National expert to provide technical assistance to conduct an Operational Review of The Education Quality Assurance Council

USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER)

SCOPE OF WORK

for a National expert to provide technical assistance to conduct an Operational Review of The Education Quality Assurance Council at the University of Da Nang (UD), its member universities, and affiliated units

I. BACKGROUND

The Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) is a five-year 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:     

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. 

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.

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),
• Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM), and
• The University of Danang (UD).          

II. OBJECTIVE OF ASSIGNMENT

The educational quality assurance (EQA) Council at the UD corporate level and its member unit level is a constituent part of the UD's educational quality assurance system. The EQA Council has the function of consulting, advising, and guiding the Director/Principal on core issues. These include development of the internal quality assurance system at UD and development of the educational quality assurance strategy the goal of which is to maintain and improve the educational quality of UD in general and the member universities and affiliated units in particular. Since its establishment, the EQA Council has embraced its advisory role, however it would benefit from a comprehensive review of all its functions to ensure the effectiveness of the Council.

To support UD under the Governance Pillar of the 2023-2024 Work Plan, PHER has earmarked support to UD for such a thorough operational review of the EQA Council.

The PHER project seeks a national consultant to provide technical assistance to conduct a comprehensive operational review of the UD EQA Council and its affiliates; identifying strengths, advantages, weaknesses, difficulties, and challenges in fulfilling its mandate; providing feedback, comments, and recommendations to help the UD strengthen the role and the effectiveness of the EQA Council.

The work of this assignment should be conducted mainly in Vietnamese language, but all summary reporting is required in English. All activities should ensure equitable treatment irrespective of gender, disability, or ethnic background.

III. TIME AND LOCATION

The work is expected to commence in March 2024 and completed by April 2024. Further details to be provided below.

IV. TASKS, DELIVERABLES, TIMELINE AND LEVEL OF EFFORT

See the table below for specific tasks, deliverables, and a tentative timeline for the assignment of consultant.

V. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING

The consultant will work under the direction of the PHER team and the UD.

VI. BUDGET

Applicants send financial and technical proposals with working time, indicating the expected consultancy fee in the application documents.

VII. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING

Applicants should submit separate financial and technical proposals describing the approach to expected interventions along with the proposed consultancy fee (daily rate).

VII. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES

Essential:

• holds a doctorate level of education management;
• has sound understanding on Viet Nam higher education system and the University of Da Nang;
• has expertise and experience in the field of internal quality assurance/institutional effectiveness and university governance;
• has experience in analyzing the policy and institution as well as organizational review;

Preferred:

• is able to plan and deliver a program of work to support the UD and its member units to strengthen the effectiveness of their EQA Councils;
• has experience working at Vietnamese universities,especially understanding the context of a regional university – the model of “two levels university”;

VIII. APPLICATION

The application documents include:

• CV with three references
• A technical proposal as a structure and outline for the final report
• Financial proposal, indicating the expected consultancy fee (daily rate)

Application documents should be sent to [email protected] titled “National consultant_ QA council review” not later than 20^th March, 2024. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.