Circular 17/2021/TT-BGDDT educational program standards

CIRCULAR

Prescribing educational program standards; formulation, appraisal, and issuance of educational programs of higher education qualifications

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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 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education dated November 19, 2018;

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 the Government’s Decree No. 141/2013/ND-CP dated October 24, 2013 detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Higher Education;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 99/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 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 hereby promulgates the Circular prescribing educational program standards; formulation, appraisal, and issuance of educational programs of higher education qualifications.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Circular prescribes educational program standards of higher education qualifications; formulation, appraisal, and issuance of educational program standards for disciplines and majors; formulation, appraisal, and issuance of educational programs of higher education qualifications.

2. This Circular applies to higher education institutions, other educational institutions permitted to provide higher education programs; academies and institutes established by the Prime Minister in accordance with the Law on Science and Technology, which are licensed for doctoral training (hereinafter referred to as “educational institutions”), and relevant organizations and individuals.

3. This Circular does not apply to educational programs with degrees granted by foreign educational institutions, including joint programs with foreign institutions in accordance with regulations on foreign investment and cooperation in education.

4. Educational programs implemented under Point c, Clause 1, Article 36 of the Law on Higher Education (which was amended and supplemented in 2018) must comply with this Circular.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

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

1. Educational program means a system of education and training activities, designed and implemented to achieve educational objectives and aimed at granting higher education diplomas to learners. An educational program shall encompass its objectives, volume of knowledge, structure, content, methodology and forms of evaluating subjects, major, training qualification, and learning outcome standards in compliance with the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

2. Educational program standards of a higher education qualification means general and minimum requirements to all educational programs of majors (or groups of majors, or disciplines) of such qualification; including requirements regarding objectives, learning outcome standards (or learning outcome requirements), admission standards (or admission requirements), minimum volume of knowledge, structure and content, teaching methods and learning outcome evaluation, and requirements regarding program implementation conditions to ensure the education quality.

3. Educational program standards of a major (or a group of majors, a discipline) at a particular qualification means general and minimum requirements to all educational programs of such major (or group of major, or discipline) in compliance with educational program standards of the respective qualification.

4. Learning outcome standards mean requirements for qualities and competencies of a learner upon the completion of an educational program, including requirements for minimum knowledge, skills, autonomous development and accountability of such learner upon graduation.

5. Admission standards (or admission requirements) of an educational program mean minimum requirements for the qualification, competency, and experience of a learner in order for him/her to attend the educational program.

6. Level-7 intensive special educational programs mean educational programs of some special, intensive majors prescribed by the Government with the requirements that graduates achieve level-7 qualification as prescribed in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework. Level-8 intensive special educational programs mean educational programs of some special, intensive majors prescribed by the Government with the requirements that graduates achieve level-8 qualification as prescribed in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

7. Research-oriented educational programs mean those with the objectives and content focusing more deeply on principles and fundamental theories in scientific disciplines and development of sources technologies as a foundation for the development of applied science and technology.

8. Application-oriented educational programs mean those with objectives and content focusing more on further application of fundamental research results and application of source technologies into technological solutions, management procedures, and designing of finished instruments to meet diverse human demands.

9. Profession-oriented educational programs mean those with the objectives and content towards equipping learners with in-depth knowledge and skills, and developing their occupational competence associated with a specific group of job titles.

10. Discipline means a collection of groups of majors that share common characteristics in terms of specialization or profession, respective to the level-2 Education and Training Category in the National Education System Classification of Education and Training.

11. Group of majors means a collection of majors that share common characteristics in terms of specialization, respective to the level-3 Education and Training Category in the National Education System Classification of Education and Training.

12. Subject or course (hereafter collectively referred to as course) means a collection of teaching and learning activities designed to achieve specific learning objectives, and provide the learners with knowledge and skills of a narrow specialization in an educational program. A course is usually delivered in a semester.

13. Module of an educational program means a group of courses and other learning and research activities that share characteristics in terms of specialization; and have visible roles in achieving a group of objectives and learning outcome standards of such educational program. Modules shall be used to design the overall structure of an educational program, such as general education, basic science, foundations and fundamentals of majors, internship and practicing, scientific research, and other modules.

Article 3. Purpose of promulgating educational program standards

1. Educational program standards shall serve as the basis for:

a) The Ministry of Education and Training to promulgate regulations on opening of new majors, determination of admission quota and student enrollment, organization and management of training and articulation in education, and criteria for evaluation and accreditation of educational programs;

b) Higher education institutions to formulate, appraise, issue, implement, evaluate and improve educational programs; adopt regulations on enrollment, organization and management of training; recognition and transfer of credits for learners, recognition of educational programs delivered by other educational institutions; take accountability for the quality of their educational programs;

c) Competent regulatory authorities to inspect and examine educational programs and quality assurance thereof; stakeholders and the whole society to monitor the operations and training results of educational institutions.

2. Educational program standards of higher education qualifications serve as the basis for formulating, appraising, and issuing the educational program standards of majors or groups of majors of each discipline of each qualification. Educational program standards of majors or groups of majors of each discipline of a qualification may be set higher or broader than the general educational program standards of such qualification.

Chapter II

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM STANDARDS OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

Article 4. Objectives of an educational program

1. It must clearly outline the educational institution's expectations regarding graduates’ competencies and future career prospects.

2. It must clearly indicate whether it is research-oriented, application-oriented, or profession-oriented, and must align with the demands of employers and stakeholders.

3. It must be aligned and associated with the educational institution’s missions, visions, and development strategies, and address societal needs; comply with the goals of higher education as prescribed in the Law on Higher Education, and adhere to the qualification descriptions prescribed in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

Article 5. Learning outcome standards of an educational program

1. They must be clear and practical, and demonstrate the learning outcomes that graduates shall achieve in terms of the general knowledge and core competencies of such qualification, and specific requirements of such discipline and major.

2. They must be measurable and evaluable at different levels of thinking, serving as a basis for formulation, delivery, and improvement of teaching content and methods, evaluation of learning outcomes, and conferment of diplomas to learners.

3. They must be aligned with the educational program's objectives and clearly demonstrate its significant contribution while reflecting the highly representative demands of the employers and other stakeholders.

4. They must clearly indicate the specific level of qualification and ensure the learning outcome standards in terms of knowledge and skills, autonomous development and accountability, and required competencies for the respective qualification prescribed in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

5. They must be compatible with the admission standards of higher-qualification programs (if applicable) and, at the same time, facilitate horizontal articulation among programs of the same qualification, particularly among programs within the same group of majors or the same discipline.

6. They must be fully and clearly prescribed in the learning outcome standards of courses and modules of the educational program, and at the same time must be delivered in a systematic way through the connection of courses and modules.

7. They must ensure the feasibility and relevance to the volume of knowledge of the educational program so that the majority of learners that meet the admission standards can complete the educational program within a standardized length of time.

Article 6. Admission standards of an educational program

1. Admission standards of an educational program must define the minimum requirements for qualifications, as well as the competence and experience suitable for each qualification, major, and orientation that a learner must meet to achieve success in learning and successfully complete the educational program.

2. Admission standards of bachelor's programs and level-7 intensive special educational programs: Learners must hold high school diplomas or an equivalent qualification.

3. Admission standards for master’s programs: Learners must hold a university degree (or an equivalent or higher qualification) in a relevant major and have level-3 foreign language proficiency as prescribed in the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework for Vietnam, or an equivalent standard. For research-oriented master’s programs, learners must hold a bachelor's degree classified as “Good” or higher, or have scientific publications related to the respective discipline.

4. Admission standards of doctoral programs: Learners must hold a master’s degree or complete the level-7 intensive special educational program in a relevant major or hold a bachelor’s degree classified as “Very Good” (or an equivalent or higher qualification) in a relevant major; have level-4 foreign language proficiency as prescribed in the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework for Vietnam (or an equivalent or higher qualification); and have the competency and experience in research.

Article 7. Volume of knowledge

1. The volume of knowledge of an educational program, or a module or a course within an educational program shall be determined by the number of credits.

a) One credit is equivalent to 50 hours of standard study of a learner, including instructional time in classroom, guided study, self-study, research, practice, testing and evaluation;

b) For classroom teaching, one credit requires a minimum of 15 instructional hours and 30 hours of practice, experiment, or discussion, of which one hour in classroom is equal to 50 minutes.

2. Minimum volume of knowledge of an educational program shall be aligned with the requirements of the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework, specifically as follows:

a) Bachelor's programs: 120 credits, plus the load of physical education and national defense - security education in accordance with the applicable regulations;

b) Level-7 intensive special educational programs: 150 credits, plus the load of physical education and national defense - security education in accordance with the applicable regulations; or 30 credits for learners who hold a bachelor’s degree in the same group of majors;

c) Master's programs: 60 credits for learners who hold a bachelor’s degree in the same group of majors;

d) Doctoral programs: 90 credits for learners who hold a master’s degree, 120 credits for learners who hold a bachelor’s degree in the same group of majors.

3. The minimum volume of knowledge must include 30 additional credits for double major programs, and 15 additional credits for major - minor educational programs, other than those of the respective single-major programs.

Article 8. Structure and content of an educational program

1. The structure and content of an educational program:

a) Must clearly define the role of each module and course, the logical connections and mutual support between the modules and courses to ensure the achievement of the overall objectives and requirements of the educational program;

b) Must clearly outline the general characteristics and requirements in terms of specialization and profession in the discipline or group of majors at the training qualification, facilitating articulation among different disciplines and qualifications of education; while reflecting the specific characteristics and requirements of the particular discipline;

c) Must clearly define the core modules that are mandatory to all learners; and provide complimentary, elective modules so that learners can opt for those relevant to their career orientations;

d) Must provide orientation to the learners while ensuring flexibility, allowing them to create personalized learning plans that align with their individual pace, competencies, and circumstances.

2. Each module and course of the educational program must specify goals, admission requirements and learning outcome requirements, number of credits, content and characteristics of specialization; its significant contribution to the achievement of the program’s objectives and learning outcome standards.

3. Required structure and content of a bachelor's program or level-7 intensive special educational program:

a) Compulsory general education, including political theory, law, physical education, and national defense - security education in accordance with the applicable regulations;

b) If it is a double major program or a major - minor educational program, it shall be structured to clearly show the common modules and specific modules of each major;

c) If it is a level-7 intensive special educational program, the minimum number of credits required for internship is 8.

4. Required structure and content of a master’s program:

a) Research-oriented: 24 to 30 credits for scientific research, including 12 to 15 credits for the dissertation and another 12 to 15 credits for other research projects, assignments, or specialized studies;

b) Application-oriented: 6 to 9 credits for internship; 6 to 9 credits for graduation courses in the form of projects, assignments, or capstone projects.

5. Requirements for doctoral programs:

a) At least 80% for scientific research and doctoral dissertation;

b) A maximum of 16 credits for mandatory or elective courses or subjects, if admission requires a master’s degree;

c) A minimum of 30 credits for mandatory or elective courses or subjects if admission requires a bachelor’s degree.

Article 9. Teaching methods and evaluation of learning outcomes

1. The teaching methods must be designed with a learner-centered approach, making learners the primary focus of the educational process, encouraging them to actively engage and effortfully participate in learning activities; effectively guide learners to achieve the learning outcome standards of each course, module, and the whole educational program.

2. Evaluation of learning outcomes of learners must be based on the learning outcome standards, specify the extent to which learners shall achieve at different levels of thinking as prescribed in the learning outcome standards of each course, each module, and the educational program.

3. Evaluation of learning outcomes of learners must be based on both formative and summative evaluation, serving as a basis for timely adjustment of teaching and learning activities, thereby promoting learners’ efforts, supporting learners’ progress, improving educational programs, and organizing the delivery of educational programs.

Article 10. Academic staff and support staff

1. The program standards must outline the minimum requirements regarding the quantity, composition, structure, qualifications, competencies, and experience of the academic staff and support staff needed for teaching and assisting learners in achieving the program's learners to achieve the program expected learning outcome standards.

2. Requirements for the academic staff teaching bachelor’s programs and level-7 intensive special educational programs:

a) The academic staff must hold a master’s degree or higher and the assisting academic staff must hold a bachelor's degree or higher;

b) There must be at least 01 tenured academic staff member holding a doctoral degree in the relevant discipline to lead the formulation and delivery of the educational program;

c) There must be at least 05 tenured academic staff members holding doctoral degrees in relevant disciplines to lead the teaching of the program, of which the teaching of each module of the program shall be led by an academic staff member with appropriate expertise;

d) There must be sufficient academic staff to ensure that the ratio of teachers to learners does not exceed the prescribed limit for each discipline, group of majors, or major.

3. Requirements for the academic staff teaching master’s programs:

a) The academic staff must hold a doctoral degree;

b) There must be at least 05 tenured academic staff members holding doctoral degrees in relevant disciplines, including one professor or associate professor leading the formulation and delivery of the educational program;

c) There must be tenured academic staff members with appropriate expertise to lead the teaching of each subject and course of the educational program;

d) There must be enough supervisors to ensure the ratio of maximum 05 learners per supervisor.

4. Requirements for the academic staff teaching doctoral programs:

a) The academic staff must be professors or associate professors, or hold a doctoral degree with strong research competence;

b) There must be at least 01 tenured academic staff member who is a professor (or 02 tenured academic staff members who are associate professors) in the relevant major and 03 tenured academic staff members holding doctoral degrees in relevant disciplines;

c) There must be enough supervisors to ensure the ratio of maximum 07 pre-doctoral fellows per professor, 05 pre-doctoral fellows per associate professor, and 03 pre-doctoral fellows per PhD.

5. Program standards for majors and groups of majors shall outline specific requirements for the academic staff, which must not be lesser than those prescribed in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article; specific requirements for the ratio of teachers to learners; requirements for support staff (if necessary), which must be aligned with the characteristics of each discipline, group of majors or each major.

Article 11. Facilities, technologies and learning materials

Program standards for majors and groups of majors shall outline minimum requirements regarding facilities, equipment for practice and experiment, information technology, libraries, learning materials, and learning management and assistance systems, and training management system so as to support learners to achieve the educational program’s learning outcome standards, which must be aligned with the characteristics of each major, group of majors, or discipline.

Chapter III

FORMULATION, APPRAISAL, AND ISSUANCE OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM STANDARDS FOR DISCIPLINES AND MAJORS

Article 12. Formulation of educational program standards for disciplines and majors

1. Educational program standards for majors shall be formulated for each qualification, each discipline or for several groups of majors in case of necessity (hereinafter collectively referred to as “major cluster”), provided that they must:

a) Meet the requirements of the educational program standards for the respective qualification as prescribed in Chapter II of this Circular;

b) Contain a part of general rules applicable to all majors within such major cluster and a part of specific rules applicable to each relevant major (if necessary);

c) Be based on the general requirements of the future careers and job positions of graduates from majors of such major cluster;

d) Ensure active participation and effective contributions from stakeholders, including representatives of educational institutions, employers, professional associations, and experts with relevant expertise;

dd) Be developed with reference to and benchmarked against models, standards, or criteria for educational programs from relevant countries or international organizations;

e) Ensure autonomy in the formulation of educational programs by educational institutions; provide requirements instead of mandatory detailed structure of any educational program or its courses, except for the courses prescribed in Clauses 3, 4, and 5, Article 8 of this Circular.

2. The process of formulating educational program standards for majors and major clusters of a discipline is prescribed in the Appendix to this Circular.

Article 13. Major Cluster Advisory Councils

1. Major Cluster Advisory Councils shall be established by the ministries as assigned under Decision No. 436/QD-TTg dated March 30, 2020 by the Prime Minister (hereinafter referred to as the managing ministries) to assist the respective managing ministries in fulfilling the task of developing educational program standards for the respective major clusters.

2. Major Cluster Advisory Councils can use the seals of the authorities assigned by the managing ministries to be in charge of the formulation of educational program standards for the respective major clusters (hereinafter referred to as the authorities in charge of formulating educational program standards).

3. Major Cluster Advisory Councils shall operate in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training.

4. The organizational structure of a Major Cluster Advisory Council

a) The Council shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons, Members, and Secretary, all of whom are experts in the discipline, group of majors, or major for which the educational program standards are formulated, and who have a good reputation, experiences, and professional qualifications aligned with the functions, tasks, and expertise of the Council;

b) The Council shall consist of at least 09 members, including a representative of the Ministry of Education and Training; a representative of the managing ministry; a representatives of the authority in charge of formulating educational program standards; representatives of several higher education institutions; representatives of enterprises, associations, professional organizations, and human resources management authorities; experts in educational program formulation, development, and quality assurance;

c) The quantity, structure, specific composition, and standards of the Major Cluster Advisory Council’s members and its Chairperson shall be decided by the managing ministry;

d) The specialized committees of the Council shall assist the Council in performing the tasks in each specific specialization. Each specialized committee shall consist of members of the Council and other experts who have experiences and professional qualifications aligned with the respective specialization.

5. The Major Cluster Advisory Council shall be tasked with

a) Determining the formulation of educational program standards for the respective major cluster based on the discipline or group of majors and list of relevant majors; and the necessity for providing specific requirements for each major;

b) Formulating and updating educational program standards for the respective major cluster to ensure compliance with the educational program standards for the respective qualification as prescribed in Article 12 of this Circular and submitting them to the Minister of Education and Training for issuance;

c) Participating in the inspection, supervision, and evaluation of the compliance with the educational program standards of educational institutions in accordance with the law regulations;

d) Other tasks as assigned by the authority in charge of formulating educational program standards in accordance with the law regulations.

6. The Major Cluster Advisory Council shall be responsible for

a) The content and quality of the educational program standards within the major cluster; their relevance to practical needs; their alignment with training program standards for the respective higher education qualification; their compliance with applicable regulations, and the autonomy of the educational institution;

b) Providing accountability to the relevant regulatory authorities, the educational institution, and other stakeholders regarding issues related to the training program standards of the major cluster;

c) Developing working regulations and assigning tasks to members of the Major Cluster Advisory Council; recommending to the managing ministry any necessary changes to the members and reshuffle of the Major Cluster Advisory Council (if necessary);

d) Cooperating with the authority in charge of formulating educational program standards in reporting to the Ministry of Education and Training on the plan, progress, and results of the formulation of the educational program standards.

Article 14. Authorities in charge of formulating educational program standards

1. A managing ministry shall be responsible for selecting and assigning a reputable and influential affiliated or subordinate authority in the relevant training discipline, which is able of and experienced in formulation and quality assurance of the educational program, to be in charge of organizing activities related to the formulation of educational program standards for the major cluster.

2. An authority in charge of formulating educational program standards shall:

a) Coordinate with the Major Cluster Advisory Council to make plans, ensure funds and human resources, and the progress in the formulation of educational program standards in accordance with the law regulations and the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Support the operations of the Major Cluster Advisory Council, and organize other activities for the purpose of formulating educational program standards of the major cluster;

c) Be accountable to regulatory authorities and the society for issues regarding the organization of activities related to the formulation of educational program standards of the major cluster.

Article 15. Appraisal and issuance of educational program standards

1. The Minister of Education and Training shall decide to establish an Educational Program Standard Appraisal Council for each major cluster. The criteria for and composition of the Appraisal Council are prescribed as follows:

a) The Council shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons, Members, and Secretary, all of whom are experts in the discipline or major for which the educational program standards are appraised, and who have a good reputation, experiences, and professional qualifications aligned with the functions, tasks, and expertise of the Council. Special cases shall be decided by the Minister of Education and Training;

b) The Council shall consist of at least 09 members, including a representative of the Ministry of Education and Training; a representative of the managing ministry; representatives of several higher education institutions; representatives of enterprises, associations, professional organizations, and human resources management authorities; experts in educational program formulation, development, and quality assurance;

c) Members of the Appraisal Council shall not be members of the Major Cluster Advisory Council.

2. Responsibilities and rights of the Educational Program Standard Appraisal Council

a) The Appraisal Council shall be responsible for appraising the educational program standards of the respective major cluster so as to evaluate their quality, and advice the Ministry of Education and Training to issue the decision on promulgation of such educational program standards;

b) To appraise the educational program standards, the Appraisal Council shall take this Circular and applicable regulations on student enrollment and education for the respective qualification; minimum conditions for offering educational programs; other relevant regulations on educational programs; requirements and standards of the major into consideration;

c) The Appraisal Council must make a clear conclusion that: The Council adopts the educational program standards as is without any amendment or supplementation; or the Council adopts the educational program standards but requires amendment or supplementation, and specifies the required amendments or supplements; or the Council disapproves the educational program standards and specifies the justification for such disapproval;

d) The Council shall be accountable to regulatory authorities and the society for the performance of its tasks; and provide explanations upon request.

3. Commencement of Appraisal Council's meetings

a) The Council shall appraise educational program standards in accordance with the plan of the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Meetings of the Appraisal Council must be documented in detailed minutes; including voting results on the conclusions of the Appraisal Council, signed by the Appraisal Council’s members.

4. The Minister of Education and Training shall decide to adopt the educational program standards by majors or major clusters of each discipline of higher education qualifications based on the conclusion of the Appraisal Council.

Article 16. Review, adjustment, and updating of educational program standards

1. Educational program standards must be reviewed, adjusted, and updated at least once every 05 years. In case of necessity, the Ministry of Education and Training shall decide to review, adjust, and update the educational program standards by majors or major clusters of each discipline to meet the changing requirements of science and technology and the development trends of the majors.

2. The Ministry of Education and Training shall coordinate with the managing ministries in deciding to perfect or establish new Major Cluster Advisory Councils to review, adjust and update educational program standards for the respective major clusters as prescribed in Article 12 and Article 13 of this Circular.

3. The Minister of Education and Training shall arrange the appraisal and issuance of educational program standards in accordance with Article 15 of this Circular.

Chapter IV

FORMULATION, APPRAISAL AND ISSUANCE OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Article 17. Formulation of educational programs

1. The Head or Director of the educational institution (hereafter collectively referred to as Head of the educational institution) shall decide to establish an Educational Program Formulation Council to formulate educational programs. Required composition of the Council:

a) At-large representatives of lecturers knowledgeable about the major or specialty to be taught, who directly participate in teaching or managing training activities of the educational institution and are capable of formulating and developing educational programs;

b) Experts in developing educational programs and higher education quality assurance;

c) Representatives of the employers in the relevant professional disciplines, who are knowledgeable about professional competency requirements and job positions in the major to be taught.

2. The Head of the educational institution shall decide on criteria, quantity, structure, composition, and members of the Educational Program Formulation Council; and define the responsibilities and rights of the Council and its members.

3. An educational program is required to:

a) Meet the educational program standards for higher education qualifications as prescribed in Chapter II of this Circular, and the educational program standards for the respective major or major cluster (if any), and the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework;

b) Clearly demonstrate its possible contribution to meeting the demand for human resources in line with the socio-economic development plans and strategies of the sector, locality, and the country, as well as the demands of the labor market;

c) Reflect the requirements of stakeholders, including representatives of the academic staff from specialized agencies, representatives of the employers and professional associations, experts in the relevant discipline, and graduates from the educational program who work in the respective discipline;

d) Be benchmarked against accredited educational programs of the same qualification and major from reputable domestic and foreign educational institutions;

dd) Be designed based on the learning outcome standards of the educational program; integrate both skills and knowledge; include a matrix of subjects or courses with specific learning outcome standards to ensure that the learning outcome standards of the educational program are fully allocated and conveyed in each subject or course;

e) Ensure that teaching and learning activities, as well as examination and evaluation, are planned and designed based on the learning outcome standards of each subject or course, and offer teaching activities that promote learning to meet the learning outcome standards;

g) Provide regulations and guidelines on the delivery and quality assurance of the educational program;

h) Be commented and approved by the Science and Education Council of the educational institution before its official issuance.

Article 18. Appraisal and issuance of an educational program

1. The Head of the educational institution shall issue a decision to establish an Educational Program Appraisal Council. The criteria for and composition of the Appraisal Council are prescribed as follows:

a) Members of an Educational Program Appraisal Council shall include professors, associate professors, and PhDs in the respective major or a major closely related to the educational program, if it is a new major, and experts who are knowledgeable about the major as well as competent to formulate educational programs and assure the education quality. Members of the Educational Program Appraisal Council shall not concurrently be members of the Educational Program Formulation Council;

b) The quantity of an Appraisal Council’s members shall be an odd number, including the Chairperson, Secretary, at least 02 examiners from two different educational institutions and other members; among whom there shall be at least 01 member who is the representative of the employers;

c) The Head of the educational institution shall decide on specific criteria, quantity, structure, composition, and members of the Educational Program Appraisal Council in accordance with Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article.

2. The appraisal of an educational program is required to:

a) Evaluate the extent to which an educational program meets the educational program standards, the applicable regulations on education organization and delivery of the respective qualifications; other relevant regulations on educational programs; requirements of the major and the identified objectives and learning outcome standards thereof;

b) Result in a clear conclusion that: The Council adopts the educational program as is without any amendment or supplementation; or the Council adopts the educational program but requires amendment or supplementation, and specifies the required amendments or supplements; or the Council disapproves the educational program and specifies the justification for such disapproval.

3. Upon the conclusion of the Educational Program Appraisal Council, based on the comments of the Science and Education Council of the educational institution, the Head of the educational institution shall sign a decision to issue and apply such educational program.

4. A educational program of a foreign higher education institution, before being used in accordance with Point c, Clause 1, Article 36 of the Law on Higher Education (which is amended and supplemented in 2018), shall be appraised in accordance with this Article.

Article 19. Evaluation and improvement of quality of educational programs

1. The educational programs must be periodically reviewed, evaluated, and updated. The review and evaluation results must be leveraged by educational institutions to improve and enhance the education quality.

2. The evaluation of an educational program must meet the following requirements:

a) The evaluation shall meet the requirements prescribed in the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework, the educational program standards of higher education qualifications as prescribed in Chapter II of this Circular, and the educational program standards for the majors or major clusters (if applicable);

b) The evaluation shall be based on the evaluation of the extent to which the educational program’s learning outcome standards for each course are achieved and the feedback of stakeholders (the employers, learners, academic staff, professional organizations, etc.). Each learning outcome standard must be evaluated at least twice during the evaluation cycle of the educational program;

c) The evaluation must clarify the effectiveness of the ongoing educational program (the achievement of learning outcome standards and defined objectives; the consistency and relevance between the program’s content, the examination and evaluation methods, and the resources for learning and teaching);

d) The evaluation must provide recommendations for the improvement of the educational program’s quality and the expected impact of changing or updating the educational program. The results of such evaluation and improvement must be publicly disclosed on the educational institution’s website.

3. The overall evaluation cycle lasts maximum 05 years. The overall evaluation process is similar to the process of developing a new educational program. The Head of an educational institution shall publicly disclose the educational program as a new one or a revised program after it is evaluated and updated.

4. Evaluation of educational programs before the first graduating class in accordance with the regulations on opening of new majors in Clause 18, Article 1 of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Higher Education must meet the requirements prescribed in this Article.

Chapter V

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 20. Responsibilities for implementation

1. The Ministry of Education and Training shall provide guidance to the Major Cluster Advisory Councils for them to develop educational program standards for specific majors and major clusters.

2. The Ministry of Education and Training shall instruct educational institutions to formulate, appraise, issue, and deliver educational programs and disclose information about all their educational programs on their web portals in accordance with this Circular and relevant law regulations.

3. Educational institutions shall have specific regulations on the formulation, appraisal, issuance and application of new educational programs; review, evaluation, and improvement of existing educational programs in accordance with Article 19 of this Circular.

4. For majors, groups of majors, or disciplines of which educational program standards have yet to be issued, educational institutions follow regulations in Chapter II of this Circular and refer to national and international occupational standards for such majors, groups of majors, or disciplines to formulate, appraise, and issue respective educational programs.

Article 21. Educational program reporting and information disclosure

1. On an annual basis, educational institutions shall report to the Ministry of Education and Training the following required information:

a) General information about the educational program, including: name of the educational program, location of delivery of the educational program, minimum requirements for delivering the educational program, quality accreditation status of the educational program;

b) The impact of the evaluation of program and its learning outcome standards on the quality improvement of the educational program;

c) Resources to deliver the educational program; analysis of the quantity and distribution of academic staff, academic staff members with appropriate expertise; budgets and funding sources, training assistance facilities and equipment.

2. Reporting on educational programs in accordance with this Circular may be in writing and by updating data into the national database following the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Training.

3. Heads of educational institutions and Directors of education quality accreditation organizations shall be responsible for the reporting time, the accuracy and quality of the reports.

4. The educational institution shall disclose on its website the following required information:

a) General information about the program applicable to specific enrollments; forms, methods, and duration of training; information required for the educational program standards;

b) Results of evaluation of learning outcome standards and improvements to the educational program made in 5 immediately preceding years to enhance the education quality;

c) Accreditation status of educational programs currently in progress at the educational institution.

Article 22. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on August 07, 2021.

2. This Circular supersedes Circular No. 07/2015/TT-BGDDT dated April 16, 2015 of the Minister of Education and Training on promulgation of the Circular prescribing the minimum volume of knowledge and competency requirements that learners need to achieve upon graduation for each qualification of higher education and the process of formulating, appraising and adopting undergraduate, master and doctoral educational programs.

3. Higher education institutions that are offering educational programs formulated in accordance with Circular No. 07/2015/TT-BGDDT dated April 16, 2015 of the Minister of Education and Training shall continue to do so regarding training courses starting before January 01, 2022. For the courses enrolling after January 1, 2022, the educational institutions must comply with this Circular.

4. The opening of new educational programs by educational institutions must comply with this Circular from its effective date.

5. The Chief of Ministry Office, Director of the Higher Education Department, heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training; heads of educational institutions and relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.