:

Highest title:                                                                  Designation year:

Position (current or prior to retirement):

Workplace (current or prior to retirement):

Private residence or contact address:

Contact phone:   Office:                          Home:                       Mobile:

Fax:                                                                      Email:

II. STUDY PROCESS

1. Undergraduate education:

Education system:

Place of study:

Major of study:

Country of study:                                             Year of graduation:

2ndundergraduate degree:                                 Year of graduation:

2. Postgraduate education:

- Master’s degree in major/field of specialization:……    Awarding year:

Place of study:

- Thesis title:

- Doctorate degree in major/field of specialization:……    Awarding year:

Place of study:

- Dissertation title:

III. WORK HISTORY

IV. RESEARCH TIMELINE

1. List research projects in which the declarant has been participating (included in the List approved by the State Council for Professor Title of Vietnam):

2. List scientific research works which have been published (included in the List approved by the State Council for Professor Title of Vietnam): Published project title, year of publication and publication address.

APPENDIX IV

VERIFICATION OF CONFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF TRAINING OR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
(Attached with the Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training dated April 4, 2017)

VERIFICATION OF CONFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF TRAINING INSTITUTIONS

1. Lecturers

Form 1: List of tenured lecturers and scientists in the proposed majors at the master s/doctoral level

Form 2: List of tenured lecturers and scientists bearing their names in application for approval of opening of proposed majors, lecturers in basic minor and specialized subjects of the proposed majors, or those which are similar to master’s/doctoral-level ones currently available at the training institution (compile particular lists with respect to specific majors similar to the proposed majors).

Form 3: List of guest lecturers and scientists in the proposed majors at the master s/doctoral level (arranged in a descending order: same majors, similar majors or other majors)

Form 4: List of administrative officers in charge of proposed majors

Form 5: List of tenured technicians and employees providing instructions for laboratory and practice subjects (where available).

 Note:Provide a confirmation for the staff of tenured lecturers of the training institution (detailed list and majors or fields of specialization), enclosing the payroll (with respect to lecturers out of the working ages) reported for 6 consecutive months prior to the date of confirmation, insurance books (with respect to lecturers in the working ages), job offers and employment contracts; compare names of the majors/fields of specialization on degrees with names of the majors/fields of specialization on which tenured lecturers are giving lectures in the said lists.    As for tenured lecturers working under employment contracts wherein full-time service provided for the training institution must be defined.

2. Facilities, equipment and libraries for implementation of training programs

Form 6: Equipment for implementation of training programs

Note:Provide a confirmation for the actual number and conditions of facilities and equipment such as classrooms, laboratory rooms, practice workshops, experimental production plants, libraries and construction works for entertainment, recreational, sports and cultural purposes, healthcare facilities and other services provided for academic officers, lecturers and students; indexes of books and magazines used for training in the proposed majors, enclosing proofs of building, lease, purchase, offer, allocation or disposition thereof (in comparison with those recorded in asset logbooks, invoices and original evidencing documents). As for machinery or equipment obtained as gifts from foreign organizations or individuals, it is necessary that written permissions for acceptance and importation granted by competent authorities should be made available for use.

Form 7: Libraries

3. Scientific researches and thesis or dissertation topics   

Form 8: Research projects of lecturers and scientists related to the proposed majors that are carried out by the training institution (enclosing the list of duplicate copies of project approval decisions and acceptance testing records)

Form 9: Published research papers of tenured lecturers and scientists working for the training institution in the proposed majors for the last 5 years (enclosing the list of published research papers with journal cover, index page, first page and last page)

Form 10: Thesis and dissertation topics and number of learners/doctoral students that are enrolled for such topics

APPENDIX V

TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAINING PLAN
(Attached with to the Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BGDDT of the Minister of Education and Training dated April 4, 2017)

TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAINING PLAN

I. MASTER’S-DEGREE TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAINING PLAN

The training program and plan are presented as follows:

1. General and specific objectives of the training program: knowledge, trained skills, levels and professional theoretical and practical competency and job positions that graduated students can undertake.  

2. Graduation standards of graduated students.

3. Entrance requirements for candidates: regulations on qualifications, majors, graduation honors and professional experience.

3. Graduation requirements: regulations on the on-class time length, minimum number of courses or minimum number of credits that students must complete (including the thesis course) as stated before.

4. Training program

a) Program overview: Specify the minimum number of courses and credits that students must complete to be eligible for graduation, including:

- General knowledge.

- Basic and specialized knowledge:

+ Compulsory courses: total credits, including theoretical and practical credits;

+ Elective courses: total credits, including theoretical and practical credits.

- Thesis: total credits and requirements of the thesis.

b) Classification of courses included as components of the training program: List down all of courses included in the master’s-degree training program which are arranged into the following sections such as course code, course description, study load calculated in credits (theory, practice, laboratory or discussion). In particular, name of the foreign language should be defined in the section of the foreign language course.

Course codes will be given by the training institution for managerial purposes. Alphanumeric or numerical characters may be used for encoding courses. The number of coding characters will be decided by the training institution.

Sample classification of courses included as components of the training program for the major…

c) Course outline: Each course listed in the classification of courses included in the training program, and other courses, must be described in a detailed outline as follows:

- Codes and names of courses with total credits (number of theory, practice or internship, laboratory or discussion credits) 

Take the course on Epidemiology Principles – 3rdmodule (2.1) for instance, it means that total number of subjects is expressed as 3 credits, including 2 theory credits; 1 practice, internship, laboratory or discussion credit.

- Subject groups in charge of giving lectures on these majors.

- Description of courses: summarize roles and functions of courses (define whether these courses have been taken at the undergraduate level, which knowledge has been acquired, which knowledge will be gained at the master s level, functions of these courses in the training program), knowledge gained by graduated students, connections with other courses included as part of the entire program.

- Objectives of courses: specify objectives relating to theoretical and practical knowledge that graduated students need to gain (the method for determining such objectives that is the same as the graduation standards).

5. Training plan

Specify the time frame for completion of each course (enclosing the number of credits); lecturers giving lectures on these courses, including majors or fields of specialization, qualification levels and titles of lecturers; in case of guest lecturers, lecturers host entities should be specified.

II. Doctorate-degree training program and training plan

1. Training program

The doctorate-degree training program is divided into 3 sections:

Section 1. Supplementary courses.   

Section 2. Doctorate-degree courses, doctoral sub-theses and general literature reviews.

Section 3. Scientific research and doctoral dissertation.

These sections are designed in accordance with regulations laid down in the Regulations on Doctoral Enrolment and Training.

2. Training plan

Specify the time frame for completion of each course (enclosing the number of credits); lecturers giving lectures on these courses, including majors or fields of specialization, qualification levels and titles of lecturers; in case of guest lecturers, lecturers host entities should be specified.