Circular No. 38/2010/TT-BGDĐT stipulates conditions, files, and procedures for granting permission to train, suspend admissions, and revoke decisions on permission to train master's and doctoral programs.

CIRCULAR

Specifies conditions, files, procedures for granting permission to train, suspending admissions,

revoking decisions on permission to train majors or

specializations at master's degree level, doctoral degree level

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Pursuant to the Education Law on June 14, 2005; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Education Law on November 25, 2009;

Pursuant to Decree No. 178/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2007 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decision No. 58/2010/QĐ-TTg dated September 22, 2010 of the Prime Minister promulgating the University Charter;

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

The Minister of Education and Training shall specify conditions, files, procedures for granting permission to train, suspending admissions, revoking decisions on permission to train majors or specializations at master's degree level, doctoral degree level as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This document specifies conditions, files, procedures for granting permission to train, suspending admissions, revoking decisions on permission to train majors or specializations at master's degree level, doctoral degree level.

2. This document applies to universities, academies, university schools, scientific research institutes (hereinafter referred to collectively as training institutions), departments of education and training, organizations and individuals related to the matter.

Article 2. Conditions for considering permission to train majors or specializations at master's degree level

Universities, academies, university schools are considered for permission to train majors or specializations at master's degree level when ensuring the following conditions:

1. Have trained bachelor's degree full-time majors corresponding to the majors or specializations proposed for permission to train master's degree programs and have had at least two graduating classes of students.

2. Not violating current regulations on admissions, organization and management of bachelor's degree and master's degree programs in the majors or specializations currently being trained, and other relevant laws within three years from the date the training institution proposes permission to train the major or specialization at master's degree level.

3. Having a teaching staff sufficient in number and quality to organize training at master's degree level in the proposed major or specialization, specifically:

a) Permanent lecturers with master's degree or higher participating in teaching at least 70% of the training program. For foundational knowledge and specialized knowledge, lecturers teaching theoretical courses must have doctoral degrees;

b) Having at least five permanent lecturers with doctoral degrees in the same major proposed for permission to train, including at least three in the same specialization.

4. Having material facilities and equipment ensuring the requirements for training in the major or specialization at master's degree level, specifically:

a) Having sufficient classrooms, laboratories, workshops, experimental production facilities with necessary equipment to meet the requirements of the proposed major or specialization;

b) The library having a reference room providing information sources (books, textbooks, and journals both domestically and internationally) published in the last five years, meeting the requirements for teaching and learning course components in the training program and implementing thesis topics;

c) Having a regularly updated website of the training institution publicly announcing commitments to educational quality and actual educational quality, publicly disclosing the conditions ensuring quality of the educational institution, and publicly disclosing financial income and expenditure.

5. The training institution has the capacity and experience in scientific research in the field of the proposed major or specialization; lecturers participating in teaching in the master's degree training program have been and are currently leading scientific projects at the ministry level or equivalent in the proposed major or specialization. Each lecturer with a doctoral degree has at least three scientific works published in specialized scientific journals listed in the National Council of Academic Degrees and Titles' regulations within the last five years from the date the training institution proposes permission to train the major or specialization at master's degree level.

6. Having a training program and detailed syllabus of course components in the training program of the proposed major or specialization, developed according to the current Master's Degree Training Regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The name of the major or specialization for training is included in the List of Majors or Specializations for Master's Degree Training issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

In cases where the name of the major or specialization for training is not included in the List, the training institution must present scientific arguments about the new major or specialization that has been approved by the institution's scientific training council; practical and training experiences of some countries around the world, accompanied by a reference training program of some universities that have been accredited abroad.

7. Having a dedicated management unit meeting the professional requirements for managing master's degree training activities; having established master's degree training regulations of the training institution.

8. The proposed major or specialization for permission to train is consistent with the human resource development plan of the locality, region, and country.

Article 3. Conditions for considering the issuance of permits to train doctoral specialties

1. Universities, academies, and higher education institutions shall be considered for the issuance of permits to train doctoral specialties when they meet the following conditions:

a) They have trained master's degree programs in the relevant field or specialty corresponding to the doctoral specialty training program, with at least two graduating cohorts.

b) They have not violated current regulations on admissions, organization, and management of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level training programs in the fields or specialties they are currently training, and other related legal provisions within three years from the date the training institution requests permission to train doctoral specialties.

c) They have a teaching staff sufficient in number and quality to organize doctoral-level training in the proposed specialty, specifically:

- Possess the ability to develop and implement doctoral training programs, identify research issues, guide and direct doctoral students in developing thesis outlines, supervise doctoral students in implementing thesis topics, writing dissertations, and participating in doctoral dissertation evaluation boards;

- Have at least one professor or associate professor and four doctoral holders in the same field who are permanent employees of the training institution, including three people in the proposed specialty;

d) They have the capability and conditions to establish a doctoral dissertation evaluation board and organize dissertation evaluations according to the current Doctoral Training Regulations;

đ) They have material resources and equipment that ensure the requirements for doctoral training, specifically:

- Having sufficient laboratories and research rooms equipped with necessary facilities to allow doctoral students to carry out their thesis projects; having dedicated workspaces for supervisors and doctoral students;

- The library has adequate information sources and tools for doctoral students to study and search for information when carrying out thesis projects and writing dissertations, such as books, textbooks, scientific journals both domestically and internationally, and electronic libraries that can link to training institutions in the same field and specialty both domestically and internationally;

- Having a regularly updated website of the training institution that publicly commits to educational quality and actual educational quality, publicly discloses educational quality assurance conditions, and publicly discloses financial income and expenditure;

e) The training institution has implemented scientific research tasks, including at least five national, ministry, sector, provincial, or municipal level scientific research projects, or high-quality scientific research tasks or equivalent ones.

They have experience in training and nurturing personnel for scientific research work; regularly organizing specialized scientific seminars and conferences.

Lecturers involved in teaching in the doctoral training program have been and are currently leading scientific projects at the ministry level or above in the proposed specialty. Each doctoral lecturer must have at least three scientific works published in specialized scientific journals listed in the State Council of Professor Titles' regulations within the last five years from the date the training institution requests permission to train doctoral specialties;

g) They have cooperated with universities worldwide in training activities and scientific and technological activities;

h) They have a detailed curriculum and course outline for the proposed specialty training program, developed according to the current Doctoral Training Regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training;

The name of the doctoral specialty training program must be included in the List of Doctoral Specialty Training Programs issued by the Ministry of Education and Training;

In cases where the name of the doctoral specialty training program is not included in the List, the training institution must present scientific arguments about the new specialty training program approved by the institution's Scientific Training Council; practical and training experiences from some countries around the world, accompanied by reference curricula from some universities that have been accredited abroad;

 i) They have a specialized management unit that meets the professional requirements for managing doctoral training activities; have established doctoral training regulations for the training institution;

2. Research institutes may be permitted to train the first doctoral specialty when they meet the conditions specified in points c, d, đ, e, g, h, and i of Clause 1 of this Article. For the second and subsequent specialties, in addition to meeting the conditions required for the first specialty, they must also meet the condition specified in point b of Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 4. Competence to decide on granting permission for training master's and doctoral programs

Clause 1. The Minister of Education and Training decides to grant permission for training master's and doctoral programs when the training institution ensures the conditions prescribed in Articles 2 and 3 of this Circular.

Clause 2. In special cases, the Minister of Education and Training shall consider and decide on granting permission for training master's and doctoral programs.

Article 5. Documents for requesting permission to train master's and doctoral programs

When meeting the conditions for training master's and doctoral programs as prescribed in Articles 2 and 3 of this Circular, the training institution shall prepare the documents for requesting permission to train, including:

Point 1. The proposal for granting permission to train master's and doctoral programs from the training institution (Annex I).

Point 2. The training program for master's and doctoral programs developed according to the provisions of Annex II, including the following contents: The necessity to develop the program; the basis for establishing the program; training objectives, admission criteria; the capacity of the training institution; the curriculum and training plan of the applied training program at the master's and doctoral levels and accompanying evidence.

Point 3. Minutes of the approval of the documents by the Scientific Council and Training Council of the training institution.

Point 4. Minutes of the inspection of the conditions regarding the teaching staff, equipment, and library serving the training of master's and doctoral programs by the education and training department.

Point 5. Minutes of the review of the training program by the Program Review Council of the training institution itself or another reputable training institution designated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The documents shall be prepared in three copies for master's programs and four copies for doctoral programs.

Article 6. Procedure for considering permission to train master's and doctoral programs

Clause 1. The training institution shall submit three sets of documents to the education and training department where it is headquartered, requesting inspection and confirmation of actual conditions regarding the teaching staff, training equipment, and library. At the same time, it shall send a letter requesting the Ministry of Education and Training to allow self-organization of the program review or request the Ministry of Education and Training to designate a reputable training institution to review the program.

Clause 2. Inspection and Confirmation of Actual Conditions

Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the director of the education and training department shall issue a decision to establish an inspection team. The inspection team shall consist of: one representative of the education and training department's board of directors (Team Leader), one representative of the organizational cadre leadership, and one clerk (serving as secretary).

The inspection team shall conduct inspections and cross-check the contents declared in the documents with the actual conditions such as: school salary list; teacher insurance book; teacher certificates and diplomas; equipment; library serving the training of the proposed program and draft the inspection minutes.

The inspection minutes must have the signature and full name of the inspection team leader and the head of the training institution, stamped by the education and training department and the training institution. The inspection minutes shall be drafted in six copies. The education and training department shall retain one copy, the training institution shall retain one copy, and send four copies along with the documents requesting permission to train master's and doctoral programs of the training institution.

Based on the inspection minutes, the director of the education and training department shall confirm the actual conditions in the tables reporting the capacity of the training institution in Annex III of the documents requesting permission to train master's and doctoral programs of the training institution.

Clause 3. Review of the Training Program

After receiving the opinion of the Ministry of Education and Training allowing self-organization of the program review or designating a reputable training institution to review the program, the training institution shall proceed with the following tasks:

Sub-clause a) If the training institution is allowed to self-organize the program review, the head of the training institution shall issue a decision to establish the Review Council and organize a meeting of the Review Council to review its own training program.

Sub-clause b) If the training institution is not allowed to self-organize the review, the training institution shall submit five copies of the training program to the training institution designated by the Ministry of Education and Training for program review. Within thirty working days from the date the designated institution receives the training program of the requesting institution, the head of the designated institution shall issue a decision to establish the Review Council and organize a meeting of the Review Council to review the training program.

Sub-clause c) The Review Council shall consist of five members who are professors, associate professors, doctors, or doctorates in the field or specialty proposed for the master's and doctoral programs. The Review Council shall include a Chairman, two opponents, a secretary, and a member.

Sub-clause d) The content and method of conducting the Review Council meeting for the training program are stipulated in Annex VI of this Circular.

After listening to the report from the representative of the training institution with the required program, the council members ask questions, the training institution provides explanations, the council members discuss and vote secretly.

The Appraisal Council shall prepare an appraisal record. The appraisal record must bear the signature and full name of the Chairman of the Appraisal Council, the Secretary of the Council, and the seal of the training institution. The appraisal record shall be prepared in six copies. The training institution where the Appraisal Council was established shall retain one copy, and send five copies to the requesting training institution (one for retention and four to be attached to the application file for permission to train).

The head of the training institution designated to perform the appraisal task shall confirm on the Appraisal Council's record and on the training program in Appendix IV of the application file for permission to train at the master's or doctoral level.

4. The funds for the Ministry of Education and Training to conduct inspections and the costs for organizing the Appraisal Council's appraisal shall be borne by the training institution applying for permission to train according to current regulations.

 5. After implementing the provisions of Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of this Article, the training institution applying for permission to train at the master's or doctoral level shall submit the application file to the Ministry of Education and Training.

a) The examination of the application file for permission to train at the master's or doctoral level shall be conducted within thirty working days from the first day of March, June, and September each year.

- If the application file for permission to train of the training institution meets the conditions and requirements as prescribed, the Minister of Education and Training shall issue a decision granting permission to train at the master's or doctoral level.

- If the application file for permission to train of the training institution meets the conditions as prescribed but still requires some improvements, the Ministry of Education and Training shall notify the training institution in writing of the results of the appraisal and the contents that need to be completed.

- If the application file for permission to train of the training institution does not meet the conditions, the Ministry of Education and Training shall notify the training institution in writing of the status of the file and request the training institution to continue preparing the necessary conditions.

In case of necessity, the Ministry of Education and Training may organize a re-appraisal at the training institution.

b) Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the completed application file of the training institution (for those files notified to be completed), if the file meets all the conditions as prescribed, the Minister of Education and Training shall issue a decision granting permission to train at the master's or doctoral level.

Article 7. Suspension of Admissions for Master's or Doctoral Programs

1. A training institution shall be suspended from admitting students to master's or doctoral programs when one of the following situations occurs:

a) Failure to meet one of the conditions for permission to train master's or doctoral programs as stipulated in Article 2 and Article 3 of this Circular;

b) Not recruiting students for three consecutive years;

c) Conducting admissions and training outside the approved location for master's degree training;

d) Violating education laws and regulations resulting in administrative penalties that require suspension;

đ) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. The decision to suspend admissions for master's or doctoral programs must clearly specify the reasons for suspension, the duration of suspension, and specific measures to ensure the rights of students and lecturers.

3. The Minister of Education and Training shall decide to suspend admissions.

4. After the suspension period, if the cause leading to the suspension has been resolved, the Minister of Education and Training shall decide to allow the training institution to resume admissions.

Article 8. Revocation of Decisions Permitting Master's Degree and Doctoral Degree Programs Training

Clause 1. An educational institution shall have its decision permitting master's degree and doctoral degree programs training revoked when any of the following circumstances occur:

Point a) Engaging in fraudulent behavior to obtain permission for training master's degree and doctoral degree programs;

Point b) Seriously violating regulations on management, organization, and training of master's degree and doctoral degree programs;

Point c) Exceeding the suspension period for admissions in a program without rectifying the causes leading to such suspension;

Point d) Failing to meet standards at quality assessment periods (institutional assessment, program assessment) as prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training;

Point đ) Violating education laws that warrant administrative penalties resulting in revocation;

f) Other cases as prescribed by law.

Clause 2. The decision to revoke the training permit must clearly state the reasons for revocation and specific measures to ensure the rights of students and lecturers.

Clause 3. The Minister of Education and Training shall issue the decision to revoke the training permit.

Article 9. Responsibilities of Training Institutions

Clause 1. Ensuring the truthfulness and accuracy of application files requesting permission for master's degree and doctoral degree programs training.

Clause 2. Providing complete information, documents, and evidence when requested by inspection teams or evaluation boards.

Clause 3. Organizing self-inspections and audits in accordance with the law and being subject to inspections, audits, and supervision by the Ministry of Education and Training and competent authorities regarding conditions ensuring the quality of master's degree and doctoral degree programs training.

Clause 4. Educational institutions permitted to self-evaluate their training programs must strictly follow the evaluation procedures; they must conduct objective and truthful evaluations and be responsible for the accuracy of the evaluation results.

Clause 5. The head of an educational institution is responsible for the conditions ensuring the quality of master's degree and doctoral degree programs training activities of the institution.

Article 10. Responsibilities and Rights of Provincial Departments of Education and Training

Clause 1. Organizing inspections and confirming actual conditions regarding faculty members, equipment for training, and libraries when educational institutions request.

Clause 2. Having the right to review related files and documents concerning faculty members, training equipment, and libraries of educational institutions and the right to request educational institutions to provide relevant documents and information.

Clause 3. Being responsible for the truthfulness and accuracy of actual inspection results at educational institutions.

Clause 4. Being subject to inspections, audits, and supervision by the Ministry of Education and Training and competent authorities regarding the results of inspecting actual conditions of educational institutions.

Article 11. Responsibilities and Rights of Educational Institutions Designated to Evaluate Training Programs

Clause 1. Evaluating master's degree and doctoral degree training programs of educational institutions in accordance with current regulations when designated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Clause 2. Having the right to review related files and documents concerning the development of training programs and the right to request educational institutions to provide relevant documents and information.

Clause 3. Conducting objective and truthful evaluations. Being responsible for the results of evaluating training programs.

Clause 4. Being subject to inspections, audits, and supervision by the Ministry of Education and Training and competent authorities regarding the results of evaluating training programs.

Article 12. Responsibilities of Units under the Ministry of Education and Training

The Department of Higher Education shall take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Planning and Finance, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, the Testing and Quality Assurance Agency, and related units:

Clause 1. Organizing the examination of application files and conditions for requesting permission to train master's degree and doctoral degree programs.

Clause 2. Directing, guiding, inspecting, and supervising the implementation of tasks for training master's degree and doctoral degree programs according to plans, ensuring quality.

Clause 3. Directing, guiding, inspecting, and supervising the inspection and confirmation of conditions by provincial departments of education and training, and the evaluation of training programs by educational institutions designated to perform evaluation tasks.

Article 13. Effective Date

Clause 1. This Circular takes effect from February 7, 2010.

Clause 2. Abolishing Article 4, Article 5 of Decision No. 45/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT dated August 5, 2008 issued by the Minister of Education and Training on Regulations for Master's Degree Training; Article 4, Article 5, and Article 6 of Circular No. 10/2009/TT-BGDĐT dated May 7, 2009 issued by the Minister of Education and Training on Regulations for Doctoral Degree Training.

Clause 3. All previous provisions contrary to this Circular are abolished.

Article 14. Implementation Organization

The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Head of the Department of Higher Education, the Heads of related units under the Ministry of Education and Training, universities, academies, colleges, scientific research institutes, and provincial departments of education and training are responsible for implementing this Circular./.