Internal Quality Assurance System of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade
The internal Quality Assurance (QA) system of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade is designed, built, and developed to continuously evaluate, measure, control, maintain, and improve the quality of all the University's key activities such as learning, teaching, research, and service provision. The QA system aims to well-meet the mission, vision, achieve the strategic goals of the University, and satisfy the requirements of relevant stakeholders. There are two main objectives for designing and operating an internal QA system: Firstly, to evaluate, measure, and control comprehensive quality and on that basis ensure and enhance the quality of the University; and secondly, to be ready to meet the requirements, standards, and regulations of external quality accreditation organizations and agencies (domestic and international) such as the Ministry of Education and Training, and AUN-QA. The internal QA system of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade consists of seven components.
1. Core Values
Focus on customers
Leadership and leadership commitment
Participation of relevant stakeholders
Continuous improvement
Decision-making based on objective data
Comparison with internal and external standards
Honesty, objectivity, transparency, publicity, and information sharing
2. Organizational Structure and Personnel
The organizational structure for quality assurance activities has been unified from the university level to the units. This structure clearly reflects the attention and commitment of the highest leadership to quality assurance activities. At Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, the Board of Presidents has assigned 01 Vice President to be directly in charge of QA work and also the quality management representative for the entire university. The University's QA department with full-time members was also established in 2018. QA teams in each unit have also been established with part-time members from the unit, with a unit leader serving as the Team Leader.
3. Quality Assurance Culture
The internal QA culture is the software that connects hardware structures such as organizational structures, processes, and regulations into a unified whole. The University's quality culture has a solid foundation from nearly 40 years of tradition, which is a culture of humanity – solidarity – pioneering – innovation, always taking the learner as the center. When building and operating the internal quality assurance system, the University pays great attention to the role of the cultural factor as the foundation for all QA activities. There are many activities to promote the core values of quality assurance and enhance the awareness and knowledge of the staff, including:
Continuously listening to relevant stakeholders and taking improvement actions based on the information obtained. Currently, the University has periodically conducted large-scale surveys with 5 main target groups: current students, graduating students, alumni, lecturers – staff, and employers – enterprises.
Periodically holding Quality Assurance Council meetings to exchange views on quality between the Board of Presidents, the Quality Management Center, QA Teams of units, lecturers, and students.
Comparing and learning experiences from partner universities domestically and abroad. Regularly organizing and participating in workshops, training courses, and coaching on quality assurance domestically and abroad.
4. Institutions and Regulations
For the system to operate effectively and synchronously, the issuance and standardization of unified institutions, regulations, and processes throughout the university is a very vital task. The University's current QA documentation system includes 137 processes drafted, operated, evaluated, and improved according to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 21001:2018 standards.
5. Quality Assurance Information System
Alongside the university-wide computerization efforts, the University's QA activities also aim to centralize and standardize all QA data of the University, allowing information to be collected accurately, objectively, and transparently and shared with relevant stakeholders. The QA information system includes two important components: primary information (from surveys of relevant stakeholders) and secondary information (including all secondary data of the university such as academic data, lecturers, students, facilities, scientific research, finance, etc.)
6. Annual Quality Conference
The Quality Conference of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade aims to issue an annual quality report to promote a quality culture throughout the university. The conference aims to:
Summarize the implementation of the University's QA work during the year.
Evaluate achievements and existing weaknesses, providing recommendations for improving the QA system.
Determine QA goals and plans for the following year.
Reward individuals and units with outstanding achievements in QA.
Announce the QA Report to relevant stakeholders. Participants include the Board of Presidents, representatives of units, lecturers, students, employers, partner universities, guests, and the press.
7. Disclosure of Quality Assurance Information
All important information about the University's QA will be published periodically, widely, and transparently to relevant subjects such as lecturers, staff, managers, students, alumni, employers, and society. This information is published through various channels such as the website, QA Reports, QA workshops, and other means.