Vietnam: What are the cases in which the degree classification of university students will be lowered?

How many categories are university degrees in Vietnam classified into?

Under Clause 1, Article 14 of the regulation on undergraduate education issued together with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT, the regulations are as follows:

Graduation recognition and degree awarding

1. Conditions for graduation consideration and recognition:

a) The student has accumulated sufficient units of study and credits and completed other compulsory contents required by the training program and achieved the expected learning outcomes of the training program;

b) The student has average GPA or higher for the whole course;

c) At the time of graduation consideration, the student is not facing a criminal prosecution or suspended from study.

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In addition, under Clause 5, Article 10 of the regulation on undergraduate education issued together with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT, the regulations are as follows:

Academic performance assessment by semester and by year

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5. Student academic performance shall be classified based on the semester average grade, academic year average grade or GPA as follows:​

a) On the 4-point scale:

From 3,6 to 4,0: excellent;

From 3,2 to under 3,6: very good;

From 2,5 to under 3,2: good;

From 2,0 to under 2,5: average;

From 1,0 to under 2,0: poor;

Under 1,0: very poor.

b) On the 10-point scale:

From 9,0 to 10,0: excellent;

From 8,0 to under 9,0: very good;

From 7,0 to under 8,0: good;

From 5,0 to under 7,0: average;

From 4,0 to under 5,0: poor;

Under 4,0: very poor.

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Under the above regulations, university students are eligible for graduation if they have an average GPA or higher for the whole course. Thus, there will be 4 categories of university degrees: average degree, good degree, very good degree, and excellent degree.

What are the cases in which the degree classification of university students in Vietnam will be lowered? (Image from the Internet)

What are the cases in which the degree classification of university students in Vietnam will be lowered?

Under Clause 3, Article 14 of the regulation on undergraduate education issued together with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT regarding the Graduation recognition and degree awarding, the regulations are as follows:

Graduation recognition and degree awarding

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3. Degree classification shall be determined based on GPA of the whole course according to regulations in Clause 5 Article 10 of this Regulation, in which, the degree classification of students with excellent and very good GPAs will be lowered by half in any of the following cases:

a) Retaken units of study exceed more than 5% of total credits required for the whole program;

b) The student received a warning or a more severe penalty when they attended the program.

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Thus, the degree classification of students with excellent and very good GPAs will be lowered by half in any of the following cases:

- Retaken units of study exceed more than 5% of total credits required for the whole program;

- The student received a warning or a more severe penalty when they attended the program.

Does temporary leave taken by university students in Vietnam affect degree classification?

Under Article 15 of the regulation on undergraduate education issued together with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT regarding temporary leave and dropping out, the regulations are as follows:

Temporary leave and dropping out

1. Students may temporary leave school and have their study results retained in the following cases:

a) The student is conscripted;

b) The student is selected to represent Vietnam in an international competition by the competent authority;

c) The student is ill, is pregnant or has an accident that requires long-term treatment, which is verified by the competent healthcare facility according to regulations of the Ministry of Health;

d) The student takes leave for a personal reason but has attended at least 01 semester in the training institution and is not considered for forced leave from school or discipline.

2. Duration of temporary leave for personal reason shall be counted towards the full-time study time provided for in Clause 5 Article 2 of this Regulation.

3. Students may drop out of school for personal reason, unless they are considered for forced leave from school or discipline. These students shall apply for admission following the procedures applicable to other applicants if they wish to return to school.

4. Training institution regulations shall provide for conditions, competence and procedures for handling of applications for temporary leave, receipt of returning students and forced leave from school; and retention and recognition of accumulated study results of students who drop out.

Thus, the duration of temporary leave for personal reason shall be counted towards the full-time study time. Additionally, according to Clause 1, Article 10 of the regulation on undergraduate education issued together with Circular 08/2021/TT-BGDDT, student academic performance shall be assessed at the end of each semester or academic year based on results of units of study that are required by the training program and have been completed and scored and the following criteria:

- Total credits of units of study that the student fails in the semester or academic year or since the beginning of the course;

- Total credits of units of study that the students pass since the beginning of the course (number of accumulated credits), including exempted units of study;

- Average grade of units of study that the student has attended in the semester (semester average grade) or academic year (academic year average grade) or since the beginning of the course (GPA) calculated based on official grades of the units with the weight being the number of credits of each unit.

Thus, the classification of university degrees is based on the academic performance and training results of university students and is not related to temporary leave.