Chương I: Thông tư 17/2021/TT-BGDĐT Quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. This Circular provides for standards of training programs of higher education; formulation, appraisal and promulgation of standards of training programs of academic disciplines; and formulation, appraisal and promulgation of training programs of higher education.

2. This Circular is applicable 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 and permitted to provide doctoral programs (hereinafter collectively referred to as “training institutions”) and relevant organizations and individuals.

3. This Circular is not applicable to training programs whose degrees are awarded by foreign training institutions, including training programs provided in cooperation with other countries according to regulations on foreign cooperation and investment in education.

4. Training programs adopted according to regulations in Point c Clause 1 Article 36 of the Law on Higher Education (amended in 2018) must adhere to regulations of this Circular.

Article 2. Definitions

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

1. “training program” refers to a system of designed and organized educational and training activities that count towards training objectives and a higher education degree. A training program includes objectives, knowledge volume, structure, content, methods for assessment appropriate to the subjects, academic discipline and qualification, and expected learning outcomes in compliance with the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

2. “standards for training programs at a higher education level” means general and minimum requirements applicable to all training programs of an academic discipline (or academic discipline group or field of training) at such level, including requirements for objectives, expected learning outcomes, admission requirements, minimum academic load, structure and content, methods for teaching and learning assessment, and program provision conditions to ensure training quality (herein after referred to as “level-based program standards”).

3. “standards for training programs of an academic discipline (or academic discipline group or field of training) at a level” means general and minimum requirements applicable to all training programs of the academic discipline (or academic discipline group or field of training) and appropriate to the corresponding level-based program standards (hereinafter referred to as “discipline-based program standards”).

4. “expected learning outcomes” means the quality and capacity that learners will achieve after completing a training program, including minimum requirements for knowledge, skills, independence and responsibilities of learners upon graduation.

5. “admission requirements” of a training program refers to minimum requirements in terms of qualifications, capacity and experience for persons who wish to enroll in the training program.

6. “level-7 specialized training programs” means the training programs of some special academic disciplines according to the Government’s regulations that require learners to achieve qualification equivalent to level 7 of the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework; “level-8 specialized training programs” means the training programs of some special academic disciplines according to the Government’s regulations that require learners to achieve qualification equivalent to level 8 of the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework.

7. "research-oriented training programs” refers to training programs whose objectives and content focus on basic theory and principles of sciences and development of source technologies that provide the foundation for development of applied sciences and technology.

8. “application-oriented training programs” refers to training programs whose objectives and content focus on development of basic research results, application of source technologies as technological solutions and management procedures and design of tools that meet human’s diverse needs.

9. “job-oriented training programs” refers to training programs whose objectives and content focus on equipment of in-depth knowledge and skills and development of professional capacity in connection with a group of specific professional titles.

10. “field of training” means a collection of some academic discipline groups having common specialized or professional characteristics and corresponding to level II education and training list of list of education and training of the national educational system.

11. “academic discipline group” means a collection of some academic disciplines having common specialized characteristics and corresponding to level III education and training list of list of education and training of the national educational system.

12. “subject” or “unit of study” (hereinafter collectively referred to as “unit of study”) means a collection of designed teaching and learning activities that aim to achieve certain learning objectives and equip learners with knowledge and skills concerning a specific area of study in the training program. A unit of study is usually taught in one semester.

13. “component” of a training program means a group of units of study and other learning and research activities that have common specialized characteristics; and play a clear role in achieving a group of objectives and expected learning outcomes of the training program. Components are used to design the general structure of the training program, such as introductory courses, basic science, basics and core of the academic discipline, practical, experiences and scientific research, and other elements.

Article 3. Objectives for promulgation of training program standards 

1. Training program standards shall provide the bases for the following activities:

a) Promulgation of regulations on offering of new academic disciplines, admission quota determination, admission organization, organization and management of joint training, and standards for training program assessment and accreditation by the Ministry of Education and Training;

b) Development, appraisal, promulgation, adoption, assessment and improvement of training programs; formulation of regulations on admission, training organization and management, recognition and transfer of credits for learners, and recognition of training programs of other training institutions; and accountability assurance by training institutions;

c) Inspection of training programs and training program quality assurance by competent authorities; supervision of training operations and results of training institutions by relevant parties and the whole society.

2. Level-based program standards shall provide the bases for formulation, appraisal and promulgation of discipline-based program standards at each level. Discipline-based program standards at each level may have higher or broader requirements compared to the general requirements in the corresponding level-based program standards.