Summary Report on the Quality Assurance Plan for Academic Year 2015–2016 of Nguyen Tat Thanh University

Pursuant to Plan No. 86/KH-NTT dated September 1, 2015, regarding Quality Assurance (QA) activities for the 2015–2016 academic year at Nguyen Tat Thanh University, the Quality Assurance Office hereby reports on the implementation progress and results of QA activities during the 2015–2016 academic year as follows:

  1. Self-Assessment of Academic Programmes According to the Quality Standards of the Ministry of Education and Training

According to the Quality Assurance Plan for the 2015–2016 academic year, faculties conducted programme-level self-assessment in accordance with AUN-QA Version 2 standards. Eight faculties completed Self-Assessment Reports based on 15 standards, while three faculties completed Self-Assessment Reports based on 7 standards. The Faculty of Business Administration hosted a consultancy review team, and the Faculty of Construction Engineering completed its Self-Assessment Report and Information and Evidence Portfolio in preparation for the external review team visit.

In March 2016, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) issued Circular No. 04 promulgating programme accreditation standards based on AUN-QA Version 3. The University subsequently implemented programme self-assessment under the MOET Programme Accreditation Standards for the 11 faculties that had previously completed self-assessment under AUN-QA Version 2, including:

  • Pharmacy
  • Medicine
  • Basic Sciences
  • Information Technology
  • Foreign Languages
  • Accounting and Auditing
  • Business Administration
  • Finance and Banking
  • Chemical and Food Technology
  • High-Tech Agriculture and Biotechnology
  • Construction Engineering

In addition, five faculties newly commenced self-assessment activities:

  • Tourism and Vietnam Studies
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Environmental Science
  • Fine Arts
  • Mechanical Engineering

The Quality Assurance Office organized general training sessions covering Standards 1 to 5 under Circular No. 04 for all 16 faculties and conducted additional specialized training at the request of seven faculties, including Information Technology, Finance and Banking, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Tourism and Vietnam Studies, Chemical and Food Technology, and Environmental Science.

All 16 faculties established Quality Assurance Teams and developed self-assessment plans appropriate to their respective contexts.

During Phase 1 of the 2015–2016 academic year (from June to August 2016), faculties focused on:

  • Participating in training activities;
  • Reviewing and analyzing their current status against the requirements of Standards 1–5;
  • Developing key institutional documents, including:
    • Faculty Development Strategies for 2016–2020;
    • Programme Specifications;
    • Teaching and Learning Strategies;
    • Detailed Course Syllabi;
  • Collecting employer feedback for programme revision;
  • Developing and improving faculty websites.

According to reports from the Information Management Office and the faculties, by July 2016, 11 of the 16 faculties had officially launched and operated their websites, including:

  • Business Administration
  • Finance and Banking
  • Pharmacy
  • Medicine
  • High-Tech Agriculture and Biotechnology
  • Foreign Languages
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Accounting and Auditing
  • Environmental Science
  • Construction Engineering
  • Chemical and Food Technology
  • Information Technology
  1. Institutional Self-Assessment According to the University Accreditation Standards of the Ministry of Education and Training

In implementation of Plan No. 50/KH-NTT dated June 23, 2015, on institutional self-assessment activities for higher education institutions, the Secretariat of the Self-Assessment Council, together with the Council and specialized working groups, completed Version 1 of the Institutional Self-Assessment Report of Nguyen Tat Thanh University in March 2016.

During the self-assessment process, the University organized several professional development and training activities, including:

  1. Training on internal assessment procedures conducted by Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Director General of the Higher Education Department, and Dr. Le My Phong, Head of the Division of Testing and Educational Quality Assessment under the Department of Testing and Educational Quality Accreditation, Ministry of Education and Training, on April 22, 2016.
  2. A workshop on Self-Assessment Report writing and the quantification of minimum benchmark requirements for each criterion, delivered by Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Hong, Vice Rector, on May 3, 2016.

On July 4, 2016, the University issued Plan No. 85/KH-NTT concerning improvement actions identified through the institutional self-assessment process in preparation for the official accreditation review scheduled for September 2016.

As of July 2016, the University had:

  1. Reviewed, revised, and officially published the Nguyen Tat Thanh University Development Strategy for the period 2014–2020 (First Revision, 2015) on July 21, 2016;
  2. Completed, in principle, revisions to the Self-Assessment Report, finalized statistical data, and verified supporting evidence as of June 30, 2016;
  3. Completed the Educational Quality Accreditation Database supporting the Self-Assessment Report as of June 30, 2016.

The Secretariat was in the process of consolidating and finalizing Version 3 of the Institutional Self-Assessment Report for submission to the Department of Testing and Educational Quality Accreditation, expected in mid-August 2016.

  1. Collection of Stakeholder Feedback

Based on the Quality Assurance Plan for the 2015–2016 academic year, the University issued Plan No.114/KH-NTT dated November 4, 2015, regarding stakeholder feedback collection.

Accordingly, units across the University:

  • Developed detailed plans to collect stakeholder feedback;
  • Conducted surveys among relevant stakeholders;
  • Prepared survey result reports, some of which were disseminated across the University.
  1. Quality Assurance Coordination Meetings and Professional Development Activities

The University organized three Quality Assurance coordination meetings during the academic year, held at three-month intervals, to facilitate discussions among faculties and academic support units on quality-related matters.

The University also organized professional training activities on curriculum development, including:

  • Twenty-eight lecturers and staff members participated in the training course “Curriculum Development in Accordance with AUN Standards,” facilitated by Dr. Vu Thi Phuong Anh on November 14, 2015, and December 16, 2015.
  • Nearly 100 lecturers and staff members participated in training sessions on “Developing Learning Outcomes,” facilitated by Dr. Huynh Van Thong on May 20, June 30, and July 7, 2016.

Document Number: 12/BC-NTT

Date of Issue: August 4, 2016

Post Views: 16