International consultant to improve business-related academic programs toward ACBSP Standards

USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER)

SCOPE OF WORK

IMPROVING BUSINESS-RELATED PROGRAMS

TOWARD ACBSP STANDARDS

I. BACKGROUND

The Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) is an initiative to help strengthen Vietnam's leading public universities. The project activities are funded by USAID to support targeted reforms to improve institutional leadership and administrative capacity, improve teaching practices to enhance student learning outcomes, elevate university research capacity to international standards, network Vietnamese researchers to maximize access to global knowledge, enable university graduates to better engage with the labor market, and help university faculty to leverage their research for innovation.

To achieve these objectives, PHER activities focus on four pillars:           

1. Governance: This pillar supports the building and strengthening of institutional performance management systems based on agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) supported by a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) that provides consistent, reliable data for decision making and for accreditation of institutions and programs. This includes the establishment of a robust internal quality assurance (IQA) system at each of the target universities. Improved governance will help the leadership of public universities in Vietnam to make better informed decisions as they exercise greater autonomy and focus on academic quality. 
2. Teaching & Learning: This pillar supports the growing of faculty professional development opportunities through the establishment of formalized Centers for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) as well as supporting the work of less formal, more specialized faculty-driven affinity groups through Faculty Academies on Excellence in Teaching (FACET). The goals are to support expansion of faculty capacity to design state-of-the-art courses, digitize curricula, support the development of priority online courses and programs, improve student learning assessment techniques, and develop graduate students in the teaching profession. This pillar will also support technical assistance to help prepare faculty and administration for international accreditation reviews of academic programs and institutions. The objective is for improved teaching and learning at Vietnam’s public universities to increase learning outcomes, enhance recognition of high-quality academic programs, and improve the employability of graduates.
3. Research & Innovation: This pillar supports the enhancing of research capacity so that the scientific outputs of public universities in Vietnam meet international standards, increase knowledge sharing among specialists, grow the number of publications in recognized journals, and align research activities to the social and economic needs of the country.  This will take place through faculty exchanges, visiting scholar programs, research conferences, webinars, workshops, and short course training on research methodologies and academic specialties. The key vehicle for this pillar is the establishment of Vietnam International Academic Networks (VIAN) to help scientists across Vietnam to connect more readily with fellow experts from around the world. The objective is for VIAN activity to lead to greater knowledge sharing, broader promotion of research taking place in Vietnam, and enhanced opportunities for joint research and publications with partners abroad.

The PHER project also seeks deeper exploration of policy areas vital to the improvement of Vietnamese public higher education by supporting analytical work on the areas of technology and digitization, as well as gender equity. These cross-cutting policy areas are essential to success across the four pillars and to support the long-term sustainability of higher education reforms in Vietnam.  

PHER focuses on reforms at three major Vietnamese public universities and their member universities and respective institutes and academic programs:

• Vietnam National University-Hanoi (VNU-HN),
• Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), and
• The University of Danang (the UD).          

Within the framework of Pillar 2 – Teaching and Learning, focusing on improving the quality of flagship training programs toward accreditation standards in higher education exists in many countries, including Vietnam. The aim of accreditation of the academic programs is under the Decree 38/2013/TT-BGD?T issued by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, regulating the accrediting process of the academic programs in the higher education institutions. The core elements of accreditation focus on ensuring and improving academic programs, identify the level at which academic programs meet the periodical time frame, provide evidence for authorities, society, and beneficiaries about the quality of the academic programs, and provide evidence for learners to choose programs and employers to select their human resources. Thus, accreditation provides opportunities for institutional growth through self-study and evaluation and self-regulation.

II. OBJECTIVE OF ASSIGNMENT

PHER seeks an international consultant to support University of Economics (DUE), the University of Danang (UD) to improve their business-related academic programs, preparing them for ACBSP Standards.  The detailed scope of work presented in the following sections, covering (1) providing capacity improvement for the project universities’ personnel in terms of internal assessment in accordance with the ACBSP Standards and (2) coaching for project universities focusing on continuous development of the self-assessment report.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Based on the overall goal stated above, the specific objectives for the national consultant supporting the universities in enhancing their business-related academic programs for ACBSP Standards could be outlined as follows:

1. Offer guidance and expertise to address challenges, refine strategies, and ensure continuous improvement in the business-related academic programs in accordance with ACBSP Standards.
2. Provide for and coach faculty to use tools and guidelines to improve the academic programs and develop self-assessment report in alignment with ACBSP Standards.
3. Provide inputs in the self-assessment report
4. Generate regular progress reports highlighting achievements, challenges, and recommendations for further enhancements.

By achieving these specific objectives, the international consultant will contribute to the overall goal of preparing DUE (UD) for ACBSP Standards, ensuring the quality and relevance of their business-related academic programs.

The work of this assignment is likely to be conducted mainly in English language and all reporting is required in fluent English. PHER will provide interpretation support. All activities should ensure equitable treatment irrespective of gender, disability, or ethnic background.

III. TIME AND LOCATION

The timing is negotiable but the work is expected to commence in May 2024 and be completed by July 2024. Five (05) working days are planned for both face-to-face at DUE (UD)and online working sessions over the period May - July 2024.  Further details to be provided below.

IV. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

Notes:

The final report should include all resource materials, agendas, and reports, along with analysis of objectives, lessons learned, and recommendations.

V. BUDGET

The USAID PHER grant will allocate a budget agreed upon with the consultant to support the implementation of the activities and deliverables per the SOW above.

VI. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING

The consultant will work under the direction of the PHER team

VII. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• a minimum qualification of a master’s degree in Education Studies or Business-related majors; a PhD qualification will be an advantage;
• a strong experience (5 years) in development of evaluation criteria and guidelines on business program;
• strong experience in doing and reviewing ACBSP accreditation;
• experience in facilitating coaching sessions for educators
• knowledge and experience to design the guidelines for assessment of the implementation of business programs;
• knowledge of the higher education system in Vietnam, external QA mechanisms and Internal QA and prior work experience in conducting evaluations;
• a certificate of completing a training for peer reviewer in ACBSP Standards. 

III. APPLICATION

The application documents include:

• A letter of motivation
• CV with three references
• Financial proposal, indicating the expected consultancy fee

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will remain open until filled.  We sincerely appreciate your interest in this job opportunity but only shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview.

Application documents should be sent to [email protected] titled “Application: Improve academic programs toward ACBSP Standards”.  by March 14, 2024.