In July 2024, the project “Partnership for Higher Education Reform” funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a series of four online technical coaching sessions focusing on the “Academic Monitoring System.” These sessions featured the participation of Indiana University, USA, along with 10 member universities from Vietnam National University (VNU) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam National University Hanoi, and the University of Danang.

The sessions were led by Professor Victor Borden from Indiana University, USA, a project expert. Professor Borden conducted the coaching sessions, which encompassed four key topics related to the “Academic Monitoring System.” The sessions were well attended by quality assurance staff, deans, and lecturers, all aiming to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Internal Quality Assurance system within their respective universities.

• On July 4, 2024, the first working session of the series was held, drawing the participation of 73 delegates from 10 universities. The theme of the session was “Developing the Academic Program Description and Assessment Plan.” The universities shared their practical experiences in creating and planning academic program assessments. They sought expert advice on refining program objectives, learning outcomes, and curriculum matrix. Professor Victor Borden introduced core principles for developing and assessing academic programs. Additionally, the project expert presented the “Program Description and Assessment Plan” template, designed to offer an overview of an academic program with comprehensive, specific, and highly systematic information. This template aims to standardize and enhance the clarity and effectiveness of academic program descriptions and assessments.

• On July 9, 2024, 56 delegates from 10 participating universities gathered for the second working session, which focused on the theme “Effectively Obtaining and Using Stakeholder Feedback.” This session delved into practical experiences in developing tools and methods for collecting feedback on academic programs from various stakeholders. Universities also shared the challenges and difficulties they face in gathering stakeholders’ feedback. Professor Victor Borden provided insightful recommendations on identifying internal and external groups that require feedback. He emphasized the importance of developing simple, concise surveys that capture necessary information and discussed various methods for collecting responses from stakeholders. To further assist universities in formulating a clear strategy for collecting feedback, the project’s experts introduced the “Stakeholder Feedback Action Plan.” This plan includes specific instructions on how to effectively implement stakeholder feedback mechanisms, ensuring a strategic and focused approach to improving academic programs.

• On July 11, 2024, the third working session convened with the participation of 37 delegates. The session focused on the theme “Selecting IQA-KPIs and Developing Data Systems for Easy Access and Retrieval.” The project expert shared practical experiences in selecting key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect the quality of academic programs, providing illustrative examples from universities in the United States. Professor Victor Borden offered detailed analyses and comments on the KPIs currently in use by the participating universities, as well as recommendations for adjustments, enabling the universities to refine their existing KPIs with a well-founded rationale. This session aimed to enhance the universities’ ability to measure and track academic program quality through effective KPI selection and robust data systems.

• On July 16, 2024, the final working session took place, attended by 45 delegates, and centered on the theme “Preparing More Useful Analytic Reports of KPIs and Stakeholder Feedback.” During this session, delegates shared their experiences in data processing and analysis, highlighting common challenges and the reasons behind the extended time needed for these tasks. Based upon participant sharing, Professor Victor Borden provided practical principles and examples for data selection, processing, and analysis. His approach was easy to understand, engaging, and focused, offering valuable guidance to streamline and enhance the reporting of KPIs and stakeholder feedback. This session aimed to equip universities with effective strategies to produce more insightful and actionable analytic reports.

The working sessions have garnered significant attention and active participation from staff in quality assurance departments, deans, deputy faculties, and lecturers from participating universities. Through practical exchanges, delegates greatly appreciated the tools utilized in the academic program assessment process. Specifically, the Stakeholder Feedback Action Plan and the Program Description and Assessment Plan template were highly valued for its applicability. Additionally, the in-depth advice provided by project experts, tailored to the specific contexts of each university, was held in high regards to enhance the overall effectiveness and relevance of the sessions.

Commenting on the appropriateness and applicability of the Academic Monitoring System for his institution, Dr. Trinh The Anh – Head of the Department of Testing and Educational Quality Assurance of University of Science and Education – the University of Danang said: “At present, the plan to collect feedback from stakeholders on the academic program is not yet systematically and comprehensively connected. Consequently, the data collected does not adequately reflect the interlinked perspectives of the various stakeholders. Professor Borden introduced and guided us to develop a Stakeholder Action Plan with specific templates, which offers a highly relevant and beneficial framework. Our university will apply it for implementation in the upcoming academic year.”

Professor Borden, the project’s expert, shared his reflections on the participation of Vietnamese universities over the course of four working sessions: “Working with colleagues from the two Vietnam National Universities and the University of Danang has demonstrated to me that quality attainment is not as much about sufficient resources as it is about intentionality. (Although resources are certainly helpful!). Most importantly, they seem genuinely concerned with how learners benefit from their programs and how well their graduates meet the needs of employers and positively contribute to the broader Vietnamese society.”

Following the working session, participating universities will utilize detailed feedback from the project expert to refine their methods and tools for collecting stakeholder feedback on academic programs. They will revise program objectives, learning outcomes, and evaluation tools (rubrics), as well as review and adjust the set of KPIs for the academic program. Additionally, they will improve their data processing and analysis approaches. The revised materials will be sent to the project expert for further comments and feedback. These activities also serve as preparation for the next working sessions scheduled for August 2024.