This report presents the results of Phase 1 of the Observations on Undergraduate Education in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Physics at Select Universities in Vietnam (January – August 2006). This Phase has accomplished the first two objectives of the Undergraduate Education Project: (a) to assess the current conditions of teaching and learning in computer science, electrical engineering, and physics at four select Vietnamese universities; and (b) to identify opportunities for improvement and models for change. In accomplishing these two objectives, this project provides the basis for improving higher education practice in Vietnam.

The contributions of this phase include, first, helping to meet the critical needs expressed by the government, MOET, and the higher education community to improve the quality of teaching and learning in sciences and technology in particular, and in higher education in general.

Second, the findings might be used potentially to inform efforts at all levels of higher education to reform curriculum, pedagogy, and evaluation in the sciences and engineering in Vietnam based on the insights from experienced U.S. experts in the disciplines and in assessment and instructional design.

Third, this phase of the Undergraduate Education Project provided the four participating universities with an opportunity to consider reflection upon their current practices and, together with the U.S. expert teams, to examine some aspects of where they are in terms of undergraduate education. Such a self-evaluation might help them to formulate pilot projects that best fit their own contexts and needs and that facilitate achieving their visions, missions, and goals.

Fourth, not only the four participating universities and the areas of computer science, electrical engineering, and physics, but also other universities and disciplines may benefit from the recommendations offered in this report.

Fifth, the project’s results potentially have implications for higher education institutions in Vietnam in that the results might be used to develop favorable working environments (salary and research facilities) that could potentially attract those who receive graduate degrees from overseas programs (including VEF Fellows) to come back to teach and do research in Vietnam.

Sixth, the project’s findings are intended to fill the current perceived void in research-based documentation concerning educational quality in the three targeted disciplines and, more generally, in higher education institutions in Vietnam and, as such, might serve as a point of reference for educators, researchers, and policymakers in the future.

And finally, Vietnamese researchers and educators may gain valuable skills and capacities through the detailed descriptions of the research methodology used in this multiple case study qualitative research project, through discussions with Vietnamese professionals involved in assessment and accreditation, and through the participation of the Vietnamese universities and MOET representatives in the project’s activities. It is hoped that the project’s methods of conducting the observations and study of the four select institutions and three targeted programs in Vietnam may be applicable to other higher education institutions and fields of study besides computer science, electrical engineering, and physics.

Furthermore, the results of this project may help U.S. educators and researchers to better understand the circumstances in higher education in Vietnam when they are considering cooperative activities with Vietnamese institutions.

The Undergraduate Education Project is expected to embark on Phase 2 (September 2006 – August 2009) in which the nine departments of the four select universities might have the opportunity to develop improvement plans and initiate pilot projects that meet their own needs and contexts. Upon completing Phase 2, it is hoped that the two last objectives of the project will be accomplished: (a) to assist in implementing change through successful pilot projects; and (b) to produce models that can be adopted across academic fields and institutions.

These conclusions suggest that another comprehensive activity in 2009, which evaluates and builds on the results of the pilot projects and models of Phase 2 and perhaps extends the project to other programs and institutions, would be beneficial to higher education institutions in Vietnam.