Impact of the Self-Assessment Process on Quality Enhancement of Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study of Vietnam

Abstract

Quality assurance and accreditation has been implemented in Vietnam for nearly twenty years. It is mandatory for all Vietnamese higher education institutions to undertake accreditation including self-assessment. This study aims to investigate the impact of the self-assessment processes on quality enhancement of universities in Vietnam. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 participants from three Vietnamese universities located in three major regions: the North, the Central and the South. The interviewees were those who directly involved in the self-assessment processes including institutional leaders, department heads, faculty deans, internal quality assurance staff and lecturers. Thematic analysis identified that there was a number of notable impacts resulting from the implementation of self-assessment on higher education quality. Key impacts were reported in relation to: leadership and management, teaching staff, students and student support, and training programs. The study concludes that self-assessment processes had a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching, learning, program management and student support in Vietnamese universities sampled for the current study.