CIRCULAR NO. 03/2016/TT-BGDĐT ON AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE REGULATIONS ON ENROLLMENT FOR FULL-TIME UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE PROGRAMS ISSUED ACCOMPANYING CIRCULAR NO. 03/2015/TT-BGDĐT DATED FEBRUARY 26, 2015 OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Article 1. Amend and supplement some Articles of the University and College Regular System Admissions Regulation issued together with Circular No. 03/2015/TT-BGDĐT dated February 26, 2015 of the Minister of Education and Training, as follows:

1. Point c Clause 2 Article 2 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"c) Universities and colleges organizing independent admissions may combine admission examinations for candidates who have participated in the National High School Graduation Examination and whose examination results meet the quality assurance criteria set by the Ministry of Education and Training; in cases where multiple admission methods are simultaneously used for a major or group of majors (hereinafter referred to as major), universities and colleges shall determine and publicly announce quotas for each admission method."

2. The first bullet point of Point a Clause 1 Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"- Object 01: Vietnamese citizens belonging to ethnic minorities with permanent residence registration (during high school or college years) for more than 18 months in Region 1 (KV1) as defined in Point c Clause 4 Article 7 of this Admissions Regulation;"

3. Point a Clause 4 Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"a) Candidates who continuously study and graduate from secondary school in a particular region shall enjoy preferential treatment according to that region. If during the three years of high school (or during the time studying at a college), they transfer schools, then the longer period of study in a particular region will entitle them to preferential treatment according to that region. If each year they study at different schools in regions with varying levels of preferential treatment or if half of their study time is spent at one school and the other half at another, then they will enjoy preferential treatment according to the region where they graduated. This provision applies to all candidates, including those who graduated before the year of the admissions process."

4. The fourth bullet point of Point b Clause 4 Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"- Students with permanent residence registration (during high school or college years) for more than 18 months in communes in Region III and communes with particularly difficult mountainous villages under the regulations of the Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs; particularly difficult communes in coastal areas and islands; particularly difficult communes, border communes, and safe area communes within the scope of investment under Program 135 as stipulated by the Prime Minister, if they study at high school (or college) in locations within districts or towns having at least one of the aforementioned communes;"

5. The third bullet point of Point c Clause 4 Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"- Region 2 (KV2) includes:

Towns directly under provinces; towns and counties outside the central urban areas of centrally-administered cities (excluding communes in KV1)."

6. Clause 3 Article 11 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. Schools using new subject combinations for admission examinations beyond traditional subject groups for a major must allocate at least 50% of the quota for that major for admission based on the corresponding traditional subject combinations."

7. Clause 1 Article 12 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Based on the examination results of candidates participating in the National High School Graduation Examination to be used for university and college admissions, the Ministry of Education and Training will determine the minimum quality assurance threshold for university admissions for schools to develop admission plans. For colleges, the minimum quality assurance threshold is: High School Graduation."

8. Article 13 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"13. Admission Organization

1. For schools

Organizing admission for candidates registering to use the results of the National High School Graduation Examination for university and college admissions:

a) Announce the method of receiving applications and application fees: Candidates can submit applications and application fees online or through postal services via express mail. Schools may specify additional methods of receiving applications and application fees suitable to the actual conditions of the school but should not cause difficulties or expenses for candidates or social dissatisfaction.

b) The admission score is the total score of subjects in each admission combination and is rounded to 0.25.

c) Based on the minimum quality assurance threshold set by the Ministry of Education and Training, schools shall announce admission regulations for their majors and organize admissions according to the schedule of the Ministry of Education and Training.

d) Based on the school's enrollment quota and the number of students admitted directly (including the number of preparatory students of the school; preparatory high school students assigned to the school), the Admissions Committee of the school shall consider and decide on the admission threshold.

đ) Update admission data to the national admissions management system; after each admission round, publish on the school's website and mass media the admission threshold and list of admitted candidates while reporting to the Ministry of Education and Training.

e) Universities, colleges, and member institutions of National Universities and Regional Universities, if organizing admissions in groups of schools, need to build self-governance admission proposals meeting the requirements of this regulation. In addition, the proposal needs to clearly define: responsibilities and authorities of schools in the group; methods of registering and prioritizing admission preferences of candidates for schools in the group.

2. For candidates:

a) Submit the Application Form and application fee to the school according to the methods announced by the school.

b) Register for the first admission round:

Candidates may apply to a maximum of two schools, with no more than two majors per school; candidates cannot change their preferences for schools and majors already registered in the admission round.

c) Register for supplementary admission rounds:

Candidates may apply to a maximum of three schools, with no more than two majors per school; candidates cannot change their preferences for schools and majors already registered in each admission round.

d) Candidates applying for admission to schools conducting group admissions may apply to multiple schools in the group. The maximum number of majors registered in each admission round shall comply with the provisions of Points b and c of this Clause.

đ) Candidates admitted must submit the original Certificate of Examination Results (signed by the Chairman of the Examination Board and stamped with the red seal of the main examination center) to the school of their choice within the deadline specified for each admission round.

e) Time for registration for admission:

The registration period starts from August 1st and ends on October 20th for the university system and November 15th for the college system.

g) The candidate is responsible for the authenticity of the information in the Registration Form and the Exam Registration Form. Schools have the right to refuse admission or expel students if the candidates do not meet the Admission Conditions when comparing the information in the Registration Form and the registration data with the original file.

9. Clause 3 of Article 17 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. For schools using the admission scheme based on high school graduation examination results, the average score of each subject in the combination of subjects used for admission or the overall average score of the subjects used for admission must not be less than 6.0 points for the undergraduate program (on a scale of 10 points). For the college program, the threshold for ensuring the quality of entrants is the completion of high school."

10. Clause 2 of Article 19 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. Priority benefits shall be implemented according to the provisions of Article 7 of this Regulation. In cases where high school academic performance is used for admission, priority points will be added for admission after the candidate meets the threshold for ensuring the quality of entrants as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 17 of this Regulation."

11. Clause 3 of Article 20 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"3. Providing information and evidence of violations of the admission regulations:"

a) Any citizen, including candidates and those involved in the admission process, upon discovering acts that violate the admission regulations, must provide information to the designated authority as specified in Clause 1 of this Article for timely handling in accordance with the law on denunciation;

b) Those providing information and evidence of violations of the admission regulations must bear responsibility under the law for the authenticity of the provided information and evidence, and may not abuse such actions to negatively impact the admission process."

12. Clause 1 of Article 21 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Reporting admission results and admission information of the school:"

a) By November 30 each year, schools must report their admission results to the Ministry of Education and Training.

b) Before the deadline set by the Ministry of Education and Training, schools must report admission information to the Ministry of Education and Training:

- For schools using the results of the National High School Examination for admission, they must report the admission scheme as prescribed in Article 11 of this Regulation;

- For schools admitting students through other methods: they must report the self-governed admission project that complies with the provisions of Articles 2, 3, 13, and the annex of this Regulation."

Article 2. This Circular takes effect from April 29, 2016.

Article 3. The Director of the Office, the Director of the Department of Examinations and Quality Assurance, the Heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Education and Training; the Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees; the Directors of Departments of Education and Training; the Presidents of universities and academies; the Deans of universities and colleges are responsible for implementing this Circular./.