Chiến lược phát triển trung tâm ngoại ngữ, học viện tài chính (AOF) giai đoạn 2013 2017

khóa luận, luận văn, thạc sĩ, tiến sĩ, cao học, đề tài

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

SOUTHERN LUZON STATE

UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines

STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE ACADEMY OF FINANCE (AOF) CENTER FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI, VIET NAM FOR THE YEARS

2013-2017

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE SCHOOL SOUTHERN LUZON STATE UNIVERSITY LUCBAN, QUEZON,

PHILIPPINESTHAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY S.R VIETNAM

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

DOCTORS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Name: Nguyen ThiThuyTrang

Thai Nguyen, 2013

I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the Management Board of the Southern Luzon State University, Thai Nguyen University, teachers of the school have helped me facilitate the learning process throughout

I would like to express sincere gratitude and profound Dr.Walberto A Macaraan, enthusiastic teacher who has dedicated guidance, encouragement, spending time and exchange orientation for me during this research

I sincerely thank the Board of Academy of Finance (AOF), colleagues in AOF, classmates DBA1, especially Mr Ngo Anh Cuong, facilitated enthusiastic help and share experience to help complete the thesis

Finally, I would like to thank my best friends who have encouraged me to complete my thesis

 

STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE ACADEMY OF FINANCE (AOF) CENTER FOR

FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI, VIET NAM FOR THE YEARS 2013-2017 1 

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTORS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 1 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 2 

ABSTRACT 5 

List of tables 7 

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 8 

1.1 Background of the study 11 

1.2 Statement of the problem 12 

1.3 Significance of the study 15 

1.4 Scope and limitation of the study: 15 

1.5 Terms: 16 

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES 19 

2.1 Requirement of English proficiency 19 

2.2 Establishment of a language center in a business educational institution 19 

2.3 General environment in Vietnam 21 

2.3.1 Natural environment 21 

2.3.2 Historical and political situation 21 

2.3.3 Socio-cultural factors 22 

2.3.4 Economic profile 24 

2.4 Education Industry 28 

2.4.1 General Education System in Vietnam 28 

2.4.2 Viewpoint on education development 30 

2.4.3 Demand and Supply Analysis 31 

2.4.4 Competitor Analysis 36 

2.4.5 Introduction of Best Practices 48 

2.5 Opportunities and Threats 51 

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 56 

3.1 Research design 56 

3.2 Determination of sample size 58 

3.3 Sampling design and techniques 59 

3.4 Research instrument 61 

3.5 Data gathering procedure 61 

3.6 Data processing method 61 

Chapter IV: Company study, data analysis and findings 63 

4.1 Brief history of AOF and CFL 63 

4.2 Overall performance 63 

4.3 Institutional Activities 64 

4.3.1 Major activities 64 

4.3.1.1 Logistics 64 

4.3.1.2 Operations 74 

4.3.1.3 Marketing and sales 78 

4.3.2 Support activities 86 

Chapter V: Strategic Plan – Conclusions and Recommendations 96 

5.1 CFL’s Vision, Mission, Objectives and Key Result Areas 96 

5.2  Current strategy 100 

5.2.1 Organizational Strategy 100 

5.2.2 HRM strategy 100 

5.2.3 Operating strategy 101 

5.2.4 Marketing strategy 102 

5.2.5 Financial strategy 102 

5.3 Recommended strategic plan 102 

5.4 Comparison with the current strategy 104 

5.5 Management of changes 105 

5.5.1 Organizational Strategy 106 

5.5.2 HRM Strategy 106 

5.5.3 Operations Strategy 112 

5.5.4 Financial Strategy 116 

APPENDICIES 118 

REFERENCES: 134 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 137 

Academy of Finance is one of very few nationally recognized State-owned universities in Vietnam and has provided the economy with highly appreciated graduates in banking, finance and accounting However, in recent years, with higher requirement of English proficiency from employers, Academy of Finance graduates have faced competition from other universities’ graduates whose majors of banking, finance or accounting are said to

be less appreciated The tendency of English proficiency requirement can be seen in many job advertisements found in various job sites such as Vietnamworks.com, vieclam.com, dulieuvieclam.com, timviecnhanh.com,… According to Ministry of Education and Training, students can graduate from university only when they reach a certain proficiency of English Also, the ministry requires each university to set its own requirement of English proficiency Accordingly, Academy of Finance requires 450 TOEIC for graduation This is compulsory for the 48th batch and batches later

To better meet job requirements and able to graduate, undergraduates plan to get prepared with English during their university They are free to choose an English center as long as they can obtain some certain certificates such as IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC Some universities provide their undergraduates with another choice of their own language centers and learners are free to choose to sit in an exam for an international certificate or certificates issued by universities Academy of Finance could not increase the in-class time of English lessons, so out-of-school time programs were recommended In fact, Academy of Finance set

up its own language center in 2010 to serve firstly its own students and then other interests

It is a kind of out of school time program for students

CFL was established by the Director of Academy of Finance in 2010 with the aim of providing AOF students with English proficiency to better meet the market’s needs CFL focuses on English while other OST programs are topic-specific and focus on categories like the arts, sports, theatre, math or science CFL is a not for profit organization under the direct

control of Academy of Finance It is different from other commercial language centers in the market and also differs from other college’s/university’s centers that are directly controlled

by Faculty of Foreign Languages of the college/university

 

2 Gross domestic product at constant 1994 prices by economic sector 16

3 Gross domestic product at current prices by economic sector 17

4 Enterprises in Vietnam are classified by capital sources and ownership 18

5

Retail sales of goods and services at current prices by kind of economic

6

Structure of employed population at 15 years of age and above as of annual 1

Today Vietnam has involved in the global integration both vertically and horizontally This has led to the requirement of English proficiency from employers toward job seekers In this context, Vietnam’s public schools are serving their students under increasing pressure to improve academic performance The inexorable drive to reach continuously higher levels of student achievement was spurred by the Ministry of Education and Training – MOET’s requirements in English proficiency The current economic recession has only exacerbated the stress on educators at all levels, as they are expected to push students’ achievement scores higher than ever before (while also closing achievement gaps between different sub-groups of students), despite diminishing resources that have resulted in staffing cuts, larger class sizes, and fewer support services for many of the nation’s students

The increased emphasis on student achievement in general and student’s English proficiency,

as measured by large-scale, state-mandated summative assessments, has resulted in school leaders and education policymakers embracing the notion that teachers can no longer afford

to work in isolation if they seek to improve the performance of their students This trend is apparent in the current literature on professional development, where one can find an

abundance of articles and books extolling the virtues of teacher learning teams, collaborative learning teams, communities of continuous inquiry, professional learning communities, and

other configurations of collaborative work arrangements among teachers In reality, educational researchers and advocates for educational reform have been writing about various forms of teacher collaboration as a means to improve educational outcomes since the early 1990’s (Hord, 2004; Pounder, 1998) As Saunders, Goldenberg, and Gallimore (2009) indicated, there is “an intuitively appealing logic that underlies PLC [professional learning communities] and learning team programs” (p 1009) Yet, despite the significant body of literature regarding the importance of teacher collaboration in the effort to improve schools and the “intuitive logic” of such an approach, there is a dearth of empirical research that ties

collaborative processes to improved teacher practice and improved student learning (Gallimore, Ermeling, Saunders, & Goldenberg, 2009; Goddard, Goddard, &Tschannen-Moran, 2007; InPraxis Group, Inc., 2006; Pounder, 1998; Saunders et al., 2009; Vescio, Ross,

& Adams, 2008) The following quote from InPraxis Group, Inc (2006) captures the current body of literature and contemporary wisdom regarding the value of teacher collaboration and PLC-like approaches:

Although there is little empirical research that links collaborative processes directly with student learning and achievement, there is a relatively consistent recommendation emerging from the literature on professional development – those who share the same concerns and challenges will learn more effectively if they work together in a professional development experience and teacher quality can be positively affected (p 33)

The relative paucity of empirical research supporting the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLCs) begs the following question: In schools that have implemented PLCs, to what extent have teacher practice and student achievement improved? This is the key question driving the establishment of out-of-school time programs while schools have to follow MOET’s rules of limited in-class time Although a number of studies have documented evidence regarding the various benefits of PLCs, for example, enhanced teacher learning (Little, 2003; Grossman, Wineberg, & Woolworth, 2001), improved school culture (Supovitz, 2002), and changes in classroom practice (Brownell, Adams, Sindelar, Waldron,

&Vanhover, 2006), the most valuable aspect of PLCs lies in their potential to impact student achievement in a positive manner As Brownell et al (2006) argued, “Ultimately, professional collaborative efforts are important only if they help teachers change in ways that promote student learning” (p 184)

Academy of Finance is one of very few nationally recognized State-owned universities in Vietnam and has provided the economy with highly appreciated graduates in banking, finance and accounting However, in recent years, with higher requirement of English proficiency from employers, Academy of Finance graduates have faced competition from other universities’ graduates whose majors of banking, finance or accounting are said to be less appreciated The tendency of English proficiency requirement can be seen in many job advertisements found in various job sites such as Vietnamworks.com, vieclam.com, dulieuvieclam.com, timviecnhanh.com,… According to Ministry of Education and Training, students can graduate from university only when they reach a certain proficiency of English Also, the ministry requires each university to set its own requirement of English proficiency Accordingly, Academy of Finance requires 450 TOEIC for graduation This is compulsory for the 48th batch and batches later

To better meet job requirements and able to graduate, undergraduates plan to get prepared with English during their university They are free to choose an English center as long as they can obtain some certain certificates such as IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC Some universities provide their undergraduates with another choice of their own language centers and learners are free to choose to sit in an exam for an international certificate or certificates issued by universities Academy of Finance could not increase the in-class time of English lessons, so out-of-school time programs were recommended In fact, Academy of Finance set up its own language center in 2010 to serve firstly its own students and then other interests It is a kind

of out of school time program for students

Out of School Time (OST) is a general term that describes any structured programs outside of the normal school day hours "The National Institute on Out-of-School Time defines out-of-school time programs as encompassing a wide range of program offerings for young people that take place before school, after school, on weekends, and during the summer and other

school breaks " ("Making an Impact on Out-of-School Time: A Guide for Corporation for National Service Programs Engaged in After-School, Summer, and Weekend Activities for Young People," 2000, p 3) The programs are sometimes referred to as "after-school,"

"extended day," or "school-aged care" programs and can occur before or after school or during the vacation days These terms are often used interchangeably

CFL focuses on English while other OST programs are topic-specific and focus on categories like the arts, sports, theatre, math or science

While the definition of OST is quite broad, the OST programs reviewed for this research study are those specifically created to meet the goals of English proficiency The specific program goal for CFL is, "To provide AOF students with English proficiency." CFL has become a response to combat the factors facing newly-graduated job seekers and to meet the academic and social needs of students

This school year, Academy of Finance is welcoming the 50th batch to the campus It means only 2 years left for the 48th batch to get themselves ready for graduation and job market As far as I observed, Center of Foreign Languages affiliated with Academy of Finance has not achieved any success which is shown in enrollment As not only a teacher of English in Academy of Finance but also the Associate Dean of Faculty of Foreign Languages who is in charge of cooperating with Center of Foreign Languages in serving Academy of Finance students, I personally think that a study on Center of Foreign Languages is in need to find out

a strategic plan for its development in order to implement its mission and vision

1.1 Background of the study 

CFL was established by the Director of Academy of Finance in 2010 with the aim of providing AOF students with English proficiency to better meet the market’s needs However, CFL has served only few groups of about 300 students, far less than expected, out

of more than 10,000 present students This is a disappointing result Therefore, the question

of how to attract students to the center has been discussed for an answer

CFL is a not for profit organization under the direct control of Academy of Finance It is different from other commercial language centers in the market and also differs from other college’s/university’s centers that are directly controlled by Faculty of Foreign Languages of the college/university

Studies or researches on commercial language centers in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi have not been fully publicized though some researches on market needs have been cited on newspapers and magazines The information from these researches can be used as secondary data for this study However, the special situation of CFL requires further research and deeper analysis That’s why the thesis is conducted toward the solution to CFL’s performance It is aimed at how to increase the performance of CFL – a provider of OST programs via a feasible strategic plan for CFL

1.2 Statement of the problem 

The study is to aim at building a strategic plan for CFL – Center of ForeignLanguages – an affiliation with AOF – Academy of Finance, Hanoi, Vietnam The study is also to examine teacher collaboration designed to influence teachers’ classroom practice and student

achievement outcomes in AOF and CFL The study is conceptually grounded in social capital theory (Leana&Pil, 2006; Nahapiet&Ghoshal, 1998) and the construct of strategic plan both of which will be presented in Chapter 2 In short, social capital theory posits that

the network of interpersonal relationships which exist within any organization is a valuable resource that has the potential to improve organizational performance (Nahapiet&Ghoshal, 1998) Social capital theory is essentially interrelated with research-based descriptions of collaboration practice; these organization-based groups are also viewed as powerful units of analysis with the potential to improve overall organizational performance (Koliba&Gajda,

2009) This study will explore the relationship between the quality of collaboration within teacher-based teams and student achievement outcomes as measured by mandated, annual assessments In addition, the study will address the impact of administrative leadership on the success of CFL by examining the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of administrative support for discrete teacher teams (PLCs) and student achievement outcomes, again measured by mandated, annual state assessments Also, the study will explore the relationship between the quality of teacher collaboration and self-reported changes in instructional practice Finally, the study will analyse the students’ expectations and perception toward CFL, conduct market research for CFL and many other related issues to come up with a feasible strategic plan for CFL To that end, the research will address the following:

• environmental factors affecting the industry, its macro and micro dimensions;

• general structure of the Education Industry, of higher education industry, especially

of business educational institutions;

• potential threats and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses in the industry of business educational institutions and language centers;

• to what extent, a relationship between the quality of teacher collaboration on discrete teacher teams and student achievement outcomes;

• to what extent, a relationship between teachers’ perceptions of administrative support for discrete teacher teams and student achievement outcomes;

• key success factors for AOF within the industry of business educational institutions and for CFL;

• how CFL moves forward

The study is conducted through analysis and synthesis of data gathered from primary and secondary sources

Primary data will be from interviews and surveys Interviews will be conducted with the key officials, employees of AOF and CFL, its competitors and its employees Internal and external surveys will be conducted to determine the level of awareness, perception toward and image of CFL; the satisfaction level of learners and employees of the center

The primary data will be collected by the author through offline surveys, interviews with CFL stakeholders The questions the author asks are tailored to elicit the data that will help him/her with the study

Secondary sources will be collected from the AOF reports, published materials of Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Training This study also refers to the Government policies, official magazines on the topics relevant to the MRR from various institutions and universities in Vietnam

There are several types of secondary data They can include information from the Center, AOF, Ministry of Education and Training, some employers, jobsites or other government statistical information Secondary data tends to be readily available and inexpensive to obtain

In addition, secondary data can be examined over a longer period of time With a combination of these two data sources, the researcher are able to determine which factors are critical to the Center’s performance Both primary data and secondary data have their pros and cons Primary data offers tailored information but tends to be expensive to conduct and takes a long time to process Secondary data is usually inexpensive to obtain and can be analyzed in less time However, because it was gathered for other purposes, the researcher may need to tease out the information to find what he/she is looking for Due to the limited budget, skills and available resources, the researcher chose to use both primary data and secondary data

The study is very important for the existence of CFL as well as the reputation of AOF 10 years ago, AOF’s teachers of English were all not majored in English but Russian Over the last 10 years, only English-majoring applicants have been recruited as teachers of English at AOF However, it is still a common knowledge that AOF graduates with low proficiency of English are mainly due to non-English majoring teachers of English at AOF It is also believed to be the reason for not many AOF students to come to enroll in CFL

The study of Strategic Plan for CFL would bring benefits to AOF when CFL’s success would change the society’s perception on AOF’s students and teachers of English Faculty of Foreign Languages also gets benefited from CFL’s success in this sense Each individual teacher would get more offers from external markets After all, AOF graduates would be the first and most important beneficiary because they have a good in-campus center for their English learning Personally, I find myself benefited too because as a leader, I need to bring good changes to my students and my teachers

1.4 Scope and limitation of the study: 

The study mainly focuses on CFL’s current situation, target market and successful examples

in the sector Besides, it is also about feasibility of some options to come up with a recommendation for CFL

The study looks at AOF since 2000 to present and CFL from its establishment in August

2010 to present

The study is done through interviews and surveys

The results of the study can be affected by a small number of stakeholders in interviews and surveys

English proficiency - is the ability of an individual to speak or perform in an acquired

language, English As theories among pedagogues as to what constitutes proficiency go, there

is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it

Additionally, fluency and language competence are generally recognized as being related, but separate controversial subjects In predominant frameworks in the United States, proficient speakers demonstrate both accuracy and fluency, and use a variety of discourse strategies Thus, native speakers of a language can be fluent without being considered proficient This is also true for non-native English speakers who are expected to be fluent and accurate at the same time

Teacher collaboration – is the act of collaborating between teachers before, during and after

their lessons It can be as simple as teachers’ working together to make connections across curriculum or as true collaborative as their checking calendars for their next week meeting scheduling Together, they would begin to construct fully structured bridges between their curriculums that would not only bring them deep professional satisfaction, more importantly; they would enrich the learning experiences of their students

Teacher image – is the general opinion of most learners about a certain teacher Teacher

image can include his/ her knowledge, qualifications, teaching style, interpersonal skills, pronunciation, handwriting or even his/ her dressing

Academic curriculum – or the academic program of study is the degree that the student is

working toward achieving, also referred to as "sought learner outcome" (sought degree) Curriculum rules in the system control the academic requirements defined in the approved program of study (i.e., the student curriculum), represented by the program code in Banner Curriculum rules are also used in conjunction with program codes to populate major, minor, concentrating, department, or other related discrete pieces of data, to a variety of student record tables (e.g., student level)

Teaching methodology – has been characterized in a variety of ways A more or less

classical formulation suggests that methodology is that which links theory and practice Theory statements would include theories of what language is and how language is learned

or, more specifically, theories of second language acquisition (SLA) Such theories are linked

to various design features of language instruction These design features might include stated objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, and so forth Design features in turn are linked to actual teaching and learning practices as observed in the environments where language teaching and learning take place This whole complex of elements defines language teaching

Academic management – means to coordinate the efforts of people to accomplish goals

and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling the center

Enrollment – is the act or process of enrolling students/ learners in the center Enrollment

management can include: improving yields at inquiry, application, and enrollment stages; increasing net revenue, usually by improving the proportion of entering students capable of paying most or all of unsubsidized tuition; ("full-pays"); increasing demographic diversity; improving retention rates and increasing applicant pools

Physical plant and facility – refers to the necessary infrastructure used in support and

maintenance of a given facility The operation of these facilities, or the department of an organization which does so, is called "plant operations" or facility management It can be buildings of classrooms, labs, stadium, swimming pool, café, canteen, dormitory, etc

HR management – is the process of hiring and developing employees so that they become

more valuable to the center Human Resources Management includes conducting job analyses, planning personnel needs, recruiting the right people for the job, orienting and training newly recruited employees and managing wages and salaries, providing benefits and

incentives evaluating performance, resolving disputes, and communicating with all employees at all levels

Administration – is the process or activity of running the center The goal of administration

(more exactly administrative activities) is to ensure smooth running of the center’s process by coordinating people participating in the processes, and providing them with information needed for completing their assignments Administration deals with gathering, processing and communicating information Practically, everybody working for an organization participates

in the administrative activities The administration is regulated by rules (operational instructions, or procedures) that prescribe or recommend who should be doing what and in what order in each type of the processes

This chapter is to set the comprehensive background for the study of CFL That’s why it discusses general conditions of the country, the education industry, the demand and supply of in-class educational institutions including AOF as well as opportunities and threats for them The analysis for OST programs such as CFL will be shown in Chapter IV

2.1 Requirement of English proficiency 

Under the direction of MOET, many universities set their own requirement of English proficiency For instance, University of Finance and Marketing issued Decision 754 QĐ/ĐHTCM-QLĐT on a certificate of 450 TOEIC for graduation According to Decision 1184/QĐ-HVTC dated 28/10/2009 by Director of Academy of Finance, students are required

to obtain a certificate of 450 TOEIC to be eligible to graduate from school Meanwhile AOF

in the same pool with other universities in Vietnam who provide the society with graduates with very low English (Vu Thi Phuong Anh& Nguyen BichHanh, 2004)

The requirement of English proficiency is more clearly shown in some articles on jobsites According to Le Anh Viet – Business Development Manager of Future World, the most important Asian partner of Apple – and a graduate of Information Technology 1st batch of SaigonTech, recruiters are expecting candidates with good soft skills and high English proficiency This becomes a social demand that schools have to meet He said his job requires 90% of communication in English Besides, Chris Harvey - CEO of VietnamWorks said the demand for human resources in marketing, sales, finance and accounting is still high That means job opportunities for business graduates are available as long as their English proficiency is high enough in the eyes of recruiters

2.2 Establishment of a language center in a business educational institution

Academy of Finance was founded according to Decision 120/2001/ QD/ TTg dated August 17th 2001 Academy of Finance is a merger between Hanoi University of Finance and

Accounting (established in 1963), Institute of Finance Research – IFR (established in 1963) and ImprovementCenter for Financial Officers However, IFR and the ImprovementCenter for Financial Officers are two legal entities Hanoi University of Finance and Accounting was diluted and its training activities play a key role in Academy of Finance The study focuses

on Center of Foreign Language which was set up based on the requirements of Academy of Finance’s training activities

AOF belongs to Ministry of Finance but simultaneously is under state management of Ministry of Education and Training Since its establishment, AOF has been the first and unique national – class higher educational institution specializing in training financial officers AOF bachelors played a very important role in the Vietnam socio – economic development especially prior to 1975 when Vietnam was seeking for the independence throughout the country Since then together with other major colleges and universities, AOF has been one of key players in this training sector However, for more than 20 years of

‘doimoi’ (innovation) higher educational institutions including AOF have shown a tendency

of expanding into new courses and new types of training This resulted from the positive changes in recent socio - economic situation in Vietnam During its expansion, AOF is maintaining its focuses meanwhile competing with key players in new areas

At present AOF have seven competitors that are all government educational institutions According to 2007’s statistics done by Ministry of Education and Training, AOF is in the 2nd rank of enrollment quality and the 4th rank of preferred schools for high school students, which goes down from the 3rd rank in two previous years This brings a question whether AOF is losing its attractiveness to high school students Moreover, the number of AOF graduates meeting the requirements at work in big economic institutions is smaller than expected by the employers (according to the article “Vietnam: opportunities and threats from

WTO”, by Le QuangXuan - socio-economics specialist, published in Vietnam Economics Review 25th June 2007)

All the competitors of AOF are located in the city center surrounded by many language centers while AOF is based in the suburb suffering difficulties in travel and communication The dormitory residents hardly find it easy to access a language center in the city center That’s why AOF set up CFL with the hope that its students, especially dormitory residents will be provided with high quality OTS programs

2.3 General environment in Vietnam 

2.3.1 Natural environment 

Located in the centre of Southeast Asia, Vietnam is known as an attractive country with the shape of letter ‘S’ Vietnam borders China to the North, Laos and Cambodia to the West, the Tonkin and the Pacific Ocean to the East and the South Vietnam's territory stretches from Lung Cu (Ha Giang Province) in the North to Rach Tau (Ca Mau Province) in the South with

a total length of 1,650 km Besides, it has thousands of offshore islands, the biggest are Hoang Sa (Parcel) and Truong Sa (Spratleys) Archipelagos Vietnam's continental shelf covers 392,241 sq km with its coastal line of 3,260 km long and inland borderline of 4,510

km

Despite different geographical features, each region of Vietnam has its own advantages and disadvantages for the socio-economic development, including educational development Vietnam is primarily divided into 3 major regions: North and South where nation-level universities are based and Central with region-level universities However, not only students

in the North but also those from the Northern Central region wish to study in higher educational institutions in the North, including AOF

2.3.2 Historical and political situation 

Vietnam proclaimed its independence on September 2nd 1945; however it was not completely united till its great victory over the American imperialist in the spring of 1975

Since then, Hanoi, where the first higher educational institution in Vietnam was based, has become the capital of the country Hanoi is not only the political center but also the motherhood of traditional values

One of the most important and urgent duties pointed out by the Vietnam’s Government led by President Ho Chi Minh was to implement educational development programs throughout the country Since then, thanks to these programs, all the Vietnamese people, even very young kids at the school age of 6, have been well aware of the importance of education which is

enhanced by the last wish of the Great Father – Ho Chi Minh: “The fortune of our country is

in the hand of young generations, therefore you have to study and study hard to be able to lift our country to the same level of powers in the world.”Educational development is always

considered a key success factor for the country although Vietnam has been under different leaders for more than 20 years of Doimoi (renovation) with the building of the socialist-oriented market economy The political stability and consistency in policies, especially on educational issues have been playing a crucial role in educational development

2.3.3 Socio­cultural factors 

Vietnam is a culture full of solidarity spirit, mutual help, patriotism and particularly industriousness Traditionally, the man was dominant over the woman That is, men worked out while women at home and sons in each Vietnamese family were preferred to daughters for hard farming work As the root from this tradition, the man usually gets better and more opportunities than the woman, thus leading some differences in education opportunities for men and women in Vietnam However, these differences are becoming smaller because of the Vietnam Communist Party and Government poverty-alleviation and job-generation programs nationwide The Vietnam government announced a new poverty line recently in 2005 Accordingly, those with an income of less than 200,000VND per month (app 12.5USD) in rural areas and 260,000VND/ month (app 16.25USD) in urban areas are regarded as poor

(Data is given by the Ministry of Labor, Invalid and Social Affairs) Although this poverty line is far from international standards, this adjustment is a new step toward international integration and shows the State’s determination to fight poverty Based on this, the number of the poor in Vietnam has dropped to 29% from 58%

The higher living standard together with positive changes in people’s awareness of education has mainly resulted in equal education and recruitment opportunities for man and woman Vietnam has maintained population annual growth rate of 1.3% (equivalent more than 1 million people) as shown in Table 1

The population aging structure remains stable with about 25-27% for 0-14-year-old group, about 24-27% for 15-29-year-old group and about 26-29% for 30-49-year-old group This means that the proportion of group possible for higher education among total population is relatively stable Moreover, according to Population Forecast for Vietnam in 2004-2024, the population structure in terms of geographical regions will not change much For instance, population in the North accounts for 33-35% during 20 years’ time and these figures in the Centre and the South are 26-27% and 38%, respectively That is, the population belonging to the age at higher education level in the North and Northern Centre will be larger in the future Furthermore, Vietnamese value for education is primary It is embedded in the culture The family spends on education more than they spend on clothing and personal effects It is considered as a basic need in the family Parents consider themselves successful if their children are able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree This explains a great demand for education in general and higher education in particular

In this socio-cultural context, higher educational development is given more and more interests because the nearest generation of the country’s leaders is training there It also implies that opportunities as well as challenges should be deliberately considered by all higher educational institutions

For more than 20 years of Doimoi, Vietnam has been succeeding in gradually replacing the centrally-planned economy, bureaucracy and a subsidy mechanism by a socialist-oriented market economy with growing dynamism The economy has maintained a rapid rate of growth over the last six years, supported by robust exports, rising consumption spending, and strong investment Inflation also stayed high Membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) from January 2007 has stimulated development and market-oriented reforms Provided further progress is made on structural reforms, further impressive economic growth

is projected during the rest of year 2007 and next years

GDP: GDP of Vietnam saw a sustainable growth, which stood at 8.2% in 1991-1995

compared to 3.9% in 1986-1990 This rate dropped to 7.5% in 1996-2000 due to the impacts

of the Asian financial crisis Since 2001, GDP growth recovered on a year-on-year basis, reaching 6.9%, 7%, 7.3%, 7.8%, 8.4% and 8.2% for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively 2007 also saw a 8.5% GDP growth rate However, the global economic crisis has made GDP go down to 6.3%, 5.3%, 6.8% and 5.9% for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively (Table 2)

Contribution to GDP: Over the past few years, the industry and services sectors have

increasingly contributed more to GDP In particular, 2006 witnessed more than 90% of total GDP growth from these sectors as shown below This results from the government’s policies

of shifting investments to industry and services areas As shown in table 2, thanks to the sustainable GDP growth rate of 7 to 8% in the period of 2000 - 2007 together with stronger industrialization and expanded integration with the world and regional economy, Vietnam also has enjoyed a sharp rise in trade volume, especially exports, and an increase of foreign investment and income (Table 3)

Investment: Investment contributed to GDP in 2006 at a high rate of 39.4% There has been

equal treatment between state enterprises and the private sector as well as between domestic

and foreign enterprises This positive change mainly resulted from further simplification of administrative procedures for businesses In reality, the domestic private sector is increasingly making more contributions to total investment such as 33.6% in 2006, which rapidly goes up from 22.6% 5 years earlier The year also saw the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments rise to $10.2 billion since the country opened to investment in

1986 2007’s FDI was expected to be higher In first 8 months of this year (prior to August

22, 2007) FDI flows reached 8.32 billion USD and the whole year 2007 was expected to break the record of 10.2 billion USD in 2006, which surpassed 2005’s FDI flows of 5.72 billion USD In the following years, these figures were expected to go up when Vietnam has been attracting more and more foreign investors with elastic and open policies In fact, since

2007 the total investment in the economy has increased and 2010 saw a double figure of 2006 (830,278 billion dongs compared to 404,712 billion dongs of 2006) Whereas, the average foreign investment for the period of 2007 - 2010 accounts for about 25% compared to about 16% of the period of 1999 – 2006

Enterprises in Vietnam are classified by capital sources and ownership as follows:

Enterprises

Non foreign-invested Foreign-invested

State owned Private

Henceforth ‘state owned enterprise’ refers to a non foreign-invested enterprise which is owned by the State; ‘private enterprise’ is understood as a non foreign-invested private enterprise (Table 4)

Tourism and Services: Tourism and services, motivated by good performances of trade,

transportation, communications, and finance, reached an estimated increase of 28.68%, 31.57%, 36.96% in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively As shown in table 5, 2009 saw a sudden drop in the growth rate to only 3.32%! However, the following year showed a very high growth rate of 56% followed by 21.81% in 2011 (Table 5)

Finance and banking: Reforms of the Vietnam’s Government in this sector are becoming

more intensive A strategy of banking reform was outlined in May 2006 Accordingly, The State Bank of Vietnam is to be converted into a modern central bank to manage monetary policy and supervise financial institutions State-owned commercial banks are to be restructured in an effort to improve their performance, and are to be “equitized,” or partly privatized, by 2010 (cited from ADB outlook 2007) The securities market is being regulated better and attracting more foreign investors In addition, the increasing number of listed businesses (from 41 to 193) made total market capitalization rise to 14 billion USD or 22.7%

of year 2006’s GDP More state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are also encouraged to issue shares to investors In December 2006, the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a list

of state firms to be equitized during 2007–2010, including major ones such as Vietnam Airlines The maximum foreign ownership in listed companies was lifted from 30% to 49% Under its WTO membership terms, Vietnam has also committed to allow foreign ownership

of services companies and more widely open the door of domestic markets for international businesses

The above-mentioned economic reforms and commitments indicate that the economic picture

of Vietnam will be changing much in the next years with belief of continuing high GDP growth rate, and creating more jobs, especially in finance and banking sector

Employment: Inflation continued to be high in past few years 2006 saw a rate of around 7%

while February 2007 enjoyed a lower rate of 6.5% The Government showed its big effort

related to reforms to civil servants when raising the minimum salary of civil servants by 30%

in October 2006 However this effort also acted as a lever to consumer prices Employers are directly affected by bigger payroll costs which blame the increasingly high demand for workers and professionals from a small pool of supply

Over the last decades, the most significant achievement of Vietnam’s economic reforms has been the high growth of the private sector whose contribution of more than 50% of GDP in

2006 and that generated almost 90% of the 7.5 million jobs created during the period of 2000 and 2005 Private and foreign-invested businesses have been luring more and more labors from state-owned enterprises There is also a transition of workforce from agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector to industry and services sectors whose higher productivity is relevant to the industrialization and modernization strategy Year 2006 witnessed the most considerable change since 1986 The table 4 shows the figures in 2005 and 2006 Table 6 of the structure of employed population for the period of 2006 – 2011 proved that jobs in finance, banking and insurance always accounted for 0.5% of the employed population (Table 6)

Figures given by Vietnam’s National Statistics Agency in June 2006 also showed that in 2006–2015 most of annual needs for 1.6 million new jobs came from private sector However, supply of skilled labor is obviously insufficient Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, two centers of both demand for and supply of this workforce, are taking this issue really serious

In Ho Chi Minh City, the city’s vocational schools can only supply about 15% of the 1,500,000 workers that the city’s industry will likely need through 2015

The shortage of skilled workers links to the productivity This has been cited in surveys done

by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2005 as the third most important constraint faced by manufacturers, after access to finance and to land The education system

is not up to the task at this time For instance, curricula in general can somewhat meet the

requirements of a rising economy but hardly take a short-cut to the future According to a report on higher education teaching and learning quality released on 21st February 2006 by the MOET, about 80% of lecturers are using a lecture-centered method of teaching, and more than 72% of research activities are separated from teaching

Thus, it is likely to say that along with vocational schools, higher educational institutions as key suppliers of competent workforce for the economy should be prepared to deliver high-quality products to a demanding economy

In conclusion

With WTO membership commitments and high priority of public administration reform in

2007, Vietnam will be rising more rapidly than in past few years Year 2007 marked a turning point in Vietnam’s economic map and is also considered a lever to the economic development in the next 10 years Especially, finance, banking and services sectors are expected to expand further, leading to higher demand for skilled and professional jobs However the current education system is incapable of providing enough qualified graduates for these jobs They can be imported from developed countries if Vietnam can afford it However, high training costs in those countries make it infeasible Even if Vietnam can do it, the fact that most of skilled and professional jobs are occupied by foreigners can harm the sovereignty of the country Therefore, Vietnam needs to push up the process of educational development, especially higher education to deliver itself

2.4 Education Industry 

2.4.1 General Education System in Vietnam 

The national education system

In Vietnam, the educational system, like all other fields, is hierarchical, ranging from the central level to the community level At the central level, the highest authority on education is Ministry of Education and Training - MOET It has offices at the provincial and district levels and in municipalities At the provincial (or its equivalent, municipal) level, there is the

provincial/ municipal Department of Education and training, at the district (precinct within a municipality) level, there is a district department of education and training The educational system is managed at those levels The district department of education and training is in charge of preschools, primary schools and lower secondary schools, while the provincial department responsible for the upper secondary schools, secondary teacher-training schools and some vocational schools MOET directly manages universities, colleges, secondary vocational schools and job training schools at the central level plus the post-graduate system involving universities and equivalent educational institutions The school system is now divided into four subsystems:

Preschools: consist of nursery schools for children aged 4 months old to 3 years old and kindergarten schools for children aged from 3 to 6 years old

Primary and secondary education:

Primary education with five 1-year grades from 1-5: compulsory and free to every child at the age of 6 to 14 The required school-age of a child is 6

Lower secondary education with four 1-year grades from 6-9: to enroll in the 6th

grade, a student is required to have a certificate of primary education and not to be older than

14 years old

Upper secondary education with three 1-year grades from 10-12:to enroll in the 10th

grade, a student is required to have a certificate of lower secondary education and not to be older than 17 years old

Vocational secondary education with 1-year-or-less courses and 1-3 year courses: is

divided into vocational secondary education, technical education and vocational training

Higher education:

Undergraduate education: with 3-6 years’ courses depending on certain professional

sections Enrollees are required to meet some certain conditions as follows:

- Graduate from upper secondary schools

- Get no less than minimum grades from the national entrance exam which consists of 3 major subjects equivalent to each study For business studies, they are Math, Physical, Chemistry or Math, Physical, Foreign Language or Math, Literature, Foreign Language

- Satisfy the minimum grades stipulated by each educational institution

Graduate education: 2-year master program for graduates; PhD programs are

classified into 3 year courses for masters and 5 year courses for graduates In special cases, PhD programs can be further than as mentioned above according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training

Up to 2005, there are 212 universities, colleges and vocational secondary schools; 236 vocational schools; 404 technical training centers and 839 other vocational units nationwide

In the higher education industry, private schools account for a minor proportion and 100% of their enrollees are students among those who fail to enter public schools Therefore this study does not include them

Up to May 2010 there are 167 universities and academies However, only 8 of about 50 universities and academies in Hanoi offer business courses They are listed below on Alphabet basis:

Academy of Banking – BA; Academy of Finance – AOF; Hanoi Foreign Trade –

HFT; Hanoi National Economics University – HNEU; Hanoi National University – Faculty

of Economics – HNU; Hanoi University – Faculty of Business Administration; University of Trade Union – Faculty of Accounting and Finance and University of Commerce – VUC

2.4.2 Viewpoint on education development 

Education development belongs to the first and foremost national policy of the Vietnam’s government Education plays a key factor in boosting the industrialization and modernization since a competent education system is a root of high-quality human resources that contribute

to the social development and sustainable economic growth Accordingly, the Government

always puts education in the first place of investment priority For instance, the State budget for education in 2000 accounted for 15% of the total State budget This figure for 2005 was at least 18% and about 20% for 2010’s education

On 8th November 2005 the State approved a Solution on comprehensive reforms to Vietnam’s higher education in the period 2006-2020 Accordingly, the final objective is that by 2020 Vietnam’s higher education will reach regional-class standards and get closer to world-class standards The following are significantly specific goals:

1 Training size will be expanded to the ratio of 200 students per ten thousand people by 2010 and the ratio of 450 by 2020 In particular, 70-80% of students will specialize

in applicable programmes and 40% will be trained in non-state educational institutions;

2 Practices and measurements to ensure the higher education quality are being built and implemented Some world-class universities will be set up The ratio of students over one teacher will not be over 20;

3 By 2010, at least 40% of teachers are masters and 25% are doctors By 2020,

at least 60% and 35% are masters and doctors, respectively;

4 Major universities must be robust nation-class research centers Revenues from technological-scientific activities, production and services must be at least 15% of total revenues of higher educational institutions by 2010 and this figure will be 25% by 2020

Autonomy and social responsibility of each higher educational institution will be assured under the State’s governance and the society’s supervision and evaluation

2.4.3 Demand and Supply Analysis 

Demand analysis

Demand drivers of Education: Demand for education in general and higher education in

particular is increasing due to five factors as discussed in Chapter II: 1) increase in

population; 2) growth in the economy; 3) workforce demand for Vietnam Vision 2010-2020; 4) government support; and 5) cultural value of Vietnamese toward education

Size of the market: Vietnam’s Higher Education industry of business schools is a USD 21

million market in the school year 2014-2015 It is an attractive market primarily because of the premium placed by families in education spending about 6.3% of the total household expenses The figures for the industry in the North and in the South are 6.3% and 6.5% respectively (General Statistics Office of Viet Nam, available: http://www.gso.go.vn, downloaded 16 September 2011) Another reason for its attractiveness is the small number of higher educational institutions that absorbs the huge number of general education graduates

Market growth and Trend: Growth and trend in the industry are indicated by the growth in

enrollment, the most enrolled courses and the need of the labor market

Growth of Enrollment: Higher education enrollment rose annually by an average of 10.6%

equivalent about 110,000 students per annum, in the period 2005-2011 Enrollment estimated

of school year 2015-2016 onward is even higher than 11% (cited from

www.edu.net.vn/Data/thongke/dubao.htm) The number of high school students who wish to study in a higher educational institution is at least 4 times bigger than the enrollments fixed

by the MOET That is, demand for higher education is quite high

Most enrollment courses: As for the demand for courses among students in Vietnam, the five

most popular from school year 2002-2003 to 2010-2011 are: 1 accounting, finance, banking;

2 commerce, business administration related; 3 information technology; 4 engineering; and

5 education and teacher training The educational institutions in Hanoi where more than half

of total number of institutions in Vietnam are based are the core of this trend

Needs of the Industries and Businesses: In the period 2006-2011, the average annual growth

rate of employment is more than 20%, equivalent about 950,000 This means that the needs

of industries and businesses for employment are nearly 9 times higher than the increase in

enrollment In the next five years, areas of finance and banking, Information and technology,

tourism are focuses of development (cited from PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s talk in Vietnam

Embassy in Manila, Philippines, 10th August 2012)

Up to December 2005, there are about 200,000 enterprises and in the period 2007-2012, 320,000 new enterprises are created (according to www.dantri.com.vn/kinhdoanh/2005/12/92904.vip) Let’s assume that each current enterprise during its expansion needs one more business graduate (marketing man, financial

man, accountant or HR man) and each new enterprise requires 2 business graduates Thus by

2016, 840,000 business graduates are needed nationwide This figure can be divided among

the North and the South of Vietnam into 336,000 and 504,000 new high-quality jobs respectively (the ratio is 4:6) because the economic growth in the South is higher than that in

the North (GDP growth of 10% and 8%, respectively) Therefore on the average about 67,000

new business graduates per school year are demanded in the North

Mr Dung said that the industries in Vietnam in general and in Hanoi in particular needed

competent employees with leadership skills Similarly, talks in a business forum organized by

VCCI in September 2006 indicated that 40% of the employees who are university graduates

have the diploma but they lack the required competence Business leaders see the needs of

skilled and qualified workforce in the economy that higher educational institutions should

provide They rate the factors important for the position for which they recruit new personnel

Besides, graduates’ English is not up to the required level at work

The most basic thing needed by employers is what graduates get from school and how to

apply it to their job Thus, the curricula in school, first and foremost is in alignment with

changes in the socio-economy, even forecasts the future’s needs in which English proficiency

is a must

Special features of demand

Undergraduates are strongly influenced by the lecturer-centered teaching method in their general education, so they are passive and extremely low in a sense of self-studying They learn English for the sake of examination rather than the sake of English at work

Employers of graduates are increasingly demanding, especially in the integration and globalization process but they have hardly had any efforts to co-operate with higher educational institutions to train qualified graduates

Supply analysis

Educational institutions deliver education through their pool of faculty and facilities Basic to the delivery of education is the quality required by the government from each educational institution to meet

Faculty: No educational institution specializes in training teachers for higher educational

institutions Therefore, anyone who can meet the minimum standards set by the government for the qualification of teachers in the tertiary level can apply for a teaching position For instance, for undergraduate courses, holder of an appropriate professional license is required

at least a bachelor’s degree; for graduate programs, teachers should also be holders of appropriate master’s degrees or doctorate degrees to teach in their field of expertise However, no schools have ever fulfilled 100% of their faculty as Master’s Degree holders or Doctorate Degree holders The percentage of qualified teachers is increasingly going up from 6.3% in school year 1999-2000 to 10.2% in school year 2006-2007 To fulfill the requirements of MOET that by 2010 at least 40% of teachers are master’s degree holders and 25% are Doctorate Degree holders has made the supply of teachers in the tertiary level scarcer The state of the faculty of higher educational institutions is poor in a sense that they

do not meet the requirements as mentioned above The lecturer-centered teaching method also plays a part in the poor quality of graduates as indicated by the poor performance in the examinations

Schools: Tertiary school buildings in school year 2006-2007 increased by 110% from that in

school year 1999-2000 while the total enrollment in school year 2006-2007 rose by 62% from that in school year 1999-2000 This means that schools had to compete for student population However, according to the State’s comprehensive reforms to higher education in the period 2006-2020, training size will be expanded to reach the ratio of 200 students per ten thousand people by 2010 and the ratio of 450 by 2020 The current ratio is 183 students per ten thousand people That means more opportunities for higher educational institutions if they increase their capacity to welcome more students, which needs huge capital outflow However, it is not possible in a short time Therefore higher educational institutions have to compete to get high quality enrollees

According to surveys done by Labor Union Times released on 13th October 2011, about 2%

of graduates from higher educational institutions in the North shift to work in the South compared to only 0.03% from Southern schools moving to the North Thus it is likely to say that supply of 330,000 (which equals 336,000 * 98%) new jobs in the Northern enterprises is from business schools in the North Whereas this industry produces about 11,500 and 13,400 graduates in the school year 20010-2011 and 2011-2012 respectively Let’s assume that there

is a 17% annual increase in the number of graduates from current schools and graduates from private schools account for 66.67% of those from current public schools (it means 40% of graduates from private schools as mentioned in Viewpoint in Education Development)

school year ’10-‘11 ’11-‘12 ’12-‘13 ’13-‘14 ’14-‘15 ’15-‘16 from current

Special features of supply

Enrollments of all higher educational institutions are fixed by the MOET in alignment with their capability and the demand of the economy State-owned schools are mainly funded the State budget Therefore, students in state-owned schools pay much lower fees than those in private schools do Enjoying very high and stable demand, no higher educational institutions have any plans to attract more enrollments and higher quality enrollees They also have paid very little attention to needs of businesses In other words, they produce what they can but ignore what the economy needs

In conclusion, demand power in the industry is very low compared to supply power

2.4.4 Competitor Analysis 

8 players in the industry are: Academy of Finance – AOF, Banking Academy – BA, Hanoi

Foreign Trade – HFT, Hanoi National Economics University – HNEU, Hanoi National University – Faculty of Economics – HNU, Hanoi University – Faculty of Business Administration – HU, University of Commerce – VUC, and University of Trade Union – Faculty of Accounting and Finance – UTU

(Data cited from www.MOET.gov.vn on 12 th September 2011)

As shown above, there are 5 major players in the industry Based on market share, HNEU is the biggest player with 27-28%, then VUC with 20%, BA, AOF and HFT with about 14-17% These figures show the capacity of each school because number of enrollments is fixed beforehand by the MOET based on their capability

Among 5 major players, VUC has the biggest and increasing number of applicants, followed

by HNEU Meanwhile HFT seems enjoying a stable status AOF is seeing a much bigger reduction in applications than that of BA

(Data cited from www.MOET.gov.vn on 12 th September 2011)

However, these figures of applicants can not reflect correctly the competitiveness of each player because it also depends on the enrollment requirements given by each This is considered important because the two major reasons for students’ preferred school are employability of graduates and accessibility of that school

To be enrolled in one higher educational institution, applicants have to take an exam of 3 subjects: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry or Mathematics, Literature and Foreign Language (English/ French/ Chinese/ Japanese) Grade 10 for each subject is used The minimum grades for 3 subjects are given by each school as shown below:

(Data cited from www.MOET.gov.vn on 12 th September 2011)

HFT has the lowest number of applicants but requires the highest minimum grades This is explained by the employability of graduates and special course offerings related to imports and exports, international economics

Annual employability of graduates in the period 2004-2010

average minimum grades for period 2006-2011

23

21

25 23 19

AOF BA HFT HNEU VUC

average minimum grades for period 2006-2011

Total assets of a big enterprise: more than USD 0.625 million under Decree 90-2001-NDCP dated 23 rd

November 2001

(Data cited from www.gso.gov.vn on 1 st July 2011)

Therefore, it is likely to say that in the next five years the amount of AOF students is still big

And so is the requirement for English learning and teaching

HFT still will be able to enjoy its own market in the industry AOF’s 3 main competitors are

BA, HNEU and VUC Evaluation of the competitive position of these schools is in four

areas: Strategy, Product delivery, Human Resource Management and Finance

Strategy

Strategies of each school by 2020 are shown in the table below:

of courses, and

- a leading provider of courses in banking and finance in Vietnam

- a higher education provider of a wide range

of courses, and

- a leading provider of courses in macroeconomics

- a higher education provider of a wide range

of courses in business and trade

Product delivery

The product of an educational institution is primarily the delivery of education through

instruction Educational instruction is delivered through educational programs in the different

courses offered by the school, the faculty who delivers the instruction and the facilities

needed for the delivery It is through the delivery of education that schools differ from each

other Primary to the delivery of education is the quality and competence of the faculty The

latter will be discussed in the section of Human Resource Management The measure of

quality delivery is known through indicators of quality delivery of education They are:

course offerings, performance in examinations and employability of graduates

Course offerings

1 Finance and Banking

4 Business Administration

1 Computer Sciences

2 English

3 Law

4 Systematic Economic Informatics

5 Economics

6 Business Administration

7 Banking and Finance

8 Accounting

1 Business Administration

2 Hotel and Tourism

3 Accounting and Finance

(Data source: interviews)

Although there is a common knowledge that it does not make sense if comparing grades

produced by different assessment schemes, 91% of employers consider this indicator as the

first and foremost element in their recruitment process (according to a survey by Labor Union

Times, published on 13th October 2010) Accordingly, in terms of grades, graduates from

HNEU are the most favorable choice by employers AOF and VUC belong to the second rank

with an about 5-7% gap from HNEU

In order to more exactly compare performance of each school’s students, hereinafter are

results of selected national contests, which come out annually, for business students in the

industry in the period 2004-2011 5 selected contests are: 1) Lightening Business Talent; 2)