Circular No. 09/2022/TT-BGDĐT stipulates the Catalogue of Higher Education Training Statistics.

CIRCULAR

Article 24Prescribes the Catalogue of Training Fields for Higher Education Statistics

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Pursuant to the Higher Education Law on June 18, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Higher Education Law on November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Statistics Law dated November 23, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles and the National Statistical Indicators Catalogue of the Statistics Law dated November 12, 2021;

Pursuant to Decree No. 69/2017/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 99/2019/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2019 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Higher Education Law;

Pursuant to Decision No. 01/2017/QĐ-TTg dated January 17, 2017 of the Government Chairman on issuing the Catalogue of Education and Training for the National Education System;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Higher Education,

The Minister of Education and Training issues this Circular prescribing the Catalogue of Training Fields for Higher Education Statistics.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular prescribes the Catalogue of Training Fields for Higher Education Statistics, including: developing, promulgating, using, and updating the Catalogue of Training Fields at bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.

2. This Circular applies to higher education institutions; other educational institutions permitted to train at bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels; academies and institutes established by the Government Chairman under the Law on Science and Technology, which are permitted to train at the doctoral level (hereinafter referred to collectively as training institutions) and related organizations and individuals.

1. The Catalogue of Training Fields (hereinafter referred to as the Catalogue) is the fourth-level development of the Catalogue of Education and Training for higher education levels according to Decision No. 01/2017/QĐ-TTg dated January 17, 2017 of the Government Chairman on issuing the Catalogue of Education and Training for the National Education System, including the Official Field Catalogue and the Pilot Field Catalogue.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

2. The Official Field Catalogue is the Catalogue of Training Fields for Higher Education with fields that have official field codes and are promulgated together with this Circular.

3. The Pilot Field Catalogue is the Catalogue of Training Fields for Higher Education with fields being piloted in training institutions without official field codes in the Official Field Catalogue, decided and promulgated by the Minister of Education and Training according to the provisions of this Circular.

4. A training field is a collection of specialized knowledge and skills within the scope of occupational activities, science, and technology, classified and catalogued according to the provisions of this Circular.

5. A group of training fields is a collection of some training fields sharing common characteristics in specialization according to the third-level classification in the Catalogue of Education and Training within the National Education System's Catalogue of Education and Training.

6. A training sector is a collection of some groups of training fields sharing common characteristics in specialization or occupation according to the second-level classification in the Catalogue of Education and Training within the National Education System's Catalogue of Education and Training.

7. Updating the Catalogue involves deciding on modifications and supplements to the Catalogue to meet the requirements of developing training fields in practice and comply with the provisions of this Circular, including: adding new fields, renaming, repositioning, or removing fields from the Official Field Catalogue; or adding pilot fields, or removing fields from the Pilot Field Catalogue.

Article 3. Purpose of Issuing and Using the Catalogue

1. Classifying, statistically recording, and developing training fields and programs in higher education.

2. Establishing and implementing regulations on opening training fields, admissions, training, quality assurance, certification issuance, and management in higher education.

2. Xây dựng và thực hiện các quy định về mở ngành, tuyển sinh, đào tạo, kiểm định chất lượng, cấp và quản lý văn bằng trong giáo dục đại học.

Article 4. Issuance and Update of the List

1. The Official List (annexed to this Circular as Appendix I) shall be issued along with this Circular, including:

a) The List of undergraduate major fields;

b) The List of master's degree major fields;

c) The List of doctoral degree major fields.

2. Information in the List shall be defined as follows:

a) Major code: A unique seven-digit code within the List, where the first digit represents the level of education (Level I code), the next two pairs of digits represent the field of education (Level II code) and the major group code (Level III code), and the last two digits represent the specific major code within the group (Level IV code);

b) Major name: Reflecting the professional characteristics of the major and aligning with the common features of the major group and field of education;

c) Validity: Indicating the applicability period of a major when it is newly added, renamed, relocated, or removed from the List, along with the effective date or expiration date of its application;

d) Notes: Containing other information (if any).

3. Based on proposals from educational institutions and practical training and human resource utilization for majors, the Ministry of Education and Training shall periodically review and update the List according to the provisions of this Circular. Any changes from the current List must be recorded in the newly issued List. The updated List will be published on the Ministry of Education and Training’s official website.

Article 5. Classification and Arrangement of Training Programs and Majors According to the List

1. The classification and arrangement of training programs and majors according to the List must be based on determining the origin of development, comparing the volume and content of specialized knowledge and skills, and relying on:

a) Provisions in the training program standards of the major or major group at the corresponding level (if available);

b) Common and universal characteristics of training programs currently implemented at other educational institutions (if there are no corresponding major or major group training program standards).

2. Classification and Arrangement of Training Programs into Majors

a) A training program shall be classified and arranged into a major in the List when it contains the core specialized knowledge and skills of that major;

b) In special cases, a multidisciplinary training program may be simultaneously classified and arranged into several majors in the List if it contains a significant portion of the specialized knowledge and skills of each of those majors.

3. Classification and Arrangement of Majors into Fields and Major Groups

a) A major shall be classified and arranged into a specific field in the List (not the "Other" field) when it shares the same origin with other majors in that field, and has common elements regarding specialized knowledge and skills with majors in larger fields compared to those in other fields.

b) A major shall be classified and arranged into a specific major group in the List (not the "Other" major group) when it shares the same origin with other majors in that major group, and has common elements regarding specialized knowledge and skills with majors in larger major groups compared to those in other major groups.

c) In special cases, a multidisciplinary major may be simultaneously arranged into several major groups when it develops from the combination of some majors in those groups, and has common elements regarding specialized knowledge and skills with those majors.

d) Majors not meeting the requirements set out in point a of this clause shall be placed in the "Other" field in the List; majors not meeting the requirements set out in points b and c of this clause shall be placed in the "Other" major group of the appropriate field.

Article 6. Adding a new field to the Catalogue

1. A new training field shall be considered for addition to a specific group of fields in the official catalogue when it meets the following conditions:

a) There is scientific and practical basis regarding the origin of the new training field (formed from splitting off from another field or combining several fields according to the development requirements of science, technology, and occupational practice);

b) It has at least a 30% difference in specialized knowledge and skills compared to existing fields within the proposed group of fields;

c) There are reliable data on the demand for human resources that current training fields cannot meet; for fields with graduates, there must be reliable data on their ability to meet the demand for human resources that other training fields cannot satisfy;

d) It has been trained at reputable educational institutions worldwide or listed in at least two global classification tables of common programs and fields (except for fields only taught in Vietnam or those related to security and defense);

đ) It has developed a program, organized training, evaluated, and recognized as meeting quality standards at least two domestic educational institutions, and these institutions jointly propose its inclusion in the Catalogue;

e) For fields in teacher education, arts, sports, law, health, security, and defense sectors, there must be a consensus from the state management agency responsible for the corresponding sector.

2. A new training field shall be considered for addition to the pilot field catalogue when it meets the conditions specified in points a, b, c, d, and e of Clause 1 of this Article.

3. A new field that meets the conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be considered for allocation of an official field code and removal from the pilot field catalogue. A newly added field must clearly indicate the effective application period.

Article 7. Renaming, Re-positioning, and Removing Fields from the Catalogue

1. A field in the Catalogue shall be considered for renaming or repositioning when it meets the following conditions:

a) The new name or position must have a more appropriate rationale than the current name or position according to the classification and arrangement regulations stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular;

b) There is inconsistency between the name or position of the field in the current Catalogue and at least two global classification tables of common programs and fields (except for fields only taught in Vietnam or special fields related to security and defense);

c) Renaming or repositioning aligns with the development trend of the training field and is agreed upon by at least two-thirds of the educational institutions currently offering this field in Vietnam;

2. When renamed, the field retains its original code and effective application period. When repositioned in the Catalogue, it will be assigned a new code suitable for the new field and group, and the effective application period must be clearly indicated; the old code will not be removed from the Catalogue but will cease to be applicable.

3. A field in the official Catalogue shall be considered for removal when there is no longer a need for training, all educational institutions currently offering this field in Vietnam agree to its removal, and it is no longer being offered. A field with an official code (not in the pilot field Catalogue) that is removed from the Catalogue must retain its original code and name but will cease to be applicable.

4. A field in the pilot field Catalogue shall be considered for removal if, within ten years from the date of its addition to the pilot field Catalogue, it has not been transferred to the official field Catalogue.

Article 8. Advisory Council for Training Program Categories

1. Based on the proposal from the training institution, the Minister of Education and Training shall establish the Advisory Council for Training Program Categories (hereinafter referred to as the Council) in accordance with the provisions of this Article of this Circular to advise and assist the Minister in reviewing and deciding on updating the Catalogue, including updating the Official Catalogue and the Pilot Program Catalogue (as per Model II in the Appendix).

2. Composition and membership criteria of the Council

a) The Council consists of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Members, and a Secretary who are reputable experts with management experience or relevant professional qualifications in the field or related industry.

b) The Council shall have at least nine members, including: representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training; representatives of state agencies managing the main fields related to the training programs; representatives of some training institutions; representatives of enterprises, associations, professional organizations, and other experts.

3. Duties and powers of the Council

a) To determine the need to supplement, rename, reposition, or remove programs in the Catalogue as stipulated in this Circular;

b) To review the fulfillment of conditions for supplementing new programs, renaming, repositioning, or removing programs in the Catalogue as stipulated in this Circular; request representatives of training institutions to provide additional evidence and explanations if necessary;

c) To discuss, vote, report, and recommend to the Minister of Education and Training decisions regarding updates to the Catalogue;

d) To fulfill the responsibility of explaining the contents of reports and recommendations to the Minister of Education and Training.

Article 9. Implementation Organization

1. Training institutions shall compile and classify training programs, update and publicly disclose their training program catalogues; update them into the national database on higher education, and simultaneously report to the Ministry of Education and Training.

2. Training institutions under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall compile and classify training programs, report to the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security for review and decision-making, and simultaneously report to the Ministry of Education and Training.

3. The Department of Higher Education shall guide training institutions in implementing the provisions of this Circular; annually develop and implement plans to review and update the Catalogue as stipulated in this Circular.

Article 10. Provisions on implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from July 22, 2022.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 24/2017/TT-BGDĐT dated October 10, 2017 issued by the Minister of Education and Training on the issuance of the Catalogue for Level IV university education and Circular No. 25/2017/TT-BGDĐT dated October 10, 2017 issued by the Minister of Education and Training on the issuance of the Catalogue for Level IV master's and doctoral education. For those programs that have been changed in the Catalogue and are currently benefiting from preferential policies supported by the State, such support policies will continue to be implemented for enrolled classes before the effective date of this Circular.

3. The Director of the Office, the Head of the Department of Higher Education, heads of units related to the Ministry of Education and Training; rectors of universities and academies; presidents of university schools; and related organizations and individuals are responsible for enforcing this Circular./.