Building National Capacity for Quality Assurance

Abstract

Quality assurance in higher education has been implemented in Vietnam for more than ten years. It is evident that human resource development and the capacity building for quality assurance officials have played an important role in the development of this system. This paper aims to explore human resource development for officials working at the national quality assurance organization, accrediting agencies and higher education institutions in Vietnam. This study first discusses Vietnam’s higher education quality assurance and accreditation. Next, it highlights human resource development in this system, followed by a discussion of the lessons learned. Finally, recommendations are proposed for future policy-making and management. This paper reviews the overall picture of Vietnam’s quality assurance system since its establishment with a focus on human resource development. It will also likely be beneficial to other quality assurance systems in general and those in the region’s developing countries in particular.