The organizing scheme for presenting the findings and recommendations of the visiting U.S. expert teams is as follows. In the first section, entitled Issues and Opportunities for Change, the issues and recommendations of the teams are discussed. They are organized around five topic areas: (1) undergraduate teaching and learning; (2) undergraduate curriculum and courses; (3) instructors; (4) graduate education and research; and (5) assessment of student learning outcomes and institutional effectiveness. Under each topic area, the issues are presented, followed by the opportunities for improvement, which are organized according to the following areas: professional development, instructional development, and organizational development. After the discussion of the five topic areas, this section concludes with general recommendations regarding opportunities for change that might be considered at the national level.

The teams recognized that not all of these issues were present in all of the departments, programs, and institutions that were visited. Nonetheless, the teams identified many good examples of solutions to the problems and issues that might provide models for others to adopt. On an optimistic note, the teams found very good students; motivated and hardworking junior and senior faculty members; exciting research currently underway; and some use of advanced technologies and equipment. In fact, the teams met many teachers and administrators at all levels, who eagerly and sincerely wish to bring Vietnamese higher education to a level of quality that could be recognized professionally by internationally acclaimed organizations and recognized academically by top universities world-wide.

In addition, recent events suggest that there is a great commitment to upgrading higher education in Vietnam. First, the Undergraduate Education Project was initiated 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, and was undertaken with the cooperation and support of MOET. Second, the recent remarks, which were made by Deputy Prime Minister to the Rectors of the Vietnamese universities regarding the urgent need for the leading Party, the State, the leadership of MOET, and Rectors of all Vietnamese universities and colleges “to change [their] thinking in order to find out directions for creativity,” (Thu Hong, 2006, p. 1) provide a blueprint for improving higher education in Vietnam. Third, MOET identified ten Advanced Programs at nine select Vietnamese universities and has an accreditation process underway. Finally, in a recent visit to Vietnam, Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, called for investing in higher education as a way to transform the Vietnamese economy, saying, “Opportunity is determined not by region, but by the educational investment that you make” (Thien Y, 2006, p. 1).

In addition to the general discussion of issues and opportunities found in the first section of the report, the second section, entitled Discipline Specific Observations, includes specific observations, made by the U.S. subject area specialists on the teams, for the areas of computer science, electrical engineering, and physics.

The third section of the report, entitled Scenarios for Change, presents scenarios of programmatic solutions to the various problems and issues based on the opportunities for improvement. These scenarios are informed by eight general conditions that facilitate change, which are described at the beginning of this third section. These conditions are critical to creating sound plans and ensuring that changes are eventually institutionalized. In many cases, the programmatic solutions build on current efforts by Vietnamese educators. These scenarios integrate recommendations presented in the first section and provide guidance for the development and implementation of potential pilot projects involving U.S. and Vietnamese institutions and organizations. It is hoped that these pilot projects might provide models for advancing Vietnamese higher education in all academic disciplines and at all levels.

Finally, in the fourth section, entitled Conclusions, the educational importance of this Undergraduate Education Project is discussed.