By August 2009, thirty-four universities and junior colleges had permission from the Ministry of Education and Training for joint training programs with universities in the US, UK, France, Canada, Australia, Belgium, China and Singapore.

Opening just a year ago, the joint training program between the University of Technology Hutech and Lincoln University (US) has attracted 150 students.

“When we registered for the training program, we were told that we will receive international degrees, but we till wonder if the curriculum is recognized by any education organizations,” a student pondered.

The joint training program of Melior Business School, a 100 percent foreign-invested school, has attracted 300 learners. The school’s partner is Central Queensland University (CQU).

As advertised by Melior Business School, CQU has one of the highest growth rates in Australia, with high quality training and international degrees. CQU is leading in Queensland in attracting international students.

The students in these programs do not know the quality of their education or even if it is accredited by Australian accreditation organizations. Melior only provides general information that CQU degrees are recognized in Australia and internationally. In 2007 and 2008, literature on universities in Australia claimed that CQU received “five stars” in some criteria.

According to Nguoi Lao Dong, HCM City now has nearly 20 joint training programs in cooperation with US universities, including Southern Columbia, Troy, Lincoln, and Missouri. Of these, only degrees from some of the programs are recognized by education organizations in the US, such as CHEA, SACS and DETC, while many others have not been recognized by any institutions.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dieu Hung, coordination director of the joint-training program provided by Hutech and the University of Lincoln, remarked that this is the only Lincoln University program in Vietnam, so it has attracted many students. Graduates will receive degrees provided by Lincoln University, which is recognized by CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation).

Information about other programs is not as clear. Thousands of students following 20 training programs still lack information about the programs, even though they have spent big sums of money on learning. Most heard about the programs through advertisements that promised students will get internationally-recognized degrees that will allow them to find jobs easily. Yet they cannot cite which education organizations recognize their training program.

Dr. Truong Quang Duoc, Deputy President of the International School under the HCM City National University, noted that people get confused when they investigate joint training programs on Internet, because there are too many. Every school places good advertisements and promotes their training programs. In some cases, even the Vietnamese partners do not have such basic information about the foreign schools.

Source: Nguoi lao dong