Examination, Testing, and Evaluation of Courses in Master's Degree Training Program

Exam, test, evaluation of master's degree training program courses (Illustrative image)

The Master's Degree Training Regulation issued together with Circular 15/2014/TT-BGDDT stipulates the examination, testing, and evaluation of courses in the master's degree training program as follows:

1. The evaluation of courses must ensure the following requirements:

- Objective, accurate, fair, and able to classify the level of learners; public and transparent regulations on evaluation and evaluation results of courses;- Exams and tests must be suitable to the content and ensure the objectives of the course as specified in the detailed syllabus;- Correct form and evaluation method as specified in the detailed syllabus of the course;- Combining regular assessments during the study process with end-of-course exams;- Combining several forms of evaluation (exercises, essays, practice results, thematic reports, written exams, oral exams…) suitable to the course requirements;- Combining evaluation of diligent study attitude and learner's independence and creativity.

2. The regular assessment score and the end-of-course exam score are marked on a 10-point scale, rounded to one decimal place. The course score is the sum of the regular assessment score and the end-of-course exam score multiplied by the corresponding weight, rounded to one decimal place. A course is considered passed (accumulated course) when its score is 4.0 or higher. If the course score is below 4.0, the student must retake the course or may switch to another equivalent elective course.

3. If the overall average score of the courses is below 5.5, the student must register to retake one or several courses with scores below 5.5 or may switch to another equivalent elective course. The recognized score after retaking the course is the highest course score among the 2 attempts.

4. For foreign language courses (including the second foreign language for students pursuing a foreign language major or specialization): Based on the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework for Vietnam and Point b, Clause 2, Article 27, the head of the training institution organizes the evaluation of the students' foreign language courses (including students who do not register for foreign language courses at the training institution).

5. Students are exempt from evaluating foreign language courses and are deemed to have foreign language proficiency according to Point b, Clause 2, Article 27 of this Regulation in the following cases:

- The following cases are exempt from foreign language exams;- Have a foreign language proficiency certificate stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 27 of this Regulation or an equivalent (Appendix II) within 2 years from the date of certificate issuance to the registration date of the exam, issued by an institution approved or recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training and the certificate is still valid up to the thesis submission date according to the training institution's regulations;- Enrolled in a master's degree training program taught in a foreign language approved by the competent authority; the foreign language proficiency upon admission is at least level 3/6 according to the 6-level Foreign Language Proficiency Framework for Vietnam or equivalent; students are taught, write, and defend their thesis in a foreign language.

6. The head of the training institution, based on the regulations of this Regulation and the current regulations on full-time undergraduate and college credit-based training, stipulates specific contents, including: organizing course evaluations, the number of testing sessions, conditions for end-of-course exams, the weight of assessment scores and exam scores; using a 10-point scale and/or 5-level letter scale A, B, C, D, F (corresponding to: excellent, good, average, below average, and poor) when calculating the course score; retaking courses (including retaking courses with scores of 5.5 or higher if students wish to and the training institution accepts); calculating the average score of all courses (cumulative average score).

For details, refer to Circular 15/2014/TT-BGDDT which came into effect on July 01, 2014.

Ty Na

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