In Vietnam, as everywhere, questions from learners, parents, and employers persist as to whether the quality of online education is equivalent to in-person learning. Many wonder whether the widespread expansion of online university education during the pandemic was a temporary phenomenon. Numerous studies have shown that online education can be just as effective as in-person learning, depending on course design and delivery. Whatever the feelings about online learning, it has become an integral part of higher education. Universities worldwide are investing resources in developing online courses and full academic programs that offer flexible learning opportunities, giving learners more autonomy in their learning. To address concerns about the quality of online education, the Institute for Education Quality Assurance (INFEQA) – Vietnam National University (VNU) is developing standards to evaluate online courses. These standards aim to ensure quality from the design and development stages through online delivery. 

To help VNU-INFEQA in developing online course evaluation tools for the Vietnamese context, the USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform project provided technical assistance from Dr. Michael Truong, an Associate Professor at Azusa Pacific University who has 20 years of experience establishing, advancing, and scaling digital learning and faculty development initiatives. Following the initial interventions, including a Webinar on April 10 and two online coaching sessions on April 25 and 26, a two-day training was held on May 13-14, 2024 with involvement of 54 participants, including deans, vice deans, faculty members, and staff from the Quality Assurance Department of member universities, as well as staff from VNU-INFEQA.

During the in-person training, participants explored various standards for online courses from the United States and around the world, including Quality Matters (QM), the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), the National Standards for Quality Online Learning (NSQOL), the APEC Quality Assurance of Online Learning Toolkit, and the Asian Association of Open Universities. Participants reviewed the range of standards and tools then applied the QM Rubric for Online Course Evaluation to an existing online course on “State and General Law” developed by Vietnam National University. This hands-on activity helped them understand the standards and consider how to adapt the QM standards to better fit the Vietnamese context. Additionally, participants discussed the principles for developing online and blended courses, as well as the importance of academic integrity in online education, including the impact of AI in learning.

After the training, the project expert also led a two-day coaching session on May 15-16 for six core managers and staff from VNU-INFEQA. This session provided detailed technical advice and recommendations for refining their second draft of standards and procedures for online course evaluation. The intensive discussions focused on each standard, with specific indicators, criteria, and sources of evidence to ensure the standards are appropriate, user-friendly, and reliable. In addition, support was given to six core managers and faculty members from the VNU-University of Engineering and Technology (VNU-UET) on May 17. This targeted assistance was aimed at adjusting VNU-UET’s Advanced Programming course to be into more substantive blended modality by sharing practical experience, showing good examples and principles and, guiding the VNU-UET principles to identify necessary revisions.

After completing a productive week, the core staff and faculty members from VNU generated a solid understanding of various standards for online course evaluation and are able to use the QM rubric to assess an online course. For VNU-INFEQA, the training provided a deeper comprehension of how to develop their own standards and tools for evaluating online courses that are tailored to the Vietnamese context. They worked intensively with the project expert to review and refine their draft, resulting in a nearly completed third version. The UET-VNU team now has clear ideas and approaches to upgrade their current Advanced Programming course to a blended modality.

The intervention will continue with online coaching sessions from June to September 2024 for both VNU-INFEQA and VNU-UET, assisting them in finalizing their work. These technical support activities at VNU contributed significantly in helping VNU to improve the set of standards, procedures, and tools that will be used to evaluate online courses. Additionally, the development of one blended course at VNU-UET serves as a good practice example for quality online courses. These reforms are also expected to innovate the approach to do online course evaluation as Internal Quality Assurance and to change the mindset on online education quality in Vietnam.