The project entitled Observations on Undergraduate Education in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Physics at Select Universities in Vietnam was conducted under the auspices of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), an independent U.S. Federal agency. Through its Fellowship program, VEF provides financial support for Vietnamese nationals to receive graduate training in the U.S. in science, engineering, technology, and public health. With the Fellowship program and its Seminars and Projects program, VEF helps to build capacity in science and technology in Vietnam.

The VEF Undergraduate Education Project was begun at the request of Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, presently Minister of Education and Training and, at the time of the request, the Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. The project was conducted with the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the co-sponsorship of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) of the Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City (VNU- HCM), the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Training Center (SEAMEO RETRAC) in Vietnam, and the Institute for Educational Research in Ho Chi Minh City (IER-HCMC).

Through the auspices of the National Academies in the United States, leading American experts in assessment and instructional design and experts in the selected scientific and engineering fields joined this effort. The U.S. experts represented ABET, Inc. (formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology); Cornell University; Drexel University; Harvard University; Syracuse University; and the Faculty Enhancement Center of the United States Naval Academy (Appendix 1 – List of U.S. Experts).

The Undergraduate Education Project was a multiple case study, qualitative research project with the following phases: (1) Phase 1 from January to August 2006, to assess the current conditions of teaching and learning in computer science, electrical engineering, and physics at four select universities in Vietnam and to identify opportunities for change; (2) Phase 2 from September 2006 to August 2009, to assist in implementing changes; and (3) at the end of Phase 2, to produce models that can be adopted across academic fields and institutions (Appendix 2 – Project Description). Four Vietnamese universities were selected to participate in this project because of the following characteristics: (a) their exemplary undergraduate programs in computer science, electrical engineering, and/ or physics; and (b) the high number of VEF Fellows from these universities’ programs.

The following three research questions guided the data collection for Phase 1:

1. What is the current status of teaching and learning in Vietnamese universities in the selected disciplines, namely, computer science, electrical engineering, and physics?

2. What are the opportunities for improvement?

3. What are the potential changes that can bring about the improvements?

For the purpose of triangulation, various data collection techniques (reviewing documents, interviewing, and observing) were used. The weaknesses of one data collection technique were counterbalanced by the strengths of the others (Newman and Bentz, 1998). Data were collected by reviewing online and other archival documents from the four universities, as well as from the Web site of MOET. The interviews were conducted with various stakeholders, including senior administrators (at both the university and the department level), faculty members, staff members, students (undergraduate and graduate), alumni, employers, and MOET officials. Observations included touring campus facilities (e.g., labs, libraries, student and faculty areas) and visiting classrooms (e.g., to see the classroom set up, availability of teaching aids, and potential for student-teacher interactions).

Two multidisciplinary teams of U.S. experts visited the four Vietnamese participating universities in May 2006 where data from interviews, observations, documents, and archival materials were gathered (Appendix 3 – Undergraduate Education Project Team Members’ Meeting Schedules; Appendix 4 – List of Participants and Contributors). Before the May visits, the U.S. team members had many questions about Vietnamese higher education in general and about the specific fields of study to be evaluated in particular. Therefore, prior to the visits, extensive information was gathered by the VEF Consultant, Dr. Phuong Nguyen, to prepare the U.S. team members for their visits (Appendices 5, 6, and 7 – Pre-Site Visit Interviews: Questions for Administrators, Faculty Members, and Students; Appendix 8 – Summary of Pre-Site Visit Data). The pre-site visit data were confirmed by and large through the observations and interviews by the visiting U.S. expert teams.

The purpose of the on-site interviews in May 2006 by the visiting expert teams was multifold: to meet and interact directly with Vietnamese administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and employers; to learn about current conditions and opportunities for enhancing teaching and learning in computer science, electrical engineering, and physics at the four select Vietnamese universities; and to identify what might be required in order to take advantage of these opportunities (Appendix 9 – Interview Protocol for University Site Visits, Appendix 10 – Interview Questions for Employers).

The constant comparative method was used to analyze the data. Interviews, observations, field notes, and documents during the data collection phase were analyzed continually. This approach helped to identify gaps in the data and to make adjustments as necessary. Merriam (1998) states that “the development of categories, properties, and tentative hypotheses through the constant comparative method is a process whereby the data gradually evolve into a core of emerging theory” (p. 191). During the visits, the team members met and discussed their observations and findings on a daily basis.

As part of the Undergraduate Education Project, five other activities were conducted. First, the paper entitled The Role of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Stimulating and Sustaining Higher Education Innovation in Vietnam was presented at the national conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education Innovation organized by the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City on March 31, 2006.

Second, VEF, MOET, and SEAMEO RETRAC hosted full-day public panel discussions on evaluating higher education and its academic programs and on building relationships between industry and academia. The same topics were addressed both in Ho Chi Minh City on May 12 and in Hanoi on May 18, 2006. The public panel discussions were attended by Vietnamese professionals involved in the evaluation of various aspects of higher education; by faculty members and administrators of Vietnamese universities and colleges that offer computer science/information technology, electrical engineering, and physics programs; and by industry representatives in Vietnam (Appendices 11 and 12 – Public Panel Discussions in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi).

Third, four research colloquia, entitled Current “Hot” Areas of Research in Physics, were conducted at the four participating universities. Fourth, the second visiting team was invited to make two presentations at the Vietnamese regional conference on Developing Curriculum for Training Programs that Use a Credit Transfer System and the Internet, hosted by the Institute for Educational Research, Ho Chi Minh City (IER-HCMC) on May 26, 2006.

Finally, at the request of specific universities visited, a template was developed to facilitate and optimize the visits to the United States by Vietnamese university teachers and administrators associated with the Advanced Programs Project, initiated by MOET (Appendix 13 – Recommendations for Vietnam University Advanced Program Site Visitors to Exemplary Programs in the U.S.).