Circular 02/2022/TT-BGDDT on conditions for opening training disciplines at bachelor’s degree

CIRCULAR

Defining the conditions, order and procedures for opening and suspending training disciplines at bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees

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Pursuant to the Education Law dated June 14, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Higher Education dated June 18, 2012; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 69/2017/ND-CP dated May 25, 2017 of the Government defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 99/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education;

At the proposal of the Director of the Higher Education Department;

The Minister of Education and Training promulgates the Circular defining the conditions, order and procedures for opening and suspending training disciplines at bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees.

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Circular stipulates the conditions, order and procedures for opening and suspending training disciplines at bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees.

2. This Circular applies to higher education institutions; other education institutions licensed for training at bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees; academies, institutes which are established by the Prime Minister in accordance with the Law on Science and Technology and licensed for training at doctor’s degree (hereinafter referred to as training institutions); relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the following terms are construed as follows:

1. The list of training disciplines means the level-four classification of education at bachelor’s degree level, promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

2. The training discipline means a combination of professional knowledge and skills within the scope of vocational, science and technology activities, disciplines shall be listed and categorized in the list of training disciplines.

3. The group of training disciplines means a combination of a number of training disciplines which share common professional contents, within the scope of vocational or science and technology activities; group of training disciplines shall be listed and categorized in the level-three classification of education within the national education system according to regulations of the Prime Minister.

4. The field means a combination of groups of disciplines which share common contents in professional knowledge and skills within the scope of vocational or scientific and technological activities; fields shall be listed and categorized in the level-two classification of education within the national education system.

5. The appropriate discipline at doctor’s level of a training discipline to be opened at bachelor’s/ master’s level is the one with the same name and the same last 6 digits of the discipline code according to the list of training disciplines; In case training at the doctor’s degree has not been provided to such discipline in the country or there are not many graduates, the appropriate discipline is the one with the closest professional knowledge content and under the same group of training disciplines with the training discipline at bachelor’s/ master’s level. Particularly for disciplines in the group of disciplines in teacher training (at bachelor’s level), the appropriate discipline at the doctor’s level is the professional discipline corresponding to the discipline in teacher training, or is the theory and teaching approaches of the subject (of the respective professional discipline).

6. The appropriate discipline at doctor’s level of a training discipline to be opened at doctor’s level is the discipline to be opened; in case the discipline to be opened has not been trained in the country or there are not many graduates, the appropriate discipline is the one with the closest professional knowledge content and under the same group of training disciplines with the discipline to be opened.

7. The components of a training program include a group of modules and other learning and research activities sharing common professional contents; they play clear role in implementing a set of objectives and outcome requirements of the training program. The components are used to design the overall structure of the training program (such as general education, basic science, discipline base and core, internships and experiences, scientific research, and other components).

8. The full-time lecturers in the training disciplines to be opened include permanent lecturers and lecturers who sign labor contracts with a definite term of 12 months or more and currently work full-time at training institutions (hereinafter referred to as full-time lecturers), specifically as follows:

a) The permanent lecturers are determined according to the provisions at Point e, Clause 1, Article 10 of the Decree No. 99/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education;

b) The lecturers sign labor contracts with a definite term of 12 months or more and currently work full-time at the training institutions according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training on working regimes of the university lecturers for the whole academic year at the time of submitting the application for opening disciplines, and at the same time do not sign a labor contract with a term of 3 months or more with another employer.

9. Guest lecturers in the training disciplines to be opened are persons who are not specified in Clause 8 of this Article but have signed guest teaching contract with training institutions in accordance with law, currently teach according to the assigned plan at the time of submitting the application for opening disciplines, and are paid salary and remuneration by the training institutions according to the guest teaching contract with the training institutions.

10. Lecturers with appropriate professional qualifications to teach training programs are lecturers who undergo training at qualifications and discipline with appropriate professional knowledge to teach modules in the training programs of the disciplines to be opened; concurrently have at least 02 years of university teaching experience or more for the corresponding modules in the training programs of the disciplines to be opened or have had scientific works related to the expected teaching content published in national or international specialized scientific journals within 5 years from the time of submitting the application for opening training disciplines.

CHAPTER II

CONDITIONS FOR OPENING TRAINING DISCIPLINES

Article 3. General conditions

General conditions for a training institution to open training disciplines at bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees:

1. For training disciplines and training levels to be opened

a) Conform with human resource needs for socioeconomic development of localities, regions, the country and of the training field, ensure international integration; ensure conformity with human resource development planning approved and announced by ministries, sectors, localities or official reports of competent state agencies (if any), conform with functions, mission and development strategy of the training institution;

b) Training disciplines and training levels to be opened are in the list of training disciplines (unless there are specific regulations of the Government or the Prime Minister); the proposal to add new disciplines to the list of training disciplines is implemented in accordance with the Circular providing for the list of training disciplines of higher education.

2. For lectures

a) The training institution meets conditions on the number, quality of lecturers (including full-time lecturers and guest lecturers) for the implementation organization of the training program, meets the requirements of the lectures in accordance with training program standards of training levels, fields, groups of disciplines and training disciplines, in which, guest lecturers (on basis of each academic year) only undertake up to 30% of the teaching volume in each component of the training program; for training disciplines in the field of Arts (specified in Appendix 1 issued together with this Circular), guest lecturers can undertake up to 40% of the teaching volume in each component of the training program;

b) For the training disciplines in teachers of Vietnamese ethnic minority languages, the training disciplines in Vietnamese language, literature and culture, the training disciplines in foreign languages, literature and cultures, the training disciplines of physical education and sports (as specified in the list of training disciplines), the training disciplines in the field of Arts, the training institution shall comply with the provisions of Point a of this Clause and the following provisions:

- Lecturers holding the title of People's Artist or People's Artisan or People's Teacher awarded by the State and concurrently possessing a master's degree in a discipline relevant to the training discipline to be opened, can replace the lecturer with a doctor’s degree and not the one who is in charge of developing and organizing the teaching of the training program (for opening training disciplines at bachelor’s level); or concurrently holding a doctor’s degree in a discipline relevant to the training discipline to be opened, can replace the lecturer holding the title of associate professor and not the one who is in charge of developing and organizing the teaching of training programs;

- Particularly, for the Vietnamese ethnic minority language training discipline under the group of Vietnamese languages, literature and culture, the lecturers are ethnic minorities or have knowledge of ethnic minority languages and cultures suitable to ethnic minority cultural languages of the training disciplines to be opened, and at the same time, have a master's degree, can replace the lecturer with a doctor’s degree and not the one who is in charge of developing and organizing the teaching of the training program (for opening training disciplines at bachelor’s level); or concurrently holding a doctor’s degree, can replace the lecturer holding the title of associate professor and not the one who is in charge of developing and organizing the teaching of training programs.

c) For training disciplines in the field of Health (as specified in the list of training disciplines), the lecturers and instructors in practice of subjects and modules related to medical examination and treatment must have medical examination and treatment practice certificates, has or is working directly at medical examination and treatment establishments that are eligible to be practice establishments in specialized training in the field of health according to the Government's regulations on organizing practical training in health discipline training.

3. For physical foundations

a) The training institution has physical foundations, facilities, libraries, and course books that meet the requirements of teaching, learning and research as required by the training program, and the requirements for physical foundations as prescribed by the standard training programs of the fields, groups of disciplines, training disciplines and the provisions of this Circular;

b) The training institution has enough classrooms, laboratories, practice rooms, experimental production facilities, information technology systems, systems of learning support management, training management and necessary equipment to meet requirements for teaching, learning and scientific research under the requirements of the training program, under the training scale at each training level, and must have a plan to use classrooms, laboratories, practice rooms with specific areas and equipment of each laboratory, in compliance with the number of students engaging in experiments and practices at each table and each equipment in each laboratory, practice room, in compliance with the training scale required by the training program for each academic year of the course;

c) The training institution has a contract of cooperation in practical training and probation with practice and probation establishments outside the school in accordance with the teaching, learning and scientific research plan for the whole course; for practice establishments for training disciplines in the field of Health, the training institution must have principle contract on practice training to ensure compliance with the Government's regulations on organization of practice training in health discipline training;

d) The training institution has traditional library and electronic library ensuring enough course books and supporting materials for teaching, learning and research of lecturers and learners; has the right to access national databases on books and scientific journals related to the training disciplines, meeting the requirements of the disciplines and training levels, under the training scale; from the academic year of 2023 - 2024 onwards, it is mandatory for the training institution to have the copyright to access international databases of books and scientific journals related to the training disciplines, meeting the requirements of the disciplines and training levels, under the training scale;

dd) The training institution has a website that publishes all information required to be disclosed according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training and other relevant provisions of law.

4. The training program of the discipline to be opened is developed, appraised, and promulgated to ensure compliance with the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, meeting the standard training program of the field, group of disciplines, training disciplines and complying with the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

5. The training institution already has a specialized unit at the faculty level or equivalent to manage professional activities, lecturers, learners and other management tasks for the training discipline to be opened.

6. The training institution must meet the minimum requirements and conditions under current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training to be ready to shift to online teaching under the prescribed training quality.

7. The council of the training institution has passed a resolution approving the policy of opening the training discipline of the training institution. In case the training institution does not have its council, it must obtain a written approval of the policy of opening the training discipline from its managing agency.

Article 4. Conditions for opening training discipline at bachelor's degree

The training institution opening training discipline at bachelor’s degree must satisfy the general conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in Article 3 of this Circular and the following specific conditions for the entire course at the time of submitting the application for opening training discipline:

1. The training institution has at least 01 permanent lecturer with doctor’s degree in appropriate discipline, which is not the same as a permanent lecturer for opening training discipline at bachelor’s degree of other disciplines (in case the training discipline to be opened is combined by disciplines from different groups of disciplines, or interdisciplinary training disciplines are arranged simultaneously into several different discipline groups, each combined discipline must have at least 01 permanent lecturer with doctor’s degree in appropriate discipline), with at least 03 years of experience in training management or university teaching, and in charge of leading the development, organization and implementation of training programs.

2. The training institution has at least 05 PhDs who are permanent lecturers with appropriate professional qualifications to lead the teaching of the program (including PhDs in appropriate disciplines specified in Clause 1 of this Article), in which each component of the training program must have lecturer with appropriate professional qualifications to lead the teaching. Particularly for the training disciplines in teachers of Vietnamese ethnic minority languages, the training disciplines in Vietnamese language, literature and culture, the training disciplines in foreign languages, literature and cultures, the training disciplines of physical education and sports (as specified in the list of training disciplines), the training disciplines in the field of Arts (specified in Appendix 1 issued together with this Circular), the training institution must have at least 03 PhDs who are permanent lecturers with appropriate professional qualifications.

3. The training institution must ensure the quantity of lecturers to carry out the training program (as defined at Point a, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular) for the first two academic years of the training program and ensure that each module of the training program must have at least 02 lecturers with appropriate professional qualifications in charge, ensuring the student-to-lecturer ratio as prescribed; have a plan on recruitment and development of lecturers for the next academic years of the entire course so that from the 3^rd academic year, no later than 1 year before the start of the new academic year, the training institution must ensure the quantity and the quality of lecturing staff to implement the training program for each academic year of the course. Particularly for the training disciplines in the fields of Health, Law, Educational sciences and teacher training (as specified in the list of training disciplines), the training institution must fully satisfy on lecturing staff to carry out the training program (as specified at Point a, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular) for the entire course at the time of submitting the application for opening training discipline.

4. For the training discipline in the field of Health, the training institution must satisfy the conditions specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article and ensure specific conditions on lecturers of each training discipline as specified in Table 1, Appendix 2 issued together with this Circular. For the training discipline in the field of Law, the training institution must satisfy the conditions specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 of this Article and have at least 03 PhDs in disciplines in the field of Law.

5. The training institution must fully satisfy the conditions on physical foundations as prescribed at Point b, Clause 3, Article 3 of this Circular for the first two academic years of the training program, and must have plans on investment in physical foundations, purchase of equipment for the next academic year of the entire course so that from the 3^rd academic year, no later than 1 year before the start of the new academic year, the training institution must fully satisfy the conditions on physical foundations under the requirements of the training program for each academic year of the course. Particularly for the training disciplines in the fields of Health, Law, Educational sciences and teacher training, the training institution must fully satisfy on physical foundations (as specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 3 of this Circular) for the entire course at the time of submitting the application for opening training discipline.

6. For the training discipline in the field of Health, the training institution must satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 5 of this Article and must ensure specific conditions on laboratories and practice for each training discipline as prescribed in Table 2, Appendix 2 issued together with this Circular. For the training discipline in the field of Law, the training institution must satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 5 of this Article and ensure that there is a trial advocacy room and law (consulting) practice center.

Article 5. Conditions for opening training discipline at master's degree

The training institution opening training discipline at master's degree must satisfy the general conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in Article 3 of this Circular and the following conditions for the entire course at the time of submitting the application for opening training discipline:

1. The training institution has at least 05 permanent lecturers with doctor’s degree in appropriate discipline (in training disciplines in teachers of Vietnamese ethnic minority languages, the training disciplines in Vietnamese language, literature and culture, the training disciplines in foreign languages, literature and cultures, the training disciplines of physical education and sports, or the training disciplines in the field of Arts, the training institution must have at least 03 permanent lecturers with doctor’s degree in appropriate discipline), including one professor or associate professor with at least 03 years of experience in training management or university teaching (not the same as a permanent lecturer for opening training discipline at master’s degree of other disciplines), and in charge of leading the development, organization and implementation of training programs.

2. The training institution ensures the quantity and quality of the lecturing staff to implement the training program, including permanent lecturers with appropriate professional qualifications to lead the teaching of each subject and module in the training program.

3. The training institution ensures the quantity and standards of thesis instructors as prescribed in the current regulations on enrollment and training at master's level of the Ministry of Education and Training.

4. The training institution has trained and granted a bachelor's degree in the respective discipline, or in an appropriate discipline in case the training discipline at the bachelor's level is not included in the list of the training disciplines.

5. The training institution that fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 4 of this Article must demonstrate its superior satisfaction of other conditions as prescribed in this Circular and compared with domestic training institutions, including the following conditions: lecturing staff (quantity, qualifications, prestige in professional qualifications); physical foundations for training and research; scientific research capacity and results; international cooperation; quantity of training disciplines and the number of learners who have been granted a master's degree by the training institution; the training disciplines to be opened are in priority fields or urgent needs for the country's socio-economic development. The Ministry of Education and Training shall verify, inspect the practical conditions and consider and decide to open the discipline in this case.

Article 6. Conditions for opening training discipline at doctor's degree

The training institution opening training discipline at doctor's degree must satisfy the general conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in Article 3 of this Circular and the following conditions for the entire course at the time of submitting the application for opening training discipline:

1. The training institution has at least 01 professor or 02 associate professors and 03 PhDs in appropriate disciplines who are permanent lecturers (in training disciplines in teachers of Vietnamese ethnic minority languages, the training disciplines in Vietnamese language, literature and culture, the training disciplines in foreign languages, literature and cultures, the training disciplines of physical education and sports, or the training disciplines in the field of Arts, the training institution must have at least 01 professor or 01 associate professor and 02 PhDs in appropriate disciplines who are permanent lecturers), including one professor or associate professor with at least 03 years of experience in training management or university teaching (not the same as a permanent lecturer for opening training discipline at doctor’s degree of other disciplines), and in charge of leading the development, organization and implementation of training programs.

2. The training institution must ensure the quantity and quality of the lecturing staff to carry out the training program, the lecturers participating in the teaching must meet the standards of the lecturers at doctor’s level according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training on enrollment and training at doctor’s degrees to teach the contents of the training program, in which there must be permanent lecturer with appropriate professional qualifications to lead the teaching of each subject and module in the training program.

3. The training institution ensures the quantity and standards of PhD. Candidate instructors as prescribed in the current regulations on enrollment and training at doctor's level of the Ministry of Education and Training.

4. The training institution has trained and granted a master's degree in the respective discipline, or in an appropriate discipline in case the training discipline at the master's level is not included in the list of the training disciplines.

5. The training institution that fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 4 of this Article must demonstrate its superior satisfaction of other conditions as prescribed in this Circular and compared with domestic training institutions, including the following conditions: lecturing staff (quantity, qualifications, prestige in professional qualifications); physical foundations for training and research; scientific research capacity and results; international cooperation; quantity of training disciplines and the number of learners who have been granted a doctor's degree by the training institution; the training disciplines to be opened are in priority fields or urgent needs for the country's socio-economic development. The Ministry of Education and Training shall verify, inspect the practical conditions and consider and decide to open the discipline in this case.

CHAPTER III

ORDER, PROCEDURES FOR OPENING AND SUSPENDING TRAINING DISCIPLINES

Article 7. Formulation, proposal and approval of the policy of opening a training discipline

1. The director, rector, and principal of the training institution (collectively referred to as the principal) shall direct and organize the formulation and proposal of policy of opening a training discipline.

2. The contents of proposal of policy of opening a training discipline include:

a) For the necessity to propose the policy of opening a training discipline: report of analysis and explanation of training needs, demand for human resources for the current and future labor market; analysis and forecast of human resource needs in terms of quantity and qualifications, survey of the employers’ requirements on the capacity of learners upon graduation and scope of the human resource market by training disciplines; the analysis of the development trend of the training discipline in the world, the suitability with the discipline development and the training level of the training institution, in accordance with the mission and strategic objectives of the training institution, the socio-economic development planning strategy of the discipline, locality, region and the whole country;

b) For the capacity of the training institution: report on analysis and explanation of the existing capacity of the training institution for the proposed discipline and training level, including the lecturing staff, physical foundations, technology of learning materials, training program, scientific research, business cooperation and international cooperation;

c) For the development goals of the training discipline to be opened: report on the expected results on the time to open the training discipline, the time to organize the implementation of the training program, the training objectives, enrollment plan and quantity, training scale of the discipline in the next 5 to 10 years, training quality, effectiveness and social impact;

d) For solutions and implementation roadmap: report on solutions and roadmap on developing the scheme of opening the training disciplines, developing training programs, needs and investment plans for physical foundations, technology and learning materials, needs and plans for recruitment, development of lecturing staff to meet the conditions for opening training disciplines, plan for assessment and accreditation of training programs;

dd) For the plans for prevention and handling of risks: report of analysis, explanations and forecasts of potential risks and preventive and remedial measures; specific analysis report on risk handling solutions in case the training institution is suspended from the training discipline;

3. The science and training board of the training institution shall appraise and draw conclusions on the proposed policy of opening a training discipline that has been formulated with sufficient content and quality in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article and the current provisions of relevant laws.

4. Approval of the policy of opening a training discipline

On the basis of the proposed policy of opening a training discipline, which has been appraised and concluded by the science and training board as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, the principal shall report to the school council for approval; the director of general university shall report to the council of the higher education institution for approval for the training disciplines with many member units participating in the implementation of the training program. The council of the higher education institution shall be responsible for the following contents:

a) Orient the proposed discipline development under the development orientation of the training institution, ensuring the human resource needs of the ministries, sectors, localities, the whole country and international integration;

b) Ensure resources for effective implementation of the scheme of opening the training sector;

c) Assess risk forecast, solutions on prevention from potential risks and risk settlement measures upon opening a training discipline.

In case the training institution does not have its council, the training institution shall report to its managing agency for approval and be responsible for managing, inspecting and supervising the formulation and implementation of the scheme of opening a training discipline.

5. The training institution shall specify the formulation and proposal of the policy to open a training discipline, stipulate the formulation of plans, assignment of tasks, implementation time, expected products and implementation organization for each content of formulating and proposing the policy of opening a training discipline (specified in Clause 2 of this Article), in which, it shall specify responsibilities, powers and coordination between collectives and individuals of the training institution in formulating and proposing the policy of opening a discipline, specify the responsibilities and working principles of the science and training board in appraisal (specified in Clause 3 of this Article) of the proposed policy of opening a training discipline of the training institution.

Article 8. Formulation of the scheme, preparation of conditions for opening a training discipline

On the basis of the approved policy of opening a discipline, the principal or director of general university (for a training discipline with many member units participating in the implementation of the training program) shall direct and organize the development of the scheme to open a training discipline. The contents of the scheme of opening a training discipline include:

1. Some basic information on the training institution: Brief introduction of the training institution.

2. Necessity to open the training discipline: overview report on the approved contents of the policy of opening the training discipline.

3. Conditions on the training program to open a training discipline: The principal of the training institution shall direct and organize the formulation, appraisal and promulgation of training programs, ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Law on Higher Education, the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training and other relevant provisions of applicable law.

4. Conditions on the lecturing staff and scientists to open a training discipline

a) Under the provisions on conditions on the lecturing staff to opening a training discipline as prescribed in this Circular and the actual conditions of the training institution, the principal of the training institution shall direct and organize the implementation of the preparation of the lecturing staff and scientists to meet the conditions for opening a training discipline corresponding to each training level as prescribed in this Circular and relevant provisions of current law;

b) Develop a plan, determine the time, roadmap and commitment to implementation, assign specific tasks to units, organizations and individuals of the training institution and organize the implementation of recruitment, sign contracts, develop lecturing staff and scientists, ensure the quantity and quality required by the training program, assign teaching, and be consistent with the teaching and learning plan, scientific research by lecturers and learners for each academic year of the entire course, comply with the training scale, and satisfy the conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in this Circular, regulations of the training institution, ensure compliance with relevant provisions of current laws and must be committed to implementation in the scheme of opening the training discipline.

5. Conditions on physical foundations to open a training discipline

a) Under the provisions on conditions on the physical foundations to opening a training discipline as prescribed in this Circular and the actual conditions of the training institution, the principal of the training institution shall direct and organize the implementation of investment in physical foundations to meet the conditions for opening a training discipline corresponding to each training level as prescribed in this Circular and relevant provisions of current law;

b) Develop a plan, determine the time, roadmap and commitment to implementation, assign specific tasks to units, organizations and individuals of the training institution and implement investment in physical foundations, ensure the quantity and quality required by the training program, and be consistent with the teaching and learning plan, scientific research by lecturers and learners for each academic year of the entire course, comply with the training scale, and satisfy the conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in this Circular, regulations of the training institution, ensure compliance with relevant provisions of current laws and must be committed to implementation in the scheme of opening the training discipline.

6. Conditions on organization of the management apparatus to open a training discipline

a) Identify specialized unit at the faculty level or equivalent to manage professional activities, lecturers, learners and other management tasks for the training discipline to be opened.

b) Assign professional managers and assign responsibilities and powers to collectives and individuals to manage and organize professional activities for the training discipline to be opened.

7. Plans and solutions on prevention and handling of risks in opening a training discipline

a) Report of analysis on the socio-economic development situation, forecasts on potential changes, analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of the training institution and other relevant contents, thereby forecasting potential risks upon opening a training discipline and deploying enrollment and training, and general solutions for timely risk prevention as well as propose specific proactive plans for risk prevention and handling;

b) Report on risk handling solutions in case the training institution is suspended from operation of its training discipline, with specific plans and solutions to protect the interests of learners, lecturers, training institutions and stakeholders.

8. The evidences attached to the scheme include

a) Resolution of the council of the higher education institution on approving the policy of opening a training discipline or its managing agency’s document on approving the policy of opening a discipline (in case the training institution does not have its council);

b) Minutes of appraisal of scheme of opening a discipline of the science and training board;

c) Decision on the establishment of the formulation council, the appraisal council; minutes of appraisal of the training program of the appraisal council; decision on issuing training programs;

d) List of lecturers and scientists who meet the conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article, including information according to the report form specified in Section 1 (on lecturers) and Section 2 (on scientific research results) of Appendix 3 issued together with this Circular; copies of recruitment decisions or labor contracts, certified copies of diplomas issued by Vietnamese training institutions or diplomas granted by foreign training institutions and certificates of diplomas issued by competent authorities;

dd) List of prepared physical foundations and facilities for experiments, practice and probation meeting the conditions for opening a training discipline as prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article, including information according to the report forms specified in Section 3 (on physical foundations, facilities and libraries for the implementation of the training program) of Appendix 3 issued together with this Circular;

e) Contract in principle on practical training according to the Government's regulations on organization of practical training in health sector training (for the scheme of opening a discipline in the field of Health).

9. The training institution shall specify the formulation of the scheme of opening the training discipline, specify the formulation of the plan, assignment of tasks, implementation time, expected products and implementation organization of the plan, specify the responsibilities, powers and coordination between the collectives and individuals of the training institution in developing the scheme and preparing the conditions for opening the training disciplines, specify the monitoring, supervision and evaluation of the results of implementation, handling, adjustment and decision on each content of the scheme in accordance with Clauses 1 to 8 of this Article during the formulation of the training institution's scheme of opening a training discipline.

Article 9. Appraisal of scheme of opening a training discipline

1. The science and training board shall organize the appraisal of the scheme of opening a training discipline, in which, the appraisal council must consider and evaluate the actual conditions of the training institution under the provisions of this Circular, the regulations of the training institution and the provisions of the current law, assess the level of satisfaction against the requirements on conditions for opening a discipline for each specific content, including appraisal of the conditions for the name of the training discipline, the training program, the lecturing staff, the physical foundations, the readiness to shift to online teaching and learning, and the organization and management of the training disciplines to be opened.

2. The results on appraisal of the scheme of opening a training discipline by the science and training board must be shown in the appraisal minutes and have a specific conclusion that the training institution has met the conditions to open a training discipline or fails to satisfy the conditions specified in this Circular, the regulations of the training institution and the provisions of current law. During the appraisal process, the science and training board must check the actual conditions and check the specific evidences before giving conclusions, and at the same time report to the principal of the training institution and take accountability for its evaluation results.

3. The training institution shall specify the working principles of the science and training board when organizing the appraisal of the scheme of opening a training discipline, clearly specifying the responsibilities and powers of the board and its members.

Article 10. A dossier of application for opening a training discipline

A dossier of application for opening a training discipline includes:

1. An application for opening a training discipline: summary of scheme development process, report on the affirmation of the satisfaction of the prescribed conditions to open a training discipline and propose the competent authority to make decisions.

2. The scheme of opening a training discipline has been appraised according to the provisions of Article 9 of this Circular, ensuring all the contents as prescribed in Article 8 of this Circular.

3. Official letter from the higher education institution on approving the policy (for member units of the higher education institution when opening a training discipline in the field of Health and the group of teacher training disciplines).

Article 11. Approval of the scheme and decision on opening a training discipline

1. For training institutions meeting the conditions for enjoying autonomy in opening training disciplines (at each training level) in accordance with Clause 3, Article 33 of the Law on Higher Education (amended and supplemented in 2018); the Government's Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education and other relevant provisions of law (except for a training discipline in the field of Health, group of disciplines in Teacher Training, in the field of Security and National Defense, or in case the training institution is a member unit of a university when opening a training discipline with many other member units participating in the implementation of the training program), it shall be implemented as follows:

a) The principal of the training institution shall decide on the opening of its disciplines for the disciplines and training levels of higher education, when the training institution fully satisfies the conditions for opening the discipline in accordance with this Circular and other relevant provisions of law;

b) The principal of the training institution shall specify the submission of application for opening a discipline for reporting and making the decision to open a discipline within the training institution.

2. For training institutions that are member units, university-attached units (collectively referred to as units) not meeting the conditions for enjoying autonomy in opening training disciplines in accordance with the Law on Higher Education and other relevant provisions of the law, or in case the training institution is a member unit of a university, when opening a training discipline with participation of many other member units in the implementation of the training program, it shall be implemented as follows: (except for the training disciplines in the field of Health, the group of disciplines in Teacher Training, in the field of Security and National Defense):

a) The unit sends the application for opening a training discipline to the university to report and request the university to make decision on allowing the opening of the training discipline;

b) The director of general university shall decide on the opening of a training discipline for units fully satisfying the conditions for opening a discipline in accordance with this Circular and the regulations of the university;

c) The director of general university shall specify the submission of application for opening a discipline and the decision to open a discipline within the university.

3. For training institutions that do not meet the conditions for enjoying autonomy in opening training disciplines (except for university-attached units), or may not enjoy autonomy in opening training disciplines within the time limit due to violations of regulations to the extent that they cannot enjoy autonomy in opening training disciplines in accordance with the Law on Higher Education and other relevant provisions of the law or for the opening of training disciplines in the field of Health, the group of disciplines in Teacher Training, the field of Security and National Defense, it shall be implemented as follows:

a) The training institution shall send 01 set of application for opening a discipline to the Ministry of Education and Training by sending it directly or by post or through the online public service portal of the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) The Ministry of Education and Training shall receive and appraise the application; in case of necessity, the Minister of Education and Training shall decide to organize the actual inspection of the quality assurance conditions at the training institution. Particularly for opening training discipline in the field of Health, the Ministry of Education and Training shall collect opinions (in writing) from the Ministry of Health on the demand for human resources in the discipline to be opened and the conditions for actual training organization in the field of Health in accordance with the Government's regulations;

c) Within 30 working days since the training institution's application for opening a discipline is received, the Minister of Education and Training shall issue a decision on permitting the opening of a training discipline, if the training institution's application for opening a discipline is complete and meets the conditions for opening a discipline as prescribed in this Circular and other relevant provisions of law. If the training institution's application for opening a discipline is incomplete, or the conditions for opening a discipline are not met as prescribed, the Ministry of Education and Training shall notify the result in writing about the status of the application and the unsatisfied contents of the application according to regulations for training institutions.

Article 12. Suspension of operation of the training disciplines

1. The training institution is suspended from the operation of the training discipline for the opened discipline when there is a conclusion from a competent state agency on the violation committed by the training institution in one of the following cases:

a) Exercise the autonomy to open disciplines when not yet fully qualified to open disciplines according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 33 of the Law on Higher Education (amended and supplemented in 2018) and regulations of the Government's Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education;

b) Exercise the autonomy to open a discipline when one of the conditions for opening a training discipline is not satisfied as prescribed in this Circular and other relevant provisions of law (including the conditions of commitment in the scheme of opening a training discipline as prescribed in this Circular).

2. The Minister of Education and Training shall decide to suspend the operation of the training discipline for a training institution that is concluded by a competent state agency to have committed a violation as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, which clearly defines the reason, scope and duration of the suspension and makes it publicly available on the mass media.

3. A training institution that has its training activities suspended as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article must take measures to ensure the lawful rights and interests of learners, teachers, administrators and staff of the training institution and are not allowed to open their own training disciplines within 05 years from the conclusion of the competent state agency on the violation committed by the training institution.

4. After the period of suspension of the training disciplines, if the causes leading to the suspension of the training disciplines are remedied and the training institution fully meets the conditions for opening a training disciplines as prescribed in this Circular this and other relevant provisions of law, the Minister of Education and Training shall decide to allow the training disciplines to resume operations. In case the time limit for suspension of training activities expires but the Ministry of Education and Training has not decided to allow the resumption of training activities, if the training institution wants to continue to recruit and organize training in this discipline, the training institution must fully prepare the conditions for opening a discipline and re-implement the order and procedures for discipline opening as prescribed in this Circular and other relevant provisions of law.

5. For opened training discipline, for 3 consecutive years (for training at bachelor’s degree) and 5 consecutive years (for training at master's or doctor’s degrees), if the training institution fails to organize enrollment or fails to recruit students, the training institution's decision to open this discipline will expire. If the training institution wants to continue to recruit and organize training in this discipline, the training institution must re-implement the order and procedures for opening a discipline according to the provisions of this Circular and other relevant provisions of law.

CHAPTER IV
IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 13. Formulation and implementation of regulations of training institutions

Under this Circular and other relevant current regulations, the training institution shall:

1. Formulate, promulgate and organize the implementation of regulations on conditions, order and procedures for opening training disciplines and suspending training activities at higher education levels of training institutions on the basis of consultancy of the science and training board and the internal management regulations, which are specific and may require higher requirements but are not contrary to the provisions of this Circular; specify the rights and responsibilities of collectives, units and individuals in the opening activities of the training disciplines and sanctioning for violations against collectives, units and individuals related to the opening training disciplines.

2. Organize the implementation of the commitments according to the policy of opening the training discipline.

3. Carry out responsibilities in assessing the quality and accrediting training programs as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 33 of the Law on Higher Education (amended and supplemented in 2018); carry out responsibilities in the work of ensuring education quality as prescribed in Article 50 of the Law on Higher Education (amended and supplemented in 2018).

4. Organize internal inspection of the implementation of the opening of training disciplines, the implementation of commitments under the scheme of opening the training disciplines and the work of quality assurance in accordance with current law; subject to supervision, examination and inspection by the Ministry of Education and Training and competent agencies according to current regulations.

5. Carry out accountability in accordance with the provisions of the Government's Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education and other relevant provisions of law.

Article 14. Regime of reporting, storing and disclosing information

1. Within 10 days from the date of issuance of the decision to open a training discipline as prescribed, the training institution shall report to the Ministry of Education and Training (except for the disciplines decided by the Ministry of Education and Training) and its managing agency:

a) Decision on opening a training discipline;

b) Scheme of opening the training discipline;

c) Link of the website of the training institution that has publicized the contents related to the opening of the training discipline.

2. For training disciplines that have opened university degrees: from the second academic year (from the date of issuance of the decision to open a training discipline) to the end of the first course, before the start of the new academic year of each academic year, the training institution must report to the Ministry of Education and Training and its managing agency, the fact that the training institution has fully prepared the conditions for the lecturing staff and physical foundations to carry out the training program for the training disciplines opened as planned, the roadmap committed in the training institution's policy of opening a discipline, including the contents specified in Clauses 3 and 5, Article 4 of this Circular for management and post-inspection work (except for the case of opening a discipline in the training institution at the bachelor’s level for training disciplines in the field of Health, the field of Education Science and teacher training, the field of Security, National Defense and the field of Law or opening a training discipline at master’s, doctor’s degrees).

3. Before December 31 of each year, the training institution shall report to the Ministry of Education and Training and the direct management agency of the training institution on its decision to open an expired training discipline (if any) of the training institution, according to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 12 of this Circular to serve the management, including the following contents: decision number; date, month and year of issuance of the decision; the agency issuing the decision; discipline name; degree training; reason for the decision to open the discipline expires.

4. The training institution is responsible for storing and preserving the application for opening the training discipline, documents related to the opening of the training discipline, the evidences attached to the application for opening the training discipline, including the proofs of meeting the conditions for opening the training disciplines, ensuring compliance with the provisions of current laws.

5. The training institution shall publish it on its website and update its information on the national database on higher education as follows:

a) Publicize the regulations on conditions, order and procedures for opening a training discipline and suspending the operation of a training discipline at higher education levels of the training institution on the website of the training institution at least 45 days before the implementation organization;

b) Within 05 days from the date of issuance of the decision to open a training discipline or the receipt of a decision permitting the opening of a training discipline from a competent authority, the training institution must publish it on its website for the following contents:

- Decision on opening a training discipline;

- Basic contents of the approved training program, including: input standards, output standards and training program outlines; the list of lecturers implementing the training program; the list of facilities and equipment in service of training and scientific research; tentative plan for enrollment and training in the first 5 years of enrollment; training locations and a list of practice and probation locations;

- Updated information on training disciplines, training institutions' schemes on opening training disciplines into the national database on higher education.

6. For training institutions under the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security, the implementation of the regime of reporting, storing and disclosing information as prescribed in this Circular must ensure the requirements for protection of state secrets according to the provisions of this Circular.

Article 15. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from March 4, 2022.

2. This Circular replaces the Circular No. 22/2017/TT-BGDDT dated September 6, 2017 of the Minister of Education and Training stipulating the conditions, order and procedures for opening training disciplines and suspending enrollment, revoking the decision on opening training disciplines at bachelor’s degree; the Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BGDDT dated April 4, 2017 of the Minister of Education and Training stipulating the conditions, order and procedures for opening training disciplines or specialization and for suspension of enrollment and revocation of the decision on opening training disciplines or specialization at master's or doctor’s degrees.

3. The Chief of Office, the Director of Higher Education Department, heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training; directors of universities and academies; rectors of universities; directors of research institutes with training in doctor’s degree; principals or directors of other education institutions licensed for training at bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees; relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for the implementation of this Circular.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.