Must an undergraduate program in Vietnam include all mandatory units of study?

Must an undergraduate program in Vietnam include all mandatory units of study?

Under Article 2 of the Regulation on Undergraduate Education promulgated with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT:

Training programs and study duration

1. Training programs shall be developed using the credit system and comprise subjects or units of study (hereinafter collectively referred to as “units of study”), which must include all mandatory units of study and meet training program standards according to existing regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. Training programs of dual-degree programs and major/minor degree programs must specify the total academic load and academic load of each degree.

2. Content and expected learning outcomes of a training program shall apply to all modes of study, methods for training organization and types of students. For those holding a qualification at a different level or in another major, the actual academic load shall be determined based on the recognition or transfer of accumulated credits and exemption from taking units of study already completed in the previous training program.

3. Training programs must be announced to students before admission and at the start of the course; changes relevant to training programs shall be made in accordance with existing regulations and announced before adoption so as not to affect students negatively.

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The training programs shall be developed using the credit system and comprise subjects or units of study (hereinafter collectively referred to as “units of study”), which must include all mandatory units of study and meet training program standards according to existing regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training.

Thus, according to the above regulation, an undergraduate program must include all mandatory units of study.

Must an undergraduate program in Vietnam include all mandatory units of study? (Image from the Internet)

Under the annual teaching and learning plan, how many semesters and academic weeks does an academic year in Vietnam include?

Under Article 6 of the Regulation on Undergraduate Education promulgated with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT:

Teaching and learning plans

1. Teaching and learning plans shall elaborate the provision of training programs by year and by semester as appropriate to the mode of study and method for training organization.

2. Every academic year plan shall include main timestamps of training activities in the academic year for all modes of study and training programs and be promptly announced to all relevant parties before the academic year starts. An academic year shall have two or three main semesters with a total of at least 30 academic weeks. Besides main semesters, training institutions may have additional semesters.

3. Every semester plan shall include class opening plans, teaching and learning forms (in-class or online), class schedules and exam schedules of units of study taught in the semester for each training program and mode of study. Semester plans must be promptly formulated and announced and include all necessary information to help students prepare their learning plans and register for classes.

4. Study schedules shall specify the time, location and teaching and learning activities of each class of each course, mode of study and training program. Study schedules of normal classes of units of study shall be evenly distributed across all weeks of a semester. Where it is necessary for units of study to be taught in a short period of time, each unit shall not be taught for more than 15 hours/week and 4 hours/day.

5. Training institution regulations shall stipulate semester organization, study schedules, class locations and class hour organization in accordance with regulations of this Regulation.

Thus, under the annual teaching and learning plan, an academic year will have 02 or 03 main semesters with a total of at least 30 academic weeks.

Are universities in Vietnam required to organize class registration for students before the start of each semester?

In compliance with Article 7 of the Regulation on Undergraduate Education promulgated with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT:

Organization of class registration

1. Before the start of each semester, training institutions shall provide their students with instructions on how to register for classes on their class registration systems.

2. Students of credit-based training programs shall register for classes of units of study that they plan to attend in the semester, including new units of study, units of study with unsatisfactory performance (for retaking) and units of study with satisfactory performance (for grade improvement, if any) based on list of units of study opened and registration requirements of each unit of study.

3. Students of year-based training programs shall register for units of study with unsatisfactory performance for retaking, units of study for grade improvement or elective units of study according to regulations of their training programs.

4. Training institution regulation shall stipulate procedures for and organization and retention of class registration of students in each semester and withdrawal from registered units of study; regulations on academic load limit of students for each semester are as follows:

a) Minimum academic load shall be at least 2/3 of the average academic load of the semester according to the standard learning plan;

b) Maximum academic load shall not exceed 3/2 of the average academic load of the semester according to the standard learning plan.

Thus, according to the above regulation, before the start of each semester, universities are required to organize class registration for students.