1. Training and Management at Higher Education Institutions: Recommendations for Training Quality Enhancement INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE INNOVATION IN TEACHING, RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION Training and Management at Higher Education Institutions: Recommendations for Training Quality Enhancement Presenter: Prof. Dr. Le Viet Luong Dean of Ship Building Mechanics Faculty, Vietnam Maritime University Ho Chi Minh City, 15 - 7 - 2011

2. Content Recommendations and proposals to improve the quality of training and training management at higher education institutions lecturers, students Curriculum Training facility Teaching and assessing methods Training management Coordination in training Faculty training and their living standards Faculty’s assignments and assessment and positive effects of the society to training. Policies and regulations Lecturers and training environment The quality of input and how to manage the training Curriculum and training facility Teaching and assessing methods Coordination in training Leaders’ role and assignments, assessment Faculty training, research and living standards Lecturers’ role. Current situation of training and training management at universities and colleges

3. It is required that all training agents complete the training management and improve the training quality. However, to assure and improve the training quality and meet real demands, there must be synchronous conditions: training management, lecturers’ quality, students, teaching facility, the number of students in a class, lecturers’ salary… With most of the universities and colleges’ current situation in Vietnam, it is difficult to improve the training quality as expected.

4. Ideas about the current situation of training and training management at higher education institutions 1. Faculty: At the majority of higher education institutions, the number of lecturers holding degrees or academic titles is so small (5-10% of total number of the faculty). At many universities, there is no professor. At many departments, there is no Ph.D holder. At colleges, there is no master at some departments. The lecturers holding degrees/ academic titles usually work on administration, rarely teach and do research. Teaching is assigned to young lecturers. 2. Students: the input quality of some departments is low, they are not well learning - minded. 3. The amount of some departments’ graduates is too high in compared with real need. 4. There are so many students in one class. 5. The curriculum do not really meet the real demands. The curriculum and learning material are not efficient and abundant. 6. The training and research facility is poorly- equipped. tỷ lệ thời lượng học lý thuyết và học thực hành và tỷ lệ kinh phí cấp cho học lý thuyết và học thực hành chưa hợp lý. 7. The majority of lecturers only lecture in their classes. They can not apply any other teaching methods.

5. Ideas about the current situation of training and training management at higher education institutions 8. There are many shortcomings in credit-based training management because there are so many students. The number of students retaking subjects while training agents are not provided with completed training management software; therefore, it is very difficult to control students’ learning quality and the transparency of learning performance. 9. The cooperation between training agents and research institutes and enteprises. 10. The quality of doing research, master and doctor training is not good; therefore, it has impacts on faculty at higher education institutions. 11. As lecturers’ salary is so low, they are not devoted to their teaching and doing. Therefore, they spend less time preparing their lesson plans, the lectures’ quality is low; many of students awarded scholarship by the government to study overseas, after coming back home, are not interested in working for universities. Even lecturers, after completing Ph.D program, do not want to get back to work for universities. 12. Management and assessment at some training agents is not democratic and transparent. Many leaders embezzle, abuse their power, employ their family members and relatives, create bad working environment and affect the staff and faculty’ mentality. Therefore, some people who have competency, are straightforward and brave enough to fight have to leave the school. The rest are not enthusiastic for their work and do not dare to fight. The society is causing negative impacts on the faculty and the quality of student training

6. Recommendations and proposals to improve the quality of training and training management at higher education institutions 1. Improve the policies for the staff and lecturers, especially salary and allowance, and create a good working environment in order to improve their material and spiritual; specialize higher education institutions’ departments, make them well- operated and improve training staff to decrease the number of dependent staff. 2. The regulations and policies on management and training must be responsive to real demands. Once issued, they should be strictly followed, examined and appropriately adjusted. 3. Better the management and training staff: administrators, lecturers and staff is the main effect on improving the training quality. 4. Develop a pure training environment and improve the faculty’s quality and energy so that they can concentrate on their teaching and doing research. Together with being determined with fight against with negative issues and corruption in training and management, the staff holding degrees and academic titles at training agents must teach students to understand students’ learning situation and have appropriate document.

7. Recommendations and proposals to improve the quality of training and training management at higher education institutions 5. Increase the quality of the input, stop training and award degrees to those who is not qualified to pass the entrance but they are sponsored by enterprises, decrease the number of service training participants. 6. Be determined to expel weak and lazy students; strictly follow the issued regulations on training, abolish the “ asking - giving” or give priority to particular students; treat all students equally and make them acknowledge it. 7. Improve the curriculum and teaching material which must be responsive to producing demands; adjust and supplement some subjects in accordance with the reality. 8. Increase the expense for students’ practical training by paying attention to the facility for practical training in accordance with producing reality; close control investment fee, decrease losses due to “running” fee and commission. Besides, lobbying for ineffective investment projects on facility or served for advertising must be stopped.

8. Recommendations and proposals to improve the quality of training and training management at higher education institutions 9. The government must have appropriate policies so that the research institutes and enterprises can cooperate with institutions in training. 10. Abolish “Asking – Giving” in training and focus on improving the facility and other related activities to prevent corruption. 11. Core leaders are the keys to training quality, prestige and brand name of universities and colleges therefore they must be qualified and selected among excellent and reliable ones. 12. Provide accommodation for young lecturers; Have policies to attract qualified peoplẹ, have training programs for current and future lecturers. 13. Management must be fair and transparent, exclude those who abuse their power, recruit lecturers from graduates with good performance and satisfy a lecturer’s requirements and have plan to train them.

9. Recommendations and proposals to improve the quality of training and training management at higher education institutions 14. Manage and supervise the master and doctor training to enhance the quality of lectures at universities and colleges. Do not approve the unqualified thesis or make them revised and supervisors must be responsible for it. 15. Consider research and article writing as lecturers’ main responsibilities. 16. Have a training management software to improve the quality of training management. 17. At present, it is very difficult to carry out the proposals therefore lecturers play crucial role in assuring and improving the training quality. 18. There should be suitable assessing methods for subjects. Students must be treated equally.