Circular No. 04/2025/TT-BGDDT dated February 17, 2025 on regarding accreditation of training programs at different levels of higher education

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF VIETNAM -------	SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ---------------
No: 04/2025/TT-BGDDT	Hanoi, February 17, 2025

 

CIRCULAR

REGARDING ACCREDITATION OF TRAINING PROGRAMS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Pursuant to the Law on Education dated June 14, 2019;

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

Pursuant to the Law on Amendments to the Law on Higher Education dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 86/2022/ND-CP dated October 24, 2022 on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 99/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 regarding elaboration and guidance on the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Higher Education;

At the request of the Director of the Quality Management Department;

The Minister of Education and Training promulgates a Circular on accreditation of training programs at different levels of higher education.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. This Circular prescribes accreditation of training programs at different levels of higher education, comprising standards for assessment of training program quality; process and interval of accreditation of training programs.

2. This Circular applies to:

a) Higher education institutions, schools affiliated to state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations and people's armed forces that offer training programs at different levels of higher education; academies and institutes established by the Prime Minister in accordance with the Law on Science and Technology and permitted to offer doctoral programs (hereinafter referred to as "training institutions");

b) Domestic education quality accreditation organizations that are established and granted with establishment and operation license by the Minister of Education and Training (hereinafter referred to as "domestic accreditation organizations");

c) Other organizations and individuals involved in higher education quality accreditation.

3. Quality assessment and recognation for training programs assessed according to standards for assessing the quality of pedagogical college programs specified in Circular No. 02/2020/TT-BGDDT dated February 05, 2020 of the Minister of Education and Training shall comply with the provisions of Chapters III, IV and V hereof.

4. Where a training institution selects a foreign accreditation organization recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training to operate in Vietnam, standards for assessment of training program quality, process and interval of accreditation of training programs shall comply with ones specified in the application for operation registration.

Article 2. Definitions

For the purposes of this Circular, the following terms shall be construed as follows:

1. "Training program" means a system of educational and training activities designed and carried out in order to achieve training objectives, aiming to grant a higher education diploma to learners. A training program comprises objectives, body of knowledge, structure, training content, method and form of assessment of subject, training major, training level, and expected learning outcomes in accordance with the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

2. "Training program quality" refers to achievement of general and specific objectives and expected learning outcomes of a training program at a specific training level, fulfillment of the requirements specified in the Law on Higher Education, the Vietnamese Qualification Framework and provisions concerning training major, satisfaction of the requirements on personnel training for socio-economic development of administrative divisions and Vietnam.

3. "Standards for assessment of training program quality" (hereinafter referred to as "assessment standards") mean requirements in terms of contents and capacity that the training program must fulfill in order to be granted accreditation status. Each standard comprises multiple criteria and at least one mandatory criterion.

4. "Criterion for assessment of training program quality" (hereinafter referred to as "assessment criterion") means requirement for a specific aspect of an assessment standard to be met.

5. "Mandatory criterion" means one that must be met as prescribed at Point a, Clause 2, Article 13 hereof, which is a requirement for a training program/standard containing it to be considered for granting of accreditation status.

6. "Assessment of training program quality" means collection, processing of information and drawing of conclusions on the internal quality assurance system built on the basis of standards, provision of guidelines and control of whole contents, components and activities related to the training program of a training institution, comprising the program's objectives and expected learning outcomes; the program's structure and content; teaching and learning activities; assessment of learner performance; lecturers and researchers (if any); personnel and learn assistance services; infrastructure and equipment; expected learning outcomes and actual learning outcomes.

7. "Internal assessment of training program quality" means a process in which a training institution makes internal review under assessment standards to report on building and operation of the internal quality assurance system regarding the training program's relevant matters for making adjustments to resources and implementation process for conformance to education quality standards.

8. "External assessment of training program quality" means survey and assessment by an accreditation organization under assessment standards in order to determine the extent of the training program's accreditation status.

9. "Accreditation of training program" means assessment and approval of the extent of the conformity of the training program with assessment standards.

10. "Information" refers to details and data stated in existing documents and dossiers and stored in writings, printouts, electronic texts, pictures, photos, drawings, tapes, disks, video recordings, audio recordings or in other forms. Information is collected from different sources to ensure accuracy and used to assist and illustrate conclusions specified in the internal assessment report and the external assessment report.

11. "Evidence” means documents, materials, things, phenomena and opinions of witnesses used to verify an activity or event for determining the fulfillment of the criteria.

12. “benchmarking” refers to contrastion and comparison of factors/operations of a training institution/training program with another designated training institution/training program for quality improvement.

13. "Objectives of training program" refer to general descriptions of the expected achievements of graduates. Training objectives are set based on the demands of related parties for the training program and mainly demonstrate in terms of learning outcomes of learners (expected learning outcomes).

14. "Training program description" means a document used for various purposes in design, implementation and development of the training program and provision of information about the training program offerred by a training institution. A training program description contain at least the following contents: training objectives, expected learning outcomes, structure of the training program, matrix demonstrating contribution of modules to achieving the program's expected learning outcomes, brief content of modules, teaching and learning methods, methods of assessment of learning outcomes, requirements for graduation, date of promulgation/adjustment of training program description.

15. "Related parties of training institution" comprise internal parties: learners, lecturers, researchers (if any), technicians, employees, leaders and managers and other relevant organizations and individuals of the training institution; external parties: former learners, potential learners, learners' families, employers, professional associations, experts, enterprises, partners, donors, investors, supervisory authorities, state management agencies in charge of education, other relevant organizations and individuals.

16. "Training program standards" of each level of higher education refer to general and basic requirements for all training programs of training majors (disciplines and fields) at that level; comprise requirements on objectives, expected learning outcomes, admission requirements, minimum body of knowledge, structure and content, methods of teaching and assessment of learning outcomes, conditions for program implementation to assure training quality.

17. "Expected learning outcomes" refer to requirements on traits and capacity of graduates of the training program and comprise basic requirements on knowledge, skills, autonomy and responsibility of graduates.

18. "Educational philosophy" refers to core perspectives that describe educational objectives, content and methods, and the role of lecturers and learners in educational activities.

19. "Community" means learners and partners in training, research and development activities, agencies, organizations, enterprises, employers, governments at all levels and relevant parties involved in implementaion of training programs by the training institution.

20. "Community service" means activities carried out by a training institution in order to contribute to solving specific issues of community and benefit society and community.

Article 3. Purposes of application of assessment standards and use of accreditation results

1. Training institutions shall apply assessment standards to formulate, operate and develop the internal quality assurance system, prodive guidelines and control all activities concerning training programs; internally assess, ensure and maintain training quality improvement.

2. Accreditation organizations shall apply assessment standards to verify internal assessment documents; conduct external assessment, provide guidelines on finalization of the internal quality assurance system and improve the system operation method; grant or reject to grant accreditation status. Accreditation organizations shall, based on assessment standards, organize the dvelopment of additional criteria, provide guidelines on assessment by criteria for training programs with different forms of training and specialized and specific training programs that meet current provisions and requirements of related parties.

3. Other organizations and individuals have the right to give conclusions, assess and participate in social criticism of training programs of their interest offerred by training institutions.

4. Accreditation results shall serve as one of the bases for determining the autonomy and accountability of training institutions.

Chapter II

STANDARDS FOR ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAM QUALITY

Article 4. Standard 1: Objectives and expected learning outcomes

1. Criterion 1.1: Objectives of the training program are specific, appropriate and associated with the mission, vision and development strategy of the training institution; in accordance with the objectives of higher education as prescribed in the Law on Higher Education.

2. Criterion 1.2: Expected learning outcomes of the training program are defined; in accordance with the mission, vision and strategic objectives of the training institution and disseminated to related parties.

3. Criterion 1.3: Expected learning outcomes of the training program are consistent with the Vietnamese Qualification Framework and training program standards for training majors, comprising general expected learning outcomes and specialized expected learning outcomes.

4. Criterion 1.4: Expected learning outcomes of all modules are conform to and compatible with the announced one of the training program.

5. Criterion 1.5: Expected learning outcomes of the training program clearly demonstrate demands of related parties, especially external parties.

6. Criterion 1.6: Expected learning outcomes of the training program are reviewed and assessed at the time of learners' graduation.

Article 5. Standard 2: Structure and content

1. Criterion 2.1: Training program description and outline of modules contains adequate and up-to-date information and are approved and disclosed for easy access by related parties.

2. Criterion 2.2: Structure and content of the training program are designed and developed to ensure learners' achivement of expected learning outcomes and contain body of knowledge in accordance with provisions.

3. Criterion 2.3: Structure and content of the training program are designed and developed on the basis of feedback and demands of related parties, especially external parties.

4. Criterion 2.4: Contribution of each module to achieving expected learning outcomes of the training program is specified.

5. Criterion 2.5: The training program has a logical structure, reasonable sequence, flexible and up-to-date content.

6. Criterion 2.6: Structure and content of the training program clearly demonstrate the compulsory, elective, theorial, practicial, experiencial, and scientific research modules, key and supplementary components; allow learners to select modules according to their career orientation.

7. Criterion 2.7: Structure and content of the training program are reviewed, assessed and improved in accordance with the process and provisions; ensure up-to-date and meet demands of the labor market.

Article 6. Standard 3: Teaching and learning activities

1. Criterion 3.1: Educational philosophy of the training institution are published, notified to to related parties and transmitted into teaching and learning.

2. Criterion 3.2: Teaching and learning activities are designed with an aim to meeting the expected learning outcomes of the training program.

3. Criterion 3.3: Teaching and learning activities demonstrate active learning, promote learning, formation and development of learning approaches and enhance lifelong learning capacity of learners.

4. Criterion 3.4: Teaching and learning activities stimulate learners to come up with new ideas, initiatives, innovations and entrepreneurship.

5. Criterion 3.5: Teaching and learning process is regularly improved to meet demands of the labor market and promote learning with an aim to meeting the expected learning outcomes of the training program.

Article 7. Standard 6: Assessment of learner performance

1. Criterion 4.1: Assessment methods of learner performance are diverse and compatible with the expected learning outcomes of the training program.

2. Criterion 4.2: Provisions on assessment of learner performance and re-assessment process are specific and disseminated to learners and implemented consistently.

3. Criterion 4.3: Standards and processes of assessment and recognition of learner performance, and graduation assessement are disseminated to learners and followed consistently.

4. Criterion 4.4: Assessment methods of learner performance are demonstrated through the matrix, criteria and levels of assessment, answers, detailed scales, assessment plans and specific provisions to ensure validity, reliability and fairness.

5. Criterion 4.5: Assessment methods of learner performance ensure identification of expected learning outcomes of each module and expected learning outcomes of the training program.

6. Criterion 4.6: Assessment results are promptly notified to learners for improvement in terms of learning, learning approaches, and leaner performance.

7. Criterion 4.7: Assessment of learner performance and provisions on assessment of learner performance are periodically reviewed and improved to ensure identification of expected learning outcomes of the training program and meet demands of related parties.

Article 8. Standard 5: Lecturers and researchers

1. Criterion 5.1: Plan for develop a force of lecturers and researchers participating in the training program is implemented in order to meet the requirement on quantity and quality of lecturers and researchers for training, scientific research and connection to serve the community.

2. Criterion 5.2: The quantity and quality of lecturers and researchers meet the requirements for the implementation of the training program as prescribed; the workload of lecturers and researchers are defined and monitored to improve the quality of training, scientific research and connection to serve the community.

3. Criterion 5.3: Lecturers and researchers's capacity is determined, assessed and notified to direct related parties.

4. Criterion 5.4: Lecturers and researchers are assigned tasks suitable to their qualifications, capacity and experience.

5. Criterion 5.5: Appointment/job promotion of lecturers and researchers rely on the system of assessment of their capacity, results of teaching, scientific research and connection to serve the community.

6. Criterion 5.6: Responsibilities, powers and obligations of lecturers and researchers are clearly defined according to provisions and disseminated for all lecturers and researchers to master and follow.

7. Criterion 5.7: Demands regarding professional training, retraining and development of lecturers and researchers is systematically determined; training and retraining activities are carried out to meet those demands.

8. Criterion 5.8: Management of teaching, scientific research and community service quality assessment for lecturers and researchers, including commendation and recognition, complies with specific provisions and processes.

Article 9. Standard 6: Learner assistance services

1. Criterion 6.1: Enrollment policies, criteria and processes are clearly defined according to the requirements of the training program; are disclosed and updated.

2. Criterion 6.2: Learner service providers' capacity is specified in job requirements, recruitment criteria, and assignment of tasks; and is assessed to ensure conformablity to the demands of related parties.

3. Criterion 6.3: Short-term and long-term plans for provision of learner assistance services (academic and non-academic services) are prepared and implemented to adequately provide qualified services for training, scientific research and community service.

4. Criterion 6.4: There are an appropriate training management system to monitor and record the progress, learner performance and learning workload; provision of feedback to learners and inadequacy remediation are condcucted in a timely manner and help learners improve their learning.

5. Criterion 6.5: Learning counseling activities, extracurricular activities, competitions are organized and other learner assistance services are provided to assist learners in improving learning and enhancing employability.

6. Criterion 6.6: Quality of learner assistance services is periodically assessed, benchmarked ,and improved.

Article 10. Standard 7: Infrastructure, facilities and equipment

1. Criterion 7.1: Working rooms, classrooms and functional rooms are equip with appropriate equipment to serve the training program, training, scientific research and connection to serve the community.

2. Criterion 7.2: Laboratories, practice rooms and equipment are adequately arranged as required by the training program, updated and effectively used to meet demands of learners, lecturers and researchers.

3. Criterion 7.3: Libraries, digital libraries and learning materials are updated to meet demands regarding training and scientific research; communication-information technology advances are updated.

4. Criterion 7.4: Information technology system, network infrastructure and computers are easily accessible and used, meet demands of learners, lecturers, researchers, managers and staff in teaching, scientific research, connection to service the community and administrative management.

5. Criterion 7.5: Psychological and social environment, natural landscape facilitate training, scientific research and give comfortability to learners.

6. Criterion 7.6: Environment, health and safety standards are defined and deployed with attention to demands of specific and specialized learners (if any).

7. Criterion 7.7: Assistants' capacity in terms of facilities and equipment is defined and assessed to meet demands of related parties.

8. Criterion 7.8: The quality of facilities used for the training program shall be periodically assessed and improved.

Article 11. Standard 8: Expected learning outcomes and actual learning outcomes

1. Criterion 8.1: Dropout and graduation rates and average time limits for graduation are recorded, monitored and benchmarked for improvement of training program quality.

2. Criterion 8.2: The post-graduation employment rate, including internal employment, entrepreneurship and maintenance of learning to improve qualifications, are recorded, monitored and benchmarked for improvement of training program quality.

3. Criterion 8.3: Scientific research activities and creative products and inventions of learners, lecturers and researchers are recorded, monitored and benchmarked for improvement of training program quality.

4. Criterion 8.4: Data on learners' achievement levels of expected learning outcomes of the training program are recorded and monitored for improvement of training program quality.

5. Criterion 8.5: Satisfaction levels of related parties are recorded, monitored and benchmarked for improvement of training program quality.

Chapter III

ACCREDITATION PROCESS AND INTERVAL OF TRAINING PROGRAMS

Section 1. ASSESSMENT PROCESS, INTERVAL, METHOD

Article 12. Assessment process and interval

1. Accreditation of a training program shall be conducted via the following 04 steps:

a) Internal assessment;

b) External assessment;

c) Verification of assessment results;

d) Granting of accreditation status;

2. A qualified training program shall be assessed every 05 years, except for cases specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

3. Quality must be improved within a maximum of 02 years (24 months) for a training program that is conditionally qualified.

4. If a training program that was qualified in the previous assessment continues to be qualified at a higher rate of qualified standards and criteria, meets the requirements on quality improvement results, and its weaknesses found in the previous assessment are substantially removed, the next accreditation of that program shall be conducted after 07 years.

Article 13. Assessment methods

1. A training program shall be internally and externally assessed according to assessment standards and criteria specified in Chapter II of this Circular; mandatory criteria comprise: Criterion 1.3 and Criterion 1.6 of Standard 1; Criterion 2.2 and Criterion 2.4 of Standard 2; Criterion 3.2 of Standard 3; Criterion 4.5 of Standard 4; Criterion 5.2 of Standard 5; Criterion 6.1 of Standard 6; Criterion 7.3 of Standard 7; Criterion 8.2 of Standard 8.

2. Each criterion shall be assessed as “qualified” or “unqualified”. To be specific:

a) Quatified: A criterion is quatified if the training institution applies an official quality assurance method, has a system, and deploys activities clearly, closely and consistently with relevant policies/provisions/processes to meet the requirements of such criterion; provides evidence of regular improvements.

b) Unquatified: A criterion is unquatified if the training institution fails to apply an official quality assurance method and have a system with appropriate policies/provisions/processes to meet such criterion; or has policies/provisions/processes, but they are not applied consistently/officially to meet requirements of such criterion; fails to provide evidence of quality improvements.

Pursuant to Points a and b of this Clause, the accreditation organization shall elaborate Qualified and Unqualified levels for criteria and develop assessment guidelines to assist the training institution in mastering the current situation for improvement of training program quality.

3. Each standard shall be assessed as “qualified” or “unqualified”. To be specific:

a) Qualified: A Standard is qualified if no more than 02 criteria are unquatified and the remaining criteria (including mandatory criteria) are quatified.

b) Unquatified: A Standard is unquatified if mandatory criteria or more than 02 criteria are unquatified.

4. Training programs are assessed by the 03 following levels:

a) Quatified: A training program is quatified if all standards are quatified.

b) Conditionally quatified: A training program is conditionally quatified if no more than 02 standards and 16 criteria are unquatified. In order to be quatified, the training institution should conduct quality improvement within a maximum of 24 months from the date the training program is conditionally quatified under conclusion of the accreditation organization.

c) Unquatified: A training program is unquatified if requirements specified in points a and b of this Clause are not met.

Section 2. INTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAMS

Article 14. Internal assessment process

Internal assessment shall be conducted via the following steps:

1. Establishment of Internal Assessment Council (Form No. 01).

2. Preparation of internal assessment plan (Form No. 02).

3. Collection, analysis, and processing of information and evidence (Form No. 03).

4. Internal assessment of fulfillment of criteria (Form No. 04).

5. Preparation of internal assessment reports (Form No. 05 and Form No. 12).

6. Archival and use of internal assessment reports.

7. Deployment of activities after preparation of internal assessment reports.

Article 15. Internal Assessment Council

1. An Internal Assessment Council (IAC) shall have an odd number of members and at least 9 members, be established by the Principal or Director of the training institution (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Principal") for each training program.

2. The IAC's composition:

The IAC's Chairperson is the Principal or Vice Principal of the training institution; the Vice Chairpersons are a Vice Principal and Leader of a professional team with the assessed training program, including a Vice Chairperson acting as Head of the Secretariat; other members comprise: representatives of the school council who are employees working in the training institution, representatives of the Science and Training Council; Leaders of relevant professional teams and managerial units; lecturers with experience in organizing training, scientific research, and community service under the assessed training program; representatives of learners of the assessed training program;

The IAC shall be assisted by the secretariat that comprises personnel of the unit in charge of education quality assurance, leader of the professional team and lecturers of the assessed training program and personnel of other relevant units; the head of the secretariat is the IAC's Vice Chairperson;

c) Specific tasks of the IAC will be assigned to specialized working groups that comprise council members and the secretariat. Each specialized working group shall have at leasst 03 members, be in charge of 01 or 02 standards, and assessed by a council member other than a learner's representative).

3. IAC shall assist the Principal in directing internal assessment of training program under this Circular. The IAC works on principles of concentration, democracy, and discussion to reach an agreement.

4. Duties of the IAC

s) Disseminate internal assessment policy; introduce internal assessment process; research and exchange experiences in internal assessment of training programs and request relevant units and individuals to cooperate in conduct internal assessment;

b) Follow internal assessment process.

5. Duties of council members:

a) The IAC's Chairperson shall take responsiblility for the Council's operations of and internal assessment results; assign specific tasks to each member, including defining tasks corresponding to each assessment standard, commencement date and completion date, mainly responsible persons and coordinators; convene and administer the IAC's meetings; approve the internal assessment plan; direct collection, processing, analysis of information and evidence, assessment of conformance level of each criterion and preparation of internal assessment reports; solve problems arising during internal assessment and approve internal assessment reports;

b) The IAC's Vice Chairpersons shall perform duties assigned by the IAC's Chairperson; administer the IAC and take responsibility for tasks under authorization of the IAC's Chairperson;

c) Other council members shall perform tasks assigned by the IAC's Chairperson and take responsibility for their assigned tasks.

6. Council members must undergo training on following contents in internal assessment of training programs: education quality assurance system; assessment process and interval of training programs; guidance on internal assessment of training programs; experience in internal assessment of training programs in Vietnam and overseas; skills in studying physical documents, interviewing, observing, conducting discussions, investigating and preparing internal assessment reports.

Article 16. Preparation of an internal assessment plan

1. The IAC shall prepare an internal assessment plan, the IAC's Chairperson shall approve and submit it to the Principal or Vice Principal in charge of signing the internal assessment plan for promulgation.

2. An internal assessment plan shall specify:

Objectives; scope of internal assessment, which comprise information on internal assessement results of compliance with with provisions on training program quality assurance;

b) The IAC's composition;

c) Specific duties of each member of the IAC;

d) Internal assessment instruments;

dd) Estimate of resources on facilities, finance and time for mobilizing resources during the internal assessment;

e) Timetable specifying the necessary time for deploying and schedule for carry out specific activities during internal assessment.

Article 17. Collection, analysis, and processing of information and evidence

1. Information and evidence may be collected from archives of the training institution, the professional team with the assessed training program, and relevant units; from survey, investigation, interview, and observation results of operations of the training institution and training program. Collected evidence must have a clear origin and ensure accuracy.

2. The collected information and evidence shall be used for assessing the conformance level of each criterion to describe the current status of the training program.

3. Evidence specified in internal assessment reports must be encrypted and digitized, convenient for inspection, updating, archival and contraction when necessary.

4. The IAC shall, based on training program assessment criteria, assign specific council members to collect, analyze and process information, evidence, and prepare criterion assessment sheets before preparing internal assessment reports.

Internal assessment of fulfillment of criteria

1. Internal assessment of fulfillment of each criterion shall be conducted through the criterion assessment sheet that comprise description, strengths, issues, action plan and internal assessment of conformance level of such criterion.

2. A criterion assessment sheet shall be prepared by an individual or working group and be sent for seeking opinions of the IAC. A criterion assessment sheet shall be prepared for each criterion.

Article 19. Preparation of internal assessment reports

1. An internal assessment report shall be presented contents of the criteria of each assessment standard in a concise, clear, accurate, objective, and sufficient manner.

2. Draft internal assessment report shall be published within the training institution for at least 10 working days so that managers, lecturers, researchers, employees, learners and other relevant individuals can read and give opinions.

3. The IAC shall finalize an internal assessment report on the basis of opinions as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. The IAC's Chairperson shall approve and submit it to the Principal or Vice Principal in charge of signing the internal assessment report for promulgation.

Article 20. Archival and use of internal assessment reports

1. The training institution shall archive internal assessment reports and following documents:

a) Decision on establishment of the IAC;

b) Internal assessment plan;

c) Approved internal assessment report;

d) Evidence;

dd) Relevant documents.

2. The archival period of internal assessment reports and relevant documents shall comply with the Law on Archives and applicable provisions.

3. Internal assessment reports must be disclosed on website of the training institution for reference by interested organizations and individuals. For internal assessment reports containing information that are state secrets or are not permitted to be disclosed as prescribed by law, the provisions of law shall apply.

Article 21. Deployment of activities after preparation of internal assesssment reports

1. The training institution shall:

a) Send documents and reports on internal assessment to the supervisory autority for supervision and assistance in improving quality according to the action plan stated in the approved intenal assessment report

b) Implement the quality improvement plan set out in the approved intenal assessment report for education quality improvement; review, assess, and appropriately admend the quality improvement plan;

c) Update internal assessment report on its website; archive internal assessment report at the training institution and uppdate it on the Higher Education Quality Assurance And Accreditation System Management software (HEQAASM) of the Ministry of Education and Training, except for internal assessment reports containing information that are state secrets or are not permitted to be disclosed as prescribed by law.

2. Supervisory authorities of training institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense shall update the list of training programs with prepared internal assessment reports in the HEQAASM software and send a notice to the Ministry of Education and Training (through the Quality Management Department) for general monitoring.

Section 3. EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAMS

Article 22. External assessment registration

1. The training institution shall apply for external assessment of the training program by an domestic accreditation organization licensed for operation by the Ministry of Education and Training after internally publicizing the internal assessment report promulgated by the Principal or Vice Principal for at least 20 working days. The training institution shall send internal assessment reports containing information that are state secrets or are not permitted to be disclosed as prescribed by law to the supervisory authority to report on external assessment registration.

2. The training institution shall, based on the validity period stated on the granted Certificate of education quality accreditation; other legal provisions on accreditation of training programs at all different levels of higher education or at the request of education authorities, prepare internal assessment reports and apply for external assessment for consideration and granting of accreditation status. Training institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense shall send internal assessment documentation to the supervisory authority and report on external assessment registration after internal assessment of training programs.

Article 23. Verification of internal assessment documentation and request for external assessment

1. The training institution shall, based on the contract signed with the accreditation organization, send internal assessment report and documents concerning the accreditation organization for verification. At the request of the training institution, the accreditation organization shall verify of internal assessment documentation. Training institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense shall send internal assessment reports to the supervisory authority for verification before external assessment registration.

2. Within 20 working days from the effective date of the signed contract, the accreditation organization shall verify internal assessment report (Form No. 06) and return the verification results to the training institution at one of the following levels:

a) The internal assessment report does not meet the requirements on format and content, and the training institution must continue finalizing it;

b) The internal assessment report substantially meet the requirements on format and content, and the training institution must finalize it before conducting external assessment;

c) The internal assessment report meet the requirements and an external assessment may be conducted.

3. In case of valid internal assessment documents, the training institution shall send written request for conducting external assessment to the accreditation organization.

4. The training institution and the accreditation organization shall sign a contract for verification of internal assessment documents and external assessment in accordance with law.

Article 24. Establishment of external assessment delegation

1. The Director of the accreditation organization shall decide on the establishment of external assessment delegation in which members have no conflict of interest with such training institution. The supervisory authority shall introduce the list of external assessment delegation members for training institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense.

2. Quantity and composition of an external assessment delegation: The external assessment delegation has at least 03 members; In case of assessment of from 02, 03, 04 to 05 or 06 training programs, the minimum number of delegation members must be increased from 02, 04, 06 to 08 members and each delegation does not conduct assessment of more than 06 training programs. Delegation members are higher education quality accreditors. To be specific:

a) The head or deputy head of the external assessment delegation (if any) is a person who has been or is being a faculty-level leader or holds an equivalent or higher position, has experience in formulating and developing training programs, deploying internal and external assessment of training programs;

b) The secretary of the external assessment delegation is an independent accreditor of the accreditation organization and has experience in deploying external assessment of training programs.

c) The remaining members are personnel from other training institutions, accreditation organizations, state regulatory agencies in charge of education and training, socio-professional organizations, or employers, who are capable of providing feedback, assessments, and advice on the assessed training programs;

d) The external assessment delegation shall have at least 01 member who is a person with expertise in the same training major or disciplines and field suitable to each assessed training program. The accreditation organization shall select other members and take responsibility for such selection on the basis of the actual status of its accreditor force.

Article 25. Duties and powers of members of external assessment delegation

1. The head of external assessment delegation shall:

a) Be responsible for preparing and submit an external assessment plan (Form No. 07) to the Director of the accreditation organization for approval;

b) Organize the implementation of the approved external assessment plan; assign tasks to delegation members;

c) Represent the external assessment delegation to notify and discuss with the training institution on the survey results, conclusions and recommendations of the delegation;

d) Take the main responsibility for preparation of reports on study results of internal assessment documents, reports on survey results at training institutions and external assessment reports of the external assessment delegation;

dd) Direct the collection of documents and evidence concerning operations and assessment results of the external assessment delegation and transfer them to the accreditation organization for archival after the end of external assessment;

e) Direct the preparation of documents used for the explanation of complaints or interrogations related to operations of the external assessment delegation;

g) Other duties and powers as required by external assessment.

2. The deputy head of external assessment delegation shall:

a) Handle affairs and organize the implementation of the approved external assessment plan under authorization of the head;

b) Perform duties assigned by the head;

3. The secretary of external assessment delegation shall:

a) Assist the head in preparing and organizing the implementation of the approved external assessment plan;

b) Inspect use of documents and forms during external assessment in accordance with law;

c) Take the minutes of the delegation's meetings; cooperate with the head in preparing documents used for explanation of complaints or interrogations related to operations of the external assessment delegation (if any) and perform duties as assigned by the head.

4. Other members shall perform duties as assigned by the head; take responsibility for and reserve opinions on contents assigned to be in charge; cooperate with the head and the secretary in providing explanation of complaints or interrogations about relevant assessment contents at the request.

Article 26. Supervisors, interns

1. Supervisors are leaders or tenured officials of the accreditation organization who supervise operations of the external assessment delegation under authorization of the Director of the accreditation organization to comply with provisions of the Ministry of Education and Training and accreditation organization. The authorized person shall promptly report operations of the external assessment delegation to the accreditation organization. Supervisors may participate in the entire external assessment process but must not make professional interventions that affect external assessment results and comply with the provisions on information security of the accreditation organization.

2. Interns are trainees of professional retraining courses for higher education and pedagogical college accreditors or persons holding a certificate of completion of professional retraining programs for higher education and pedagogical college accreditors or an accreditor card, who observe and practice external assessment as arranged by the accreditation organization and the training institution. Interns may attend working sessions of the external assessment delegation but must not make professional interventions that affect external assessment results; must make commitment to comply with provisions on information security of the accreditation organization and take responsibility for the implementation of such provisions.

Article 27. Working principles of external assessment delegation

1. The external assessment delegation shall work on the principle of democratic centralism

2. Professional contents without agreement from at least 2/3 of the delegation members, the head shall organize meetings for directly discuss and make a final decision. These meetings are recorded in minutes and archived in documents of the external assessment delegation.

3. Members of the external assessment delegation, supervisors and interns must comply with education quality accreditation rules; have a written commitment or reach an agreement with the accreditation organization on professional ethics, and be responsible for keeping confidential information concerning external assessment; respect interviewees, training institutions and other delegation members.

Article 28. External assessment process

1. Study of external assessment documents

The external assessment delegation shall study internal assessment report and documents concerning the assessed training program sent by the accreditation organization; collect, analyze and process information and evidence related to assessment standards;

Members of the external assessment delegation discuss to reach an agreement on the following contents: Format, structure and content of the internal assessment report; criteria that have not been assessed, have been assessed incorrectly or have not been completely analyzed and assessed; the list of criteria to be inspected, re-verified or to have additional information and evidence; the list of documents to be inspected or required additional documents; expected interviewees and interview contents; expected location, facilities, equipment, activities under survey; expected situations that may arise;

c) Finalize the draft report on the study results of external assessment documents. The draft report must be sent for seeking opinions from members of the external assessment delegation and unanimously approved by at least 2/3 of the members of the external assessment delegation.

2. Preliminary survey

a) Preliminary survey shall be carried out directly or online within 01 working day;

b) Persons in charge of preliminary survey: The head, secretary and representative of members of the external assessment delegation (if necessary); the IAC for the training program offered by the training institution and representatives of the accreditation organization;

c) Preliminary survey contents: Notify the study results of external assessment documents; guide and request the training institution to prepare for the official survey and other matters (if any); reach an agreement on the time for carrying out official survey; approve the preliminary survey record.

d) After the working session, the parties shall sign the preliminary survey record (Form No. 08).

3. Official survey at the training institution

a) Official survey shall be directly carried out at the training institution within 03-05 working days;

Main operations of the external assessment delegation: Study documents provided by the training institution; visit, carry out survey, interview, and observe formal and extracurricular activities and discuss at the training institution; prepare a report on official survey results; discuss on the draft report on official survey results (this report must be unanimously approved by at least 2/3 of the members of the external assessment delegation). Before the end of official survey, the external assessment delegation shall announce the completed tasks and findings during survey to the IAC. The parties shall sign the official survey record (Form No. 09);

c) The external assessment delegation may combine face-to-face interviews with online interviews depending on the context and reality. Interviewees are leaders, managers of the training institution, lecturers, researchers, employees, learners, graduates and employers related to the assessed training program. Interviewees must meet the requirements on age, seniority, gender, reasonable distribution and representativeness of related parties. Interview contents shall be recorded in writing and archived at the accreditation organization.

4. Preparation of a draft external assessment report (Form No. 10 and Form No. 12)

Members of the external assessment delegation shall prepare and send a report according to the assigned criteria to the head and secretary of the delegation for synthesis (Form No. 11); The head and secretary of the delegation shall gather, edit, and finalize the draft external assessment report and send it back to delegation members for seeking opinions (the contents of the draft external assessment report must be unanimously approved by at least 2/3 of the delegation members). In case of failure to reach an agreement from at least 2/3 of the delegation members, the head of the external assessment delegation shall organize meetings for final discussion and make the final decision. These meetings are recorded in minutes and archived in documents of the external assessment delegation.

b) The external assessment delegation shall send the draft external assessment report to the training institution for seeking opinions within 10 working days from the date the training institution receives the draft report.

5. Finalization of external assessment report

a) Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the draft report, the training institution shall send an official dispatch to the external assessment delegation via the accreditation organization, specifying agreement or disagreement with the draft report. In case of disagreement, the training institution must specify the reason enclosed with evidence. If no opinions are given within the regulatory time limit, it is considered that the training institution agrees with the received draft report.

b) Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the training institution's feedback or from the date on which the time limit for the training institution to give opinions expiries, the external assessment delegation shall send a written notice of accepted and rejected opinions (if any) to the training institution via the accreditation organization. In case of rejecting opinions, the reasons must be specified;

b) The external assessment delegation shall finalize the external assessment report and send it and relevant documents to the Director of the accreditation organization. Then, the accrediting organization shall send the official external assessment report to the training institution;

d) Within 10 working days from the receipt of the external assessment report, the accreditation organization shall update information in the HEQAASM software;

dd) Members of the external assessment delegation and relevant individuals (supervisors, interns, delegation assistants) must not voluntarily provide information on the delegation's tasks and assessment results without the permission from the head of the external assessment delegation, accreditation organization or competent authority.

Article 29. Responsibilities of training institution in external assessment of training program

1. Sufficiently prepare and take responsibility for the legality of documents and data concerning operations of the training program and meet other necessary conditions for external assessment.

2. Assign a leader of the training institution, a leader of a professional team with the assessed training program and a full-time official to take charge of cooperation with the external assessment delegation.

3. Cooperate, exchange, and discuss with the external assessment delegation the study results of the internal assessment report and the delegation's survey results at the training institution.

4. Comply with the provisions of Point a, Clause 5, Article 28 and other relevant provisions in this Circular.

5. After the training institution agrees with the external assessment results, within 30 days from the date of receipt of the official dispatch enclosed with the official external assessment report from the accreditation organization, the training institution shall send a written request for granting of accreditation status and sign a contract for verification of assessment results and granting of accreditation status.

Section 4. VERIFICATION OF ACCREDITATION RESULTS OF TRAINING PROGRAM S

Article 30. EQAC

1. The EQAC (EQAC) shall be established under the decision of the Director of the accreditation organization to verify education quality assessment results, and request the Director of the accreditation organization to grant or reject to grant accreditation status. The EQAC may use the seal of the accreditation organization during performance of duties as prescribed. The accreditation organization shall review, add and adjust the EQAC's personnel to meet the requirements and provisions.

2. The EQAC shall have an odd number of members and at least 09 members, of which no more than 50% of the members shall be tenured officials of the accreditation organization.

3. The EQAC's composition comprise:

a) The EQAC's Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are leaders of the accreditation organization; where leaders of the accreditation organization may not act as the EQAC's Chairperson and Vice Chairperson according to relevant provisions, the Director of the accreditation organization shall assign an accreditor who has acted as the head of at least 10 external assessment delegations or leader of the training institution or an equivalent or higher position;

b) Council members are accreditors who have been or currently are leaders of the training institution or equivalent or higher positions, leaders of employers (if any), accreditors who have been acted as leaders or secretaries of at least 05 external assessment delegations;

c) The EQAC shall be assisted by a secretariat established under the decision of the Director of the accreditation organization at the request of the EQAC's Chairperson. The head of the secretariat is 01 council member;

d) In case of verification of assessment results of training programs offered by training institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense, the composition of the EQAC shall be decided by the Director of the accreditation organization after reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense;

dd) The head of the external assessment delegation must not act as the EQAC's Chairperson or secretary and vote for the assessed training program.

4. Working methods of the EQAC:

a) The EQAC shall work on the principle of collectivity and vote by majority to decide on matters under the Council's duties. When necessity, the accreditation organization may invite more education quality accreditation experts to attend the council meetings. The invited experts may exchange opinions and discuss professional matters but may not participate in voting.

b) The face-to-face or online plenary meeting of the EQAC shall be held at least once a year to discuss professional matters comprising education quality assurance and accreditation trends; make recommendations on policies and quality improvement for the accreditation organization and state regulatory agencies (if any). The EQAC's Chairperson shall summon meetings for verification of external assessment documents and external assessment documents of a maximum of 03 external assessment delegations shall be verified at each meeting;

c) At least 10 working days before the meeting is held, council members and invited experts (if any) shall receive verification documents for study in advance;

d) At least 05 working days before the meeting is held, each council member shall send written feedback on verification documents to the EQAC's Chairperson (Form No. 13);

dd) At least 02 working days before the meeting is held, the EQAC's secretary shall send the draft resolution on verification and assessment of the results of the training program (hereinafter referred to as “resolution”) to council members for study before exchange and discussion at the meeting;

e) The EQAC shall, based on verification documents, consider and vote for approval or disapproval of external assessment results or change of external assessment results with unqualified criteria and standards;

g) The EQAC's resolution (Form No. 14) shall only be effective when it is unanimously ratified by at least 2/3 of the council members via secret ballot. The minutes of the Council meeting shall be approved by present members and bear signatures of the EQAC's Chairperson and secretary;

5. The EQAC shall be responsible for verification results of education training program quality assessment results.

Article 31. Time limit and verification documents of quality assessment results of training program s

1. Within 90 days from the date of receipt of the written request for granting of accreditation status from the training institution, the accreditation organization shall hold a meeting of the EQAC to verify education quality assessment results. Where the council meeting is held online, the accreditation organization must meet the requirements on information technology and technique; the meeting is fully recorded for archival with verification documents.

2. Verification documents of education quality assessment results comprise:

a) Internal assessment report;

b) External assessment report;

c) The accreditation organization's document containing the external assessment delegation's draft external assessment report sent to the training institution;

d) The training institution's written response on the draft external assessment report;

dd) The external assessment delegation's written notice of accepted and rejected opinions sent to the training institution via the accreditation organization;

The training institution's written request for granting of accreditation status.

3. The secretariat shall assist the EQAC in developing a plan for verification of training program quality assessment results, preparing and sending verification documents to council members.

Article 32. Verification process of quality assessment results of training program s

The EQAC shall verify training program quality assessment results by the following sequence:

1. The EQAC's Chairperson or authorized Vice Chairperson shall chair the plenary meeting to perform the following tasks:

a) Listen to the summary report on internal assessment results of the training program by the representative of the training institution and issues to be discussed for clarification;

b) Listen to the summary report on external assessment results of the training program by the representative of the external assessment delegation and issues to be discussed for clarification;

c) Discuss internal assessment results; external assessment results; adjustment of assessment results of criteria and standards (if any); EQAC's draft resolution, comprising the EQAC's recommendations to the training institution with the assessed training program to remedy issues and maintain education quality improvement;

d) The EQAC shall vote by secret ballot to ratify the resolution. In case of online meeting, council members shall vote in an appropriate form; the voting must meet requirement on secret ballots and be archived in accordance with law.

2. Within 10 working days after the verification results are available, the accrediting organization shall send the ratified resolution enclosed with the EQAC's recommendations to the training institution with the assessed training program to remedy issues and maintain education quality improvement to the training program with the assessed training program.

3. Within 20 working days from the date of receipt of documents specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the training institution shall send a written response to the accreditation organization in one of the following three cases:

a) Agree with the EQAC's resolution and recommendations, request the accreditation organization to grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation;

b) Agree with the EQAC's resolution and recommendations, prepare a plan to remedy issues and maintain education quality improvement;

c) Disagree with part or whole of the EQAC's resolution and recommendations, request the accreditation organization to reconsider.

4. In respect to the cases specified at Point a, Clause 3 of this Article:

a) Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the training institution's written response, the accreditation organization shall publicly announce the external assessment results, the EQAC's resolution and recommendations on its website;

b) After 15 days of announcement, if no complaints or denunciations are made, the accreditation organization shall grant a decision to grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation to the training institution; vice versa, the accreditation organization shall review the entire process and verification documents of training program quality assessment results before making a decision to grant or reject to grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation and take accountability;

In the respect to training programs that require information security according to the State's provisions, the training institution shall send a report on the external assessment results, the EQAC's resolution and recommendations to the supervisory authority at least 15 working days before the accreditation organization considers for granting of a Certificate of education quality accreditation.

5. In the respect to cases specified at Point c, Clause 3 of this Article, the accreditation organization shall prepare a plan to review the EQAC's resolution at the nearest meeting according to the process specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Section 5. GRANTING OF ACCREDITATION STATUS

Article 33. Eligibility requirements for granting of accreditation status and granting of accreditation status

1. The accreditation organization shall, based on the resolution of the EQAC, consider and recognize the conformance level of training program quality standards when the following requirements are met:

s) At least one training course has been completed upon completion of internal assessment report;

b) An external assessment is carried out and a written request sent to the accreditation organization for granting of accreditation status of is made.

c) Assessment results meet the requirements specified in point a or b, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof.

2. Granting of accreditation status

a) The accreditation organization shall grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation valid for 05 years from the date of issue to the training program that meets the requirements specified in points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article and the requirements specified in point a, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof;

b) The accreditation organization shall grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation valid for 02 years from the date of issue to the training program that meets the requirements specified in points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article and the requirements specified in point b, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof;

c) The accreditation organization shall grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation valid for 07 years from the date of issue to the training program that meets the requirements specified in Clause 4, Article 12 hereof;

d) Within 24 months from the date on which the training program that meets the requirements specified in point b, Clause 1 of this Article and requirements specified in point a, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof is granted conditional accreditation status, the training institution that conduct quality improvement may send a written request for assessment and granting of accreditation status as prescribed in Section 6 of this Chapter to the accreditation organization.

d) Within a minimum of 09 months before the Certificate of education quality accreditation expires, the training institution shall conduct the next internal assessment of the training program, which clarifies the quality improvements compared to the previous assessment, and registers with the accreditation organization for the next accreditation.

Article 34. Certificate of education quality accreditation

1. At the request of the EQAC, the Director of the accreditation organization shall grant a decision on accreditation status or conditional accreditation status of the training program and grant a Certificate of education quality accreditation to such training program.

2. Certificate of education quality accreditation must specify the number of qualified standards; the number of qualified criteria and mandatory criteria and the percentage of qualified criteria and mandatory criteria.

3. Certificate of education quality accreditation shall be designed and printed by the accreditation organization. The accreditation organization shall send the certificate template to the Ministry of Education and Training (through the Quality Management Department) before use.

Article 36. Revocation of certificate of education quality accreditation

1. A valid certificate of education quality accreditation shall be revoked in one of the following cases:

a) Assessment results are approved and certificate of education quality accreditation is granted to the training program that does not fully meet the requirement specified in Article 34 hereof.

b) The training program fails to maintain the eligibility for quality assurance under conclusion by the competent authority during the assessment period.

2. In the respect to training programs granted certificates of education quality accreditation and showing signs of violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article:

The Ministry of Education and Training shall decide on the establishment of an Accreditation Quality Verification Council (AQVC) or audit delegation for the maintenance of eligibility for quality assurance (hereinafter referred to as "audit delegation").

b) Establishment of the AQVC is carried out as follows:

- The Ministry of Education and Training shall decide on the establishment of the AQVC. The AQVC has 05 or 07 members, of which the AQVC's Chairperson is the leader of the Quality Management Department; the AQVC's secretary is an official of the Quality Management Department; other members are representatives of relevant units affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Training (if necessary), experts are experienced and reputable accreditors;

- The AQVC shall verity external assessment documents, verification documents of training program quality assessment results and granting of accreditation status and issuance of certificates of education quality accreditation by the accreditation organization.

- The AQVC operates in the form of self-study of verification documents and meetings. The verification results shall only be approved at the meeting if more than 50% of the council members including experts approve at one of 02 levels: the verification shows that there are no any signs of violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article or vice versa.

- Where the verification shows ineligible documents, the Ministry of Education and Training shall hold a meeting among the representative of the Council, the accreditation organization and the representative of the external assessment delegation. The meeting results shall be recorded in minutes and serve as a basis for conclusion. Where parties fail to reach an agreement on accreditation quality verification results, the AQVC shall send a written request enclosed with relevant documents to leaders of the Ministry of Education and Training (through the Quality Assurance Department) for making a decision .

The accreditation organization and training institution shall be responsible for providing relevant documents and facilitating the audit delegation and the AQVC during performance of their duties.

3. Procedures for revocation of certificate of education quality accreditation are carried out as follows:

a) The Ministry of Education and Training shall send a written request for revocation of certificate of education quality accreditation enclosed with relevant documents to the Director of the accreditation organization;

b) The Director of the accreditation organization shall, based on the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, grant a decision to revoke the training institution's certificate of education quality accreditation within 15 working days from date of the receipt of the written request from the Ministry of Education and Training.

4. The decision to revoke the training institution's certificate of education quality accreditation must be published on websites of the accreditation organization and the Ministry of Education and Training and updated on the HEQAASM software.

Article 36. Training program quality improvement

1. The training institution shall maintain and enhance the eligibility for quality assurance; maintain and effectively use the granted accreditation status within the validity period of the certificate of education quality accreditation.

2. 2. Annually, the training institution shall implement the training program quality improvement under the recommendations of the EQAC and send a report on the results of quality improvement and remediation of issues specified in the external assessment report to the supervisory authority.

3. After the training program is granted accreditation status, the training institution shall conduct a mid-interval internal assessment with focusing on assessing the education quality improvement results; send the mid-interval assessment report (Form No. 15) to the Ministry of Education and Training, the supervisory authority, and the accreditation organization and update it on the HEQAASM software.

4. The training institution shall conduct the next assessment according to Article 14 hereof.

Article 37. Archival of documents on assessment and granting of accreditation status

1. The accreditation organization shall archive documents on assessment and granting of accreditation status; the archival period and use of archived documents shall comply with the Law on Archives and applicable provisions.

2. Archived documents comprise:

a) Contracts signed by the accreditation organization and the training institution for verification of internal assessment report, external assessment report and verification and granting of accreditation status.

b) Documents on verification of internal assessment report: the accreditation organization's verification results; the training institution's internal assessment documents finalized after verification by the accreditation organization.

c) c) Documents on external assessment: Decision on establishment of external assessment delegation; external assessment plan; the external assessment delegation's report on the study results of internal assessment documents; preliminary survey record; the results of in-depth study of standards and criteria assigned to each member of the external assessment delegation; the external assessment delegation's report on the official survey results; official survey record; the training institution's written response on the draft external assessment report (if any); the external assessment delegation's written notice of accepted and rejected opinions sent to the training institution via the accreditation organization (if any); external assessment report.

d) Documents on verification and granting of accreditation status: The plan for the council meeting; verification documents; each council member's feedback on verification documents of training program quality assessment results; minutes of the meetings of the EQAC; resolution of the EQAC; external assessment report finalized after verification (if any); decision on granting of accreditation status.

Section 6. TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT ARE CONDITIONALLY QUALIFIED

Article 38. Internal assessment and request for re-assessment

1. Within 24 months from the date on which the training program is granted conditional accreditation status by the accreditation organization, the training institution shall:

a) Conduct quality improvement and internal assessment of the unqualified criteria and standards under the accreditation organization's verification results of assessment results;

If such criteria and standards are qualified as prescribed in Point a, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof, the training institution shall request the in-charge accreditation organization to conduct re-assessment of such criteria and standards. If, after 24 months, the training program still fails to meet the requirements specified in Point a, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof, the certificate shall be invalid and the training program will undergo re-accreditation from the first step in the education quality accreditation process.

2. The application for re-assessment registration shall comprise a written request for re-assessment, a new internal assessment report with assessment contents and results of the unqualified criteria and standards specified in the internal assessment report previously sent to the accreditation organization.

Article 39. Re-assessment, verification of re-assessment results, and granting of accreditation status

1. Re-assessment:

a) The accreditation organization shall establish a re-assessment delegation with at least 03 members, comprising the delegation's head, secretary and members; the re-assessment delegation must be have at least 01 member of the previous assessment delegation and members previously in charge of assessment of that unqualified criteria and standards shall be prioritized to participate in the re-assessment delegation. The re-assessment delegation shall study evidence and documents related to the assessment criteria provided by the training institution; then carry out an official survey at the training institution within 02 days as follows: study evidence and documents related to the assessment criteria; carry out survey, interview, and observe formal and extracurricular activities (if necessary) at the training institution; finalize the criteria assessment sheets; prepare a report on official survey results. Before the end of official survey, the delegation's members shall announce the completed tasks and findings during survey to the IAC; at the same time, the two sides sign the official survey record;

b) The re-assessment delegation shall send the draft report on re-assessment of the unqualified criteria and standards to the training institution via the accreditation organization for seeking opinions within 05 working days from the date the training institution receives the draft report.

c) Within 05 working days from the date of the receipt of the draft re-assessment report, the training institution shall send a written response specifying agreements and disagreements with the draft report to the re-assessment delegation via the accreditation organization. In case of disagreement, the training institution must specify the reason enclosed with evidence. If no opinions are given within the regulatory time limit, it is considered that the training institution agrees with the received draft report.

d) Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the training institution's feedback or from the date on which the time limit for the training institution to give opinions expiries, the re-assessment delegation shall send a written notice of accepted and rejected opinions to the training institution via the accreditation organization. In case of rejecting opinions, the reasons must be specified;

dd) The re-assessment delegation shall finalize and send the re-assessment report to the accreditation organization. Then, the accrediting organization shall integrate it into the previous external assessment report and sent the final report to the training institution;

2. Verification of re-assessment results:

a) The accreditation organization will verify the training institution's re-assessment results of the unqualified criteria and standards if the requirements specified in Point a, Clause 4, Article 13 hereof are met after re-assessment.

b) The verification of re-assessment results shall comply with the provisions of Section 4, Chapter III hereof.

3. Granting of accreditation status and Certificate of education quality accreditation:

a) Granting of accreditation status shall comply with the provisions of Section 5, Chapter III hereof.

A Certificate of education quality accreditation granted after re-assessment shall be valid for 05 years from the date on which the certificate of conditional accreditation status is granted to the training institution to replace the available certificate.

c) The quality of the training program of which Certificate of education quality accreditation is granted after re-assessment shall be improved as prescribed in Article 36 hereof.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 40. Quality Management Department

1. Disclose the list of domestic and foreign accreditation organizations, training programs granted accreditation status on the website of the Ministry of Education and Training.

2. Deploy and ensure the uniform implementation of this Circular.

3. Inspect and supervise education quality accreditation; take charge of and cooperate with competent authorities in settling complaints and denunciations on relevant contents as prescribed.

Article 41. Responsibilities of the Department of Information Technology

1. Operate the Higher Education Database System (HEMIS), share and provide information on quality assurance and accreditation during accreditation of training programs at different levels of higher education at the request of related parties.

2. Take charge of and cooperate with relevant units in upgrading HEMIS software under the requirements on management.

Article 42. Training institutions

1. Prepare plans for training programs according to quality standards in each period.

2. Update information on internal assessment results of training programs on the HEQAASM software. Send reports on the accreditation results of training programs and quality improvement plans after being granted accreditation status to the Ministry of Education and Training as prescribed.

3. Disclose the external assessment results, quality improvement plans, and certificates of education quality accreditation of training programs on the website of training institutions within 10 working days from the date on which the certificate is granted (this provision does not apply to training institutions required for information security according to the State's regulations).

4. Send annual reports on the implementation results of education quality improvement plans after being granted certificates of education quality accreditation to the supervisory authority and the Ministry of Education and Training

5. Conduct internal assessment and take responsibility for the training program's compliance with provisions of the training program standards and eligibility requirements for the maintenance of training majors under the applicable regulations before applying for external assessment by accreditation organizations.

6. inspection and audit; provide documents, evidence and reports for audit, inspection and supervision of quality accreditation by competent authorities.

7. Comply with the relevant provisions in accordance with law.

Article 43. Accreditation organizations

1. Send reports to the Ministry of Education and Training and disclose information and education quality accreditation results in accordance with this Circular and other relevant provisions.

2. Update external assessment reports and EQAC's resolutions on the HEQAASM software and disclose them on websites of accreditation organizations at least 15 days before granting certificate of education quality accreditation (this provision does not apply to training institutions required for information security according to the State's regulations).

3. Update external assessment reports and EQAC's resolutions on the HEQAASM software and disclose them on websites of accreditation organizations at least 05 days before granting certificate of education quality accreditation (this provision does not apply to training institutions required for information security according to the State's regulations). Disclose the list of training programs with granted certificates of education quality accreditation.

4. Every month, update education quality accreditation activities and results on the HEQAASM software.

5. Prepare plans for development of collaborative accreditor and tenured accreditor forces.

6. Publish calculation methods and fees for verification of internal assessment report, external assessment report and verification and granting of accreditation status.

7. Pursuant to this Circular, formulate professional documents and manuals for accreditors for uniform implementation. Accreditation organizations shall send a report on additional criteria and guidelines related to compliance with accreditation standards to the Ministry of Education and Training via the Quality Management Department before promulgation.

8. Monitor and provide feedback on quality improvement reports sent by training institutions.

9. Be subject to inspection and audit; provide documents, evidence and reports for audit, inspection and supervision of quality accreditation by competent authorities.

10. Comply with the relevant provisions in accordance with law.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 44. Transitional provisions

Training institutions that have conducted internal assessment and accreditation organizations that have conducted external assessment before the effective date of this Circular shall comply with Circular No. 38/2013/TT-BGDDT and Circular No. 04/2016/TT-BGDDT and complete education quality accreditation by December 31, 2025.

Article 45. Entry into force

1. 1. This Circular comes into force from April 4, 2025.

2. This Circular shall replace Circular No. 38/2013/TT-BGDDT; Circular No. 04/2016/TT-BGDDT; Circular No. 39/2020/TT-BGDDT; Circular No. 33/2014/TT-BGDDT; Circular No. 49/2012/TT-BGDDT; and Circular No. 23/2011/TT-BGDDT.

Article 46. Responsibility for implementation

Chief of Office, Director of the Quality Management Department, Heads of relevant units affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Training; Directors of parent universities and academies; Principals of universities; Directors of research institutes offering doctoral programs; Principals or directors of other training institutions granted permission to offer master's and doctoral programs; heads of training institutions offering pedagogical college programs; Directors of accreditation organizations; relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

 

PP. MINISTER DEPUTY MINISTER Hoang Minh Son