COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONFERENCE PRESENTS OPPORTUNITY FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 001326 SIPDIS STATE FOR ECA; EAP/PD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PREL VM SUBJECT: COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONFERENCE PRESENTS OPPORTUNITY FOR VIETNAM TO FOLLOW AMERICAN PARADIGM ¶1. (U) Summary: On November 11-12, Kien Giang Community College hosted a conference for American and Vietnamese institutions to collaborate on effectively establishing a community college system in Vietnam. Participants included representatives from the local People's Committee, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET),area universities, ConGen HCMC and Embassy Hanoi's Fulbright office. Participants delivered presentations on community college organization and governance in the U.S., models for developing academic programs, teaching techniques, and policy recommendations. At the conclusion of the conference, American and Vietnamese community colleges signed a memorandum of understanding to create a stable partnership. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The first community college in Vietnam was established in ¶2000. Currently, there are nine community colleges with plans to establish more. Pressure to establish community colleges has stemmed from the demand for education from communities in remote areas, particularly in the Mekong Delta, where many students are the first in their family to have access to higher education. Traditional university programs admit only up to 20% of college entrance exam takers each year. Stringent college entrance exam requirements create a barrier for most students from remote areas. Other barriers include low living standards and family needs which keep children from attending school far from home. Community colleges are seen as a possible solution to these problems. ¶3. (U) In developing a community college system from scratch, Vietnam first turned to several models that had been successful abroad, including ones in the Asia-Pacific region and in Canada, before looking to the U.S. In 2003, Fulbright Fellow Dr. Sandra Engel of Mohawk Community College in Utica, N.Y. carried out a five-month project at Kien Giang Community College to assist the institution in understanding the concept of the American community college system. ¶4. (U) At the Kien Giang conference, both U.S. and Vietnamese participants agreed that community colleges offer quality education and prepare students both in vocational training and for further study at the university level. Attitudes towards community colleges in Vietnam tend to be similar to those in the United States, with such institutions not as highly regarded as national universities and specialized institutions. Aiming to break this trend, several presenters, including university representatives, extolled the practicality and benefits of a community college education. ¶5. (U) The American Association of Community Colleges and Richland College highlighted the decentralized nature of higher education in the United States, and recommended that Vietnam follow this model. The higher education system in the United States functions at the state level, whereas Vietnam's higher education system is controlled at the national level by MOET. MOET has final authority over educational institutions' organizational structures and curricula. If community colleges gain greater independence from the central government, they will be able to expand more quickly if they can function in a less rigid process. ¶6. (U) Long Beach Community College described the California community college system and explained how community colleges can create new programs through developing mission statements, analyzing needs, checking quality control, and submitting proposals. Dr. Engel, the former Fulbrighter, explored teaching methods in community colleges in her discussion of the value of interactive learning, collaborative learning, and critical thinking. ¶7. (SBU) MOET released its first draft (currently not for wide circulation) of the regulations on the establishment, structure, and operation of the Vietnamese community college. The draft regulations drew strong reactions from participants, in whose view too much control is arrogated to MOET. For example, the draft states that each new course and program shall be approved by MOET and that its transferability to another university must secure MOET's approval on a case-by-case basis. Many Vietnamese administrators fear that without sufficient autonomy, community colleges will not be able to respond to the rising and changing needs of the local communities. ¶8. (SBU) Suggestions from administrators to improve this plan included: (1) adapt the American model through a pilot partnership project with an American community college, (2) provide greater autonomy to the college so that it can have the flexibility to respond to the changing needs of local communities, and (3) have colleges report and be directly responsible to the People's Committee in their missions, goals and operations. While MOET notes the need for control over community colleges for quality assurance, the administrators want the colleges themselves to be accountable. ¶9. (U) At the end of the conference, participating Vietnamese and American community colleges signed a "Memorandum of Understanding Between North American Colleges and Universities and Viet Nam Community Colleges" to create an international partnership. Objectives of the Memorandum include support by North American colleges and universities for curricula development in Vietnamese community colleges; staff and trainee exchange; online training for teachers of English and other subjects; collaboration to facilitate study by Vietnamese in North America and by North Americans in Vietnam; organization of workshops, seminars, and symposia; development of an internship and volunteer program; and collaborative institutional research. ¶10. (U) To address the MPP goal of mutual understanding and to improve educational opportunities for Vietnamese citizens, the Mission continues to work closely with Dr. Engel in helping Vietnam develop a community college system. In this connection, a Voluntary Visitor project will bring Vietnamese community college rectors to visit U.S. community colleges and identify aspects of such institutions that can be adopted by Vietnam. Post will seek funding for a spring project. CHERN