Circular 09/2022/TT-BGDDT prescribing the Lists of higher education disciplines

 CIRCULAR

Prescribing the Lists of higher education disciplines

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Pursuant to the Law on Higher Education dated June 18, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law dated November 19, 2018 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Higher Education;

Pursuant to the Law on Statistics dated November 23, 2015; the Law dated November 12, 2021 amending and supplementing a number of articles and the List of National Statistical Indicators in the Appendix of the Law on Statistics;

Pursuant to 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 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;

Pursuant to Decision No. 01/2017/QD-TTg dated January 17, 2017 of the Prime Minister on promulgating the List of education classifications of the national education system;

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

The Minister of Education and Training hereby promulgates the Circular prescribing the Lists of higher education disciplines.

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Circular prescribes the Lists of higher education disciplines, covering the formulation, promulgation, use and updating of the Lists of disciplines for bachelor’s, master's, and doctoral degrees.

2. This Circular applies to higher education institutions; other educational institutions that are permitted to offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree courses; academies and institutes established by the Prime Minister under the provisions of the Law on Sciences and Technology and permitted to offer doctoral degree courses (hereinafter referred to as educational institutions) and relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

The terms used in this Circular are construed as follows:

1. Lists of disciplines (hereinafter referred to as the Lists) means the level-4 classification of education at higher education levels expanded from that specified in Decision No. 01/2017/QD-TTg dated January 17, 2017 of the Prime Minister on promulgating the List of education classifications of the national education system, including the List of official disciplines and the List of pilot disciplines.

2. List of official disciplines means the List of higher education disciplines with official discipline identifiers issued together with this Circular.

3. List of pilot disciplines means the List of higher education disciplines that have been piloted at educational institutions, which do not have discipline identifiers stated in the List of official disciplines as well as is issued and updated under the decision of the Ministry of Education and Training in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

4. Discipline means a combination of professional knowledge and skills within the scope of vocational or sciences and technology activities, which are listed and categorized in this Circular.

5. Group of disciplines means a collection of some disciplines sharing common professional characteristics, which are categorized in the level-3 classification of education in the List of education classifications of the national education system.

6. Field of study means a collection of some group of disciplines sharing common characteristics in terms of professional knowledge and skills, which are categorized in the level-2 classification of education in the List of education classifications of the national education system.

7. Updating the Lists means deciding on amendments and supplements to the Lists in order to meet the requirements of developing disciplines in practice under the provisions of this Circular, including: adding new disciplines, renaming, repositioning or removing disciplines from the List of official disciplines; or adding pilot disciplines, removing disciplines from the List of pilot disciplines.

Article 3. Purpose of promulgation and use of the Lists

1. To categorize, list, and develop higher education disciplines and training programs.

2. To formulate and implement regulations on discipline teaching, student enrollment, training, quality accreditation, granting and management of higher education diplomas.

Article 4. Promulgation and update of the Lists

1. To promulgate together with this Circular the List of official disciplines (in Appendix I), including:

a) List of bachelor’s degree disciplines;

b) List of master's degree disciplines;

c) List of doctoral degree disciplines.

2. The information in the List is formatted as follows:

a) Discipline identifier (ID): A unique identifier in the List refers to a continuous 7-digit serial number, in which the first digit refers to the education level (level-1 identifier), the next two pairs of digits respectively refer to the field of study (level-2 identifier) and the group of disciplines (level-3 identifier), the last two digits refer to the discipline in the group of disciplines (level-4 identifier);

b) Name of the discipline implies the professional and vocational characteristics of such discipline in line with the general characteristics of the group of disciplines and field of study;

c) Effect implies the effective date of a discipline, which is newly added, renamed, repositioned, or removed from the Lists, as well as the effective period or expiration thereof;

d) Notes imply other information (if any).

3. At the proposal of educational institutions and depending on the reality of training students and employing graduates of each discipline, the Ministry of Education and Training shall periodically review and update the Lists in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. Any changes to the current lists must be recorded in the newly changed lists. The updated lists shall be publicized on the web portal of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Article 5. Categorization of training programs and disciplines into the Lists

1. The categorization of training programs and disciplines into the Lists shall depend on the identification of development origins, the comparison of volumes and contents of professional knowledge and skills, pursuant to:

a) Regulations of each discipline’s standardized training program or the group of disciplines at respective level (if any);

b) General and universal characteristics of training programs being carried out at other educational institutions (if there is no standardized training program for the respective discipline or group of disciplines).

2. The categorization of training programs into the disciplines

a) A training program shall be categorized into a discipline in the Lists when it covers the core professional knowledge and skills of such discipline;

b) In particular cases, an interdisciplinary training program may be categorized concurrently into several disciplines in the Lists when it covers most of the specialized knowledge and skills of each of those disciplines.

3. Categorization of disciplines into fields of study and groups of disciplines

a) A discipline shall be categorized into a specific field in the Lists (other than the field “Others”) when it has the same origin as the disciplines in such field and shares more professional knowledge and skills with the disciplines in such field than those in other fields.

b) A discipline shall be categorized into a specific group of disciplines in the Lists (other than the group “Others”) when it has the same origin as the disciplines in such group of disciplines and shares more professional knowledge and skills with the disciplines in such group of disciplines than those in other groups of disciplines.

c) In particular cases, an interdisciplinary discipline may be concurrently categorized into several groups of disciplines when it originates from the hybridization of several disciplines belonging to such groups of disciplines and shares equivalent professional knowledge and skills with those disciplines.

d) Disciplines that do not satisfy the requirements specified at Point a of this Clause shall be categorized in the field “Others” in the Lists; disciplines that do not satisfy the requirements specified at Points b and c of this Clause shall be categorized into the group “Others” of the relevant field.

Article 6. Addition of new disciplines to the Lists

1. A new discipline may be considered and added to a specific group of disciplines in the List of official disciplines when it meets the following requirements:

a) There are scientific and practical grounds for the origin of such new discipline (on the basis of separation from another discipline or hybridization of several disciplines to meet the requirements of scientific and technological development and professional practice);

b) There is a difference of at least 30% in terms of professional knowledge and skills with existing disciplines in the group of disciplines in the List into which it is expected to be categorized;

c) There are reliable analysis and projections on the demand for workers from the new discipline, which the current disciplines cannot meet; as for a discipline whose students have already graduated, there must be reliable analysis data and assessments on its ability to meet the demand for workers, which other disciplines cannot meet;

d) It has already been taught at many prestigious educational institutions in the world or has been listed in at least two classifications of popular training programs and disciplines in the world (other than some disciplines that are only taught in Vietnam or disciplines related to security and national defense);

dd) Its training program has been developed, carried out, evaluated and accredited as meeting training program quality standards in at least two domestic educational institutions and its addition to the List must be jointly proposed by such educational institutions;

e) For disciplines in the field of teacher training, arts, sports, law, health, security and national defense, the consent of the State management agency in the respective field must be obtained.

2. A new discipline may be considered and added to the List of pilot disciplines when it meets the requirements specified at Points a, b, c, d and e, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. A new discipline that meets the requirements specified in Clause 1 of this Article may be considered and granted an official discipline identifier and removed from the List of pilot disciplines. A new discipline added to the Lists must be clearly indicated with the effective date from which it is valid.

Article 7. Change of name or position, removal of a discipline from the Lists

1. A discipline in the Lists shall be considered and renamed or repositioned when it meets the following requirements:

a) The new name or position stated in the explanation must have a more reasonable than the current name or position in accordance with the provisions on categorization in Article 5 of this Circular;

b) There is a mismatch between the current name or position of the discipline in the Lists in comparison with at least two classifications of popular training programs and disciplines in the world (other than those that are only taught in Vietnam or specific disciplines related to security and national defense);

c) The change of name or position must be in line with the development trend of the discipline and be proposed by at least two-thirds of the educational institutions in Vietnam.

2. When a discipline’s name is changed, its discipline identifier and validity will remain unchanged. A discipline that is repositioned in the List will be granted a new discipline identifier to match the new field of study or group of disciplines and the effective date, from which it is valid, must be clearly stated; the former discipline identifier is still mentioned in the Lists, but it will become invalid.

3. A discipline in the List of official disciplines shall be considered and removed when it is no longer necessary, and its removal is unanimously proposed by all educational institutions in Vietnam that no longer teach such discipline. A discipline that has an official discipline identifier (not on the List of pilot disciplines), if it is removed from the List, its discipline identifier and discipline name are still mentioned, but they will become invalid.

4. A discipline in the List of pilot disciplines shall be considered and removed if it is not transferred to the List of official disciplines within 10 years from the date it is added to the List of pilot disciplines.

Article 8. Advisory Council on the Lists of disciplines

1. Based on the proposal of the educational institutions, the Minister of Education and Training shall establish an Advisory Council on the Lists of disciplines (hereinafter referred to as the Council) in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of this Circular to advise and assist the Minister to consider and decide on updating the Lists, including the List of official disciplines and the List of pilot disciplines (using the form in Appendix II).

2. Membership and criteria for members of the Council

a) The Council shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson(s), members and a Secretary who are reputable experts with management experience or appropriate professional qualifications in the relevant field or discipline;

b) The Council shall comprise at least 09 members, including: representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training; representatives of state management agencies in the fields related to the disciplines; representatives of some educational institutions; representatives of enterprises, associations, professional organizations, and other professionals.

3. Duties and powers of the Council

a) Identify disciplines that need to be added, renamed, repositioned or removed from the Lists in accordance with the provisions of this Circular;

b) Consider the satisfaction of the requirements for disciplines to be newly added, renamed, repositioned, or removed from the Lists as prescribed in this Circular; request representatives of educational institutions to provide additional proofs and explanations if necessary;

c) Discuss, vote, report and request the Minister of Education and Training to decide on updating the Lists;

d) Take accountability for reports and requests sent to the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 9. Organization of implementation

1. Educational institutions shall list and categorize training programs, update and publicize their lists of training programs; update the data to the national database on higher education, and at the same time report to the Ministry of Education and Training.

2. Educational institutions under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall list and categorize their training programs, report them to the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security for consideration and decision, and at the same time report to the Ministry of Education and Training.

3. The Department of Higher Education shall guide educational institutions in implementing the provisions of this Circular; annually formulate and implement plans to review and update the Lists in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

Article 10. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from July 22, 2022.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 24/2017/TT-BGDDT dated October 10, 2017 of the Minister of Education and Training on promulgating level-four classification of education at bachelor’s degree level and Circular No. 25/2017/TT-BGDDT dated October 10, 2017 of the Minister of Education and Training on promulgating level-four classification of education at master's and doctoral degree levels. Disciplines, which are changed in the Lists but currently enjoying preferential policies and State support, shall continue to apply such support policies to the courses enrolled before the effective date of this Circular.

3. The Chief of Ministry 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, relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.

APPENDIX I:

LISTS OF BACHELOR’S, MASTER’S,
AND DOCTORAL DEGREE DISCIPLINES

(Attached to Circular No. 09 /2022/TT-BGDDT dated June 6, 2022 of the Minister of Education and Training)

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PART I. LIST OF BACHELOR’S DEGREE DISCIPLINES