Autonomy Acquisition and Performance within Higher Education in Vietnam—A Road to a Sustainable Future?
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
2.2. Malmquist Productivity Change Measurement
2.3. DEA Model for Vietnamese Universities
2.4. Econometric Model Specification
3. Results
3.1. Autonomy Context and Some Figures of Vietnam Universities
3.2. Efficiency Analysis of Vietnam Universities
3.3. TFP Change Analysis of Vietnam Universities
3.4. Factors Affecting the Performance of Vietnamese Universities
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Inputs | Outputs |
---|---|
X1: Number of academic staff | Y1: Number of graduates |
X2: Number of students | Y2: Average graduates’ results (scoring) |
X3: Qualification of first-year students (minimun entrance score) | Y3: Graduates’ employment (after one year) |
X4: University’s total budget | Y4: Number of citations (from academic staff profiles) |
No. | Document | Year | Content |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Education Law No. 11/1998/QH10) | 1998 | Course content, instructional materials, lesson plans, and teaching autonomy [55]. |
2 | Education Law No. 38/2005/QH11 | 2005 | Curriculum, material, and instructional and learning plan autonomy. Academic oversight of student enrollment, accreditation, and training. Human resources and recruitment via self-governance [56]. |
3 | Higher Education Law No. 08/2012 /QH13 | 2012 | Quality assurance, training, international cooperation, and organizational autonomy. Accountable for overseeing the enrollment process, establishing enrollment quotas, disseminating public information regarding quotas, training quality, and fulfilling other obligations associated with ensuring the quality of instruction at higher education institutions. Because of the university council’s restricted jurisdiction, autonomy in financial matters was curtailed [39]. |
4 | Amended Law on Higher Education No. 34/2018/QH14. | 2018 | Academic institutions are endowed with autonomy regarding communicating and implementing their policy guidelines for student tuition and scholarships, academic staff, public employees, and other personnel, and the enrollment and initiation of new training programs. The function of university councils is expanded by law, and universities are granted greater financial autonomy. Universities that operate with autonomy must also answer to society, parents, and students, in addition to the responsibilities outlined previously. The Ministry of Education and Training retains jurisdiction over the complexities associated with the independence and accountability of higher education institutions [27]. |
Criteria (Per University) | 2017–2018 | 2021–2022 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | Type | Total | Type | |||
Public | Private | Public | Private | |||
Number of institutions | 236 | 171 | 65 | 242 | 175 | 67 |
Admitted undergraduate students | 1852 | 2064 | 1295 | 2351 | 2533 | 1875 |
Admitted graduate students | 203 | 245 | 95 | 132 | 165 | 45 |
The scale of undergraduate students | 7233 | 8418 | 4116 | 8865 | 9879 | 6217 |
The scale of graduate students | 514 | 626 | 220 | 502 | 620 | 196 |
- Master students | 452 | 541 | 215 | 454 | 554 | 193 |
- PhD students | 62 | 84 | 4 | 48 | 66 | 3 |
Annual graduation | 1448 | 1770 | 599 | 1013 | 1224 | 462 |
Full-time faculty | 318 | 346 | 242 | 323 | 331 | 301 |
- Full Professors | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
- Assoc. Professors | 19.2 | 22.2 | 11.4 | 190 | 2.6 | 2.1 |
Govt’s subsidy per student (Million VND) | 3.4 | 4.1 | 0.0 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 0.0 |
Annual tuition (million VND) | 14.1 | 11.6 | 25.0 | 18.0 | 13.0 | 41.0 |
University Group | No. of Uni. | General Efficiency (CRS%) | Internal Efficiency (VRS%) | External Efficiency (Scale%) | Cause of Inefficiency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GE | IE | EE | |||
The year 2018 | |||||
Efficiency | 14 | 100 | 100 | 100 | - |
External Inefficiency | 5 | 91.4 | 100 | 91.4 | EE |
In/external Inefficiency | 13 | 80.2 | 83.4 | 96.1 | IE, EE |
Average | 32 | 90.6 | 93.3 | 97.1 | IE, EE |
The year 2021 | |||||
Efficiency | 18 | 100 | 100 | 100 | - |
External Inefficiency | 5 | 92.3 | 100 | EE | |
In/external Inefficiency | 9 | 77.6 | 82.8 | 93.7 | IE, EE |
Average | 32 | 92.5 | 95.2 | 97.1 | IE, EE |
Criteria | Technology (TECHCH) | Technical Efficiency (EFFCH) | Total Factor Productivity (TFPCH) |
---|---|---|---|
Index values | |||
2019 | 1.069 | 0.987 | 1.055 |
2020 | 1.023 | 1.017 | 1.041 |
2021 | 1.189 | 1.018 | 1.211 |
Period 2018–2021 | 1.092 | 1.007 | 1.100 |
Number of universities (2018–2021) | |||
Advanced | 28 | 14 | 26 |
Unchanged | 1 | 13 | 1 |
Decreased | 3 | 5 | 5 |
Total | 32 | 32 | 32 |
Variable | Type | Descriptions | Expected Signs |
---|---|---|---|
Dependent variables | |||
Y: TFPCH | Cont. | A proxy for the ability to improve the total factor productivity of a university during 2018–2021 | |
Y: EFFCH | Cont. | A proxy for individual improvement or the ability of a university to benchmark the best universities (the universities on the PPF) during 2018–2021. | |
Y: TECHCH | Cont. | A proxy for the ability to shift the PPF outward during 2018–2021 | |
Explanatory variables | |||
X1: STUNUMBER | Discrete | Student population of the university | +/− |
X2: FANUMBER | Discrete | Number of the academic staff of the university | +/− |
X3: HQFNUMBER | Discrete | Number of highly qualified faculties (full and associate professors) | + |
X4: LANDPS | Cont. | The area of land (m2) | + |
X5: AREAPS | Cont. | The floor area of buildings (m2) | + |
X6: LABNUMBER | Discrete | Number of labs | + |
X7: RESEARHFUND | Cont. | Funding for research | + |
X8: GOVTSUB | Cont. | Governmental subsidy to the university | + |
D1: QAMETHOD | Binary | Accreditation by accreditation organizations: Foreign 0; Vietnamese: 1. | − |
D2: OWNERSHIP | Binary | Private: 0; Public: 1. | +/− |
D3: LOCATION | Binary | The main campus in a small city: 0, otherwise: 1. | + |
(1) | (2) | (3) | |
---|---|---|---|
VARIABLES | TFPCH | TECHCH | EFFCH |
X1: STUNUMBER | −1.04 × 10−6 | −2.66 × 10−7 | −7.25 × 10−7 |
X2: FANUMBER | 0.000177 | 9.14 × 10−5 | 9.01 × 10−5 |
X3: HQFNUMBER | −0.00205 | −0.00146 | −0.000636 |
X4: LANDPS | −0.00326 * | −0.00312 ** | −5.65 × 10−5 |
X5: AREAPS | 0.000388 | 0.000385 | 1.96 × 10−5 |
X6: LABNUMBER | 0.00141 *** | 0.00139 *** | 8.22 × 10−6 |
X7: RESEARCHFUND | 0.00459 ** | 0.00404 ** | 0.000494 |
X8: GOVTSUB | −0.000101 | 5.42 × 10−5 | −0.000139 |
D1: QAMETHOD | −0.149 ** | −0.119 ** | −0.0278 |
D2: OWNERSHIP | −0.118 * | −0.113 * | 0.00142 |
D3: LOCATION | −0.0154 | 0.0117 | −0.0133 |
Constant | 1.179 *** | 1.148 *** | 1.009 *** |
Observations | 96 | 96 | 96 |
No. of universities | 32 | 32 | 32 |
R-squared | 0.233 | 0.277 | 0.048 |
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Hieu, N.T.; Niem, L.D. Autonomy Acquisition and Performance within Higher Education in Vietnam—A Road to a Sustainable Future? Sustainability 2024, 16, 1336. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031336
Hieu NT, Niem LD. Autonomy Acquisition and Performance within Higher Education in Vietnam—A Road to a Sustainable Future? Sustainability. 2024; 16(3):1336. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031336
Chicago/Turabian StyleHieu, Ngo Thi, and Le Duc Niem. 2024. "Autonomy Acquisition and Performance within Higher Education in Vietnam—A Road to a Sustainable Future?" Sustainability 16, no. 3: 1336. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031336