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Internal
Exploring internal challenges for challenges for
quality assurance staff in quality
assurance
Vietnam: voice of insiders
Cuong Huu Nguyen
Education Research Group, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam and Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Received 8 July 2020
Revised 8 October 2020
Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 12 January 2021
Accepted 16 February 2021

Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to determine how quality assurance practitioners in Vietnam describe their
levels of professional knowledge and related skills, as well as identifying factors that interfere with the
development of these skills.
Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured were conducted with 22 quality assurance
practitioners who were directly involved in quality assurance policy-making and implementation.
Findings – Thematic analysis identified that internal challenges for quality assurance staff were mostly
related to their lack of knowledge, skills and experience in this area. Limited capacity in English
communication was also reported as a major challenge for Vietnamese quality assurance specialists.
Originality/value – The paper concludes that regular capacity-building programmes can help quality
assurance staff gain the necessary knowledge and skills to improve their work performance.
Keywords Quality assurance staff, Challenges, Higher education, Developing countries,
Accreditation
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Quality assurance in higher education has been implemented in most of the countries across
the world with the primary purposes of quality control, quality improvement and
accountability (Seyfried and Pohlenz, 2018; Wells, 2018). The associated literature has
shown that effective quality assurance depends largely on competent professional and
technical staff in national quality assurance agencies, as well as the availability of highly
qualified academics and educational administrators within higher education institutions.
The success of quality assurance is particularly demanding of human capacity as the
legitimacy and credibility of quality assurance results are so dependent on the quality,
dedication and integrity of the people directly involved in quality assurance processes
(Materu and Righetti, 2010). While developed countries generally have sufficient human
resource capacities to operate their quality assurance systems effectively and successfully,
developing countries tend to lack human resources. Furthermore, there is a lack of
importance placed on achieving international standards. This makes the establishment and
development of quality assurance in developing countries doubly challenging [Global
University Network for Innovation (GUNi), 2007].
In Vietnam, a developing country located in Southeast Asia, the quality assurance system
was officially established in the beginning years of the 21st century with the primary mission Quality Assurance in Education
to control and assure the quality of its higher education sector. The quality assurance © Emerald Publishing Limited
0968-4883
mechanism in Vietnam relies on accreditation, which is mandatory for all higher education DOI 10.1108/QAE-07-2020-0080
QAE institutions and programmes. With nearly 20 years of development, the Vietnamese higher
education quality assurance is still facing many challenges. Notably, there is a serious lack of
quality assurance staff at all three levels of the quality assurance system. Furthermore, many of
the existing staff are claimed to be incompetent (Nguyen, 2019). Given that the grassroots may
have different views on the human resources in Vietnamese quality assurance, this study
explores internal challenges that the staff working in this system are facing. Specifically, the
study determines how quality assurance practitioners in Vietnam describe their levels of
professional knowledge and related skills, as well as investigating factors that might contribute
to the development of these skills. The research findings can help the government, accrediting
agencies and higher education institutions be aware of the current professional competence
amongst quality assurance staff to develop and implement appropriate capacity-building
policies for them. Moreover, the study reports on how the quality assurance practitioners
themselves understand their own skills rather than how other people understand and, perhaps,
criticise their skills.

Literature review
Concepts of quality assurance
Quality assurance, which was imported from the business sector, is typically considered as a
part of the quality management of higher education. The concept of quality assurance is not
easy to define as it lies in the perception of the observer and has different meanings in
different contexts (Elassy, 2015). First of all, Harvey and Green (1993) point out that “quality
assurance is about ensuring that there are mechanisms, procedures and processes in place to
ensure that the desired quality, however, defined and measured, is delivered” (p. 19).
According to Vlasceanu et al. (2007), quality assurance is an all-encompassing term that
refers to an ongoing, continuous process of evaluation, assessment, monitoring,
guaranteeing, maintenance and enhancement of programme, institutional or educational
system quality. In addition, quality assurance, as a regulatory mechanism, focuses on both
accountability and improvement. Quality assurance provides information and judgement
through agreed-upon and consistent processes and criteria. Similarly, Woodhouse (1999)
argues that quality assurance frequently indicates the achievement of the minimum
standards and assures stakeholders quality is being achieved. Consequently, Woodhouse
(1999) defines quality assurance as “the policies, attitudes, actions and procedures necessary
to ensure that quality is being maintained and enhanced” (p. 30).
At the institutional level, quality assurance is typically defined as one part of
management’s determination and implementation of quality policy (UNESCO, 2006).
Specifically, quality assurance refers to a collective process by which higher education
institutions ensure the quality of their educational processes based on required standards.
Through quality assurance arrangements, the institution can satisfy itself, its students and
external stakeholders (Wilger, 1997) with the quality of the education it delivers. There are
three main quality assurance approaches accreditation, assessment and audit. Amongst
them, accreditation is the most popular model implemented in higher education systems
worldwide (Woodhouse, 1999).
When discussing quality assurance, relevant literature regularly uses two associated
terms: internal quality assurance and external quality assurance. Internal quality assurance
is defined as quality policies and mechanisms developed and implemented by an institution
or a programme to ensure that institution is fulfilling its own purposes. External quality
assurance refers to assessment by an external body separate from higher education (for
example, an accrediting agency) of an institution’s or programme’s operation to determine
whether that institution is meeting agreed-upon standards (UNESCO, 2006). Internal quality
assurance and external quality assurance should work together and external quality Internal
assurance should support and encourage institutional quality cultures (Damme, 2011). challenges for
quality
Quality assurance and accreditation system in Vietnam
The higher education quality assurance system in Vietnam, which was officially established
assurance
in 2003, consists of three levels: the macro level, the meso level and the micro-level (higher
education institutions). At the macro level, the Vietnam Education Quality Management
Agency (VQA), a unit of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), acts as the
national quality assurance organisation. VQA is responsible for quality assurance policy-
making and instructing higher education institutions to implement quality assurance
activities. At the meso level, accrediting agencies established by MOET are in charge of
externally assessing and recognising higher education institutions and programmes that
satisfy quality standards issued by MOET. At the micro-level, higher education institutions
implement quality assurance and accreditation activities based on legal documents and
guidelines developed by VQA and MOET (Nguyen et al., 2017; Pham, 2019; Tran and Vu,
2019). By September 2020, five Vietnamese accrediting agencies existed to assess
universities and programmes. Furthermore, foreign accrediting agencies were being
encouraged to register with MOET to enable them to provide accreditation services in
Vietnam. With 237 universities and over 5,000 programmes, Vietnam had achieved some
quality assurance and accreditation results. As of the end of September 2020, 142
institutions were accredited (145 by Vietnamese agencies and 7 by overseas agencies); yet
only 320 programmes were accredited (125 by Vietnamese accrediting agencies and 195 by
overseas accrediting agencies) (MOET, 2020a, 2020b). In addition, all universities had
established a quality assurance unit, which acted as a focal point for each institution’s
quality assurance activities (Tran and Vu, 2019).
Despite its achievements as discussed above, Vietnam’s quality assurance system has
been facing many challenges. For example, the accrediting agencies are not acting in the
independence status; the quality assurance framework has not been fully developed; much
higher education institutions have not been aware of the importance of quality assurance for
their institutional improvement; professional competence of quality assurance staff is still
limited and there is limited legitimacy amongst academics when implementing quality
assurance programmes (Nguyen, 2018; Nguyen et al., 2017; Pham, 2019). Amongst these
challenges, the quantity and quality of human resources for quality assurance
implementation in Vietnamese higher education are argued to be the most serious (Tran and
Vu, 2019). At the micro-level, the quality assurance process was reported to be burdensome,
time-consuming and costly, which resulted in limited improvement in teaching and learning
and of limited value for recognition of institutions (Pham, 2018). At the meso level, the
professionalism of the external assessment team was criticised. At the macro level, state
control and inadequacies of policies related to quality assurance at the governmental level
were claimed (Nguyen, 2019; Pham, 2019). Moreover, the staff was assigned by institutional
leaders to work in quality assurance units, despite having limited knowledge and expertise
in quality assurance. Consequently, quality assurance processes were implemented
ineffectively. There are also limited linkages between the government’s quality assurance
regulations and quality assurance practices implemented in higher education institutions
(Pham, 2019).

Quality assurance staff and quality assurance professional competencies

Staff working in a quality assurance system can be divided into internal quality assurance
staff and external quality assurance staff. Internal quality assurance staff are those working
QAE at higher education institutions while external quality assurance staffs are those
practitioners working at government quality assurance agencies or external quality
assurance organisations such as accrediting or assessment agencies (Cheung, 2015;
Kamusoko and Jingura, 2019). Internal (that is, institutional) quality assurance staff are
responsible for developing and implementing institutional quality assurance plans such as
preparing the self-assessment report and questionnaires for surveying stakeholders (Pham,
2019). External quality assurance practitioners are responsible for a wide range of activities
including developing quality assurance policies, monitoring the major phases of quality
assurance, taking part in assessments, training reviewers and supporting higher education
institutions to implement quality assurance programmes (Martin and Stella, 2007; Stella,
2008). To perform their tasks effectively and efficiently, quality assurance staff need to have
good knowledge and skills in quality assurance and higher education, known as quality
assurance professional competencies.
Professional competencies for both internal and external quality assurance staff
should include knowledge in higher education, educational administration and
governance and quality assurance; and varied skills such as communication skills,
managerial and leadership skills, analytical skills and interpersonal skills (Nguyen,
2017a; Kamusoko and Jingura, 2019). Furthermore, internal quality assurance
practitioners need to apply the knowledge, skills and attitude in their institutional
context to build a quality culture within their intuitions (Kamusoko and Jingura, 2019).
Table 1 highlights professional competencies for internal quality assurance staff
offered by Tongsamsi and Trichandhara (2014) and Kamusoko and Jingura (2019).
Professional competencies required for external quality assurance staff should have
at least two major genres including core professional knowledge and skills, generic
skills and attitudes or dispositions. The competencies should be “a specialised set of
knowledge, skills and attitude that is indispensable for facilitating and ensuring

Source Competency Definition

Tongsamsi and Quality knowledge Understanding possibilities of current quality

Trichandhara (2014) development and up-to-date quality strategies in
higher education
Quality experience Ability to use quality strategies with a particular
intention, based on experiences with quality
development and application of quality strategies to
educational scenarios
Quality innovation Ability to create and develop quality strategies and/
or instruments
Quality analysis Ability to critically analyse the processes of quality
development in light of one’s situation and to reflect
one’s objectives and circumstances
Kamusoko and Quality assurance knowledge Higher education policy and management; theories,
Jingura (2019) concepts and background of quality assurance;
Table 1. processes and tools for quality assurance and quality
cycle
Professional
Skills Communication skills, leadership and management
competencies for skills, digital skills, interpersonal skills, personal
internal quality skills, analytical skills and research skills
assurance Attitude Accountability, responsibility, commitment, time
practitioners management and flexibility
external quality assurance practitioners’ high-quality performance” (Cheung, 2015, Internal
p. 163). Table 2 summarises competencies for external quality assurance staff proposed challenges for
by Cheung (2015), ENQA (2016) and Nguyen (2017b). quality
assurance
Methods
The current study used semi-structured interviews because they are appropriate for qualitative
research (Punch and Oancea, 2014) and allow for exploration of those things they cannot easily
directly observe such as feelings, thoughts, intentions and past behaviour (Patton, 2015). The
researcher interviewed 22 quality assurance staff (Table 3), using purposeful sampling to allow
for an in-depth understanding of specific cases (Patton, 2015). Consequently, the research data

Source Competency Definition

Cheung (2015) Professional practice Consisting of 7 competencies; for example,

demonstrating a commitment to external quality
assurance work
Systematic inquiry Consisting of 16 competencies; for example,
noting strengths and limitations of the external
quality assurance
Situational analysis Consisting of 12 competencies; for example,
examining the organisational context of external
quality assurance
Project management Consisting of 12 competencies; for example,
training others involved in conducting the
external quality assurance
Reflective practice Consisting of 5 competencies; for example,
pursuing continuing professional development
in external quality assurance
Interpersonal competence Consisting of 7 competencies; for example, using
conflict resolution skills
European association Knowledge competencies Higher education sector knowledge, national
for quality assurance quality assurance, the international dimension
in higher education of quality assurance and quality enhancement
([ENQA], 2016) Systematic/technical Project management, IT and data skills,
competencies problem-solving/analytical skills and
continuous learning skills
Interpersonal competencies Diplomacy and political sensitivity,
communication, professional attitude, teamwork
and flexibility, personal resilience, autonomy
and proactivity
Nguyen (2017b) Knowledge Higher education in a national and global
context, external quality assurance, operation of
an external quality assurance agency and
maintaining quality within the institution
Skills Organisational and planning skills, IT and data
skills, problem-solving skills, continuous
learning skills, communication skills, report Table 2.
writing skills, conflict resolution skills,
Professional
document review skills, leadership skills,
management skills, negotiation skills and competencies for
teamwork skills external quality
Attitude Responsibility, honesty, autonomy, assurance
accountability, transparency and commitment practitioners
QAE Position Responsibilities in the quality assurance process Total no.

Top policymakers in quality assurance Approving quality assurance policies 3

and accreditation (external quality
assurance participants)
Quality assurance officials (external Policy-making in quality assurance 5
quality assurance participants)
External quality assurance assessors Externally evaluating higher education 4
(accreditors) (external quality institutions and/or programmes
assurance participants)
University leaders (internal quality Approving and supervising institutional quality 2
assurance participants) assurance programmes
Quality assurance unit leaders (internal Planning and monitoring institutional quality 2
quality assurance participants) assurance activities
Quality assurance unit staff (internal Supporting faculties/departments to implement 4
Table 3. quality assurance participants) institutional quality assurance activities
A summary of semi- Lecturers (internal quality assurance Implementing institutional quality assurance 2
structured interview participants) activities
participants Total 22

were collected from informants directly involved in quality assurance at all levels (the macro,
meso and micro-level) of the Vietnamese higher education system. At the macro level, the
interviewees were quality assurance policymakers and quality assurance officials working at
the national quality assurance organisation. At the meso level, the researcher interviewed
leaders, accreditors and staff members of an accrediting centre. At the micro-level, informants
were institutional leaders, internal quality assurance staff and of two selected two universities,
one is located in the capital city with reputable teaching, learning, research and quality
assurance practices and the other are located in a medium-sized city in the central area of
Vietnam with average teaching, learning, research and quality assurance practices. The
position, responsibility and number of each participant type are catalogued in Table 3. Most
interviews lasted between 35 and 45 min. The shortest interview lasted just 32 min, while the
longest one lasted 58 min. All interviews were undertaken in Vietnamese, the native language
of both the interviewer and interviewees. With permission from the interviewee, the interviewer
took notes and used a small dedicated digital audio recorder to record each interview.
Additionally, ethical considerations were seriously taken into account in this study. All
potential informants were sent contacted via emails to invite to participate in the study.
Consent forms were also signed by participants prior to interviews or focus group discussions.
This study’s data analysis procedure began with the transcription of all recorded
interviews. Specifically, each recorded interview was transcribed into the original language
(Vietnamese) that “captures information in participants’ own words, phrases and
expressions, allowing researchers to uncover cultural meanings” (Hennink et al., 2011,
p. 211). Because the researcher is fluent in both Vietnamese and English, he used the
Vietnamese transcripts for data analysis processes. Each transcript was assigned a filename
for anonymous purposes. The 22 personal interviews were labelled from PI-1 to PI-22.
A thematic approach was used in the analysis of the interview data. An initial sorting
stage helped identify the emerging key points. The researcher also returned to questions in
the interview protocol to identify common themes and corresponding sub-themes in the
interview data. The creation of a themes and sub-themes system made the data sorting
manageable. Key issues also emerged from the analysis process. Important information
pertaining to internal challenges of quality assurance staff, as reported by informants Internal
directly involved in Vietnamese higher education quality assurance, was highlighted. At challenges for
this stage, the quotes shared in Vietnamese were carefully translated into English to quality
facilitate a discussion of the findings.
assurance
Findings
The prior professional backgrounds of both external and internal quality assurance
practitioners are varied. They could work in any area related to education (for example,
primary teacher, secondary teacher of biology, librarian) before moving to quality
assurance. Consequently, most of the informants stated that working in quality assurance
was difficult because they did not have professional backgrounds in that field. They noted
they lacked knowledge, skills, expertise and experience in higher education management,
leadership, evaluation and quality assurance. In addition, many participants cited English
as a major challenge for them.

Lack of knowledge and experience in higher education

Most participants agreed that the primary and most crucial knowledge that quality
assurance staff needed to master was higher education institution operations – including
training procedures and activities. For example, some internal quality assurance officials
stated:
Those working in the field of higher education quality assurance and accreditation must possess
a thorough understanding of higher education (PI-12, internal quality assurance practitioner).

Quality assurance specialists at universities need to be at least lecturers and have worked for a
certain number of years in this position (PI-14, internal quality assurance practitioner).

Those working as quality assurance officials at the national level must work at the institutional
level for a minimum of 5 years, for example (PI-15, internal quality assurance practitioner).
Several informants particularly the external quality assurance practitioners admitted that
they had encountered difficulties when performing assessments, quality assurance and
accreditation because they lacked complete comprehension of higher education operations.
Specifically:
The biggest challenge for me is inexperience in higher education administration, particularly the
relationship between quality assurance and higher education management. As quality assurance
is for institution improvement, we must understand higher education thoroughly (PI-10, external
quality assurance practitioner).
This viewpoint seems to pertain to the external practitioners only, as the internal
practitioners as professors, lecturers or other academic staff work in universities and have
this experience.

Limited knowledge and skills in quality assurance

Both internal and external quality assurance practitioners indicated that they lacked
knowledge of quality assurance processes and practices. First of all, quality assurance
officials working in the national quality assurance system and higher education institutions
admitted to limited knowledge and experience in quality assurance and accreditation. For
example, one top policymaker in higher education quality assurance shared:
QAE We do not have staff members who were trained professionally in quality assurance locally or
overseas (PI-2, external quality assurance practitioner).
In addition, one quality assurance official at the national level stated:
As I am short of knowledge and skills in quality assurance, I feel I am not creative enough in my
working performance (PI-7, external quality assurance practitioner).
Another quality assurance policymaker in higher education quality assurance and
accreditation noted:
I haven’t been trained much in quality assurance. Frankly speaking, I only perform my work
using the experience I gained when I worked at the university and knowledge from written
materials. I find it hard to provide ideas or long-term directions for quality assurance activities
(PI-5, external quality assurance practitioner).
During the inception of quality assurance in Vietnam, those in the field initially lacked
knowledge and skills. Several informants pointed out that many quality assurance
specialists at universities did not understand the general concepts of quality assurance. This
was because they had not been given a chance to participate in quality assurance
workshops.
Additionally, some universities reported that even their quality assurance specialists
exercised limited knowledge and skills in quality assurance and internal evaluations. The
main reason cited for this problem was that these specialists lacked professional training in
this field or they were too young to have developed adequate professional abilities. For
example, one participant pointed out:
The professional development for quality assurance specialists at universities has not been
regularly carried out. In fact, the number of those who have attended professional development
workshops is very small (PI-8, external quality assurance practitioner).
At the micro-level, a quality assurance specialist shared:
The first challenge for me his expertise. My major is biology, even at postgraduate, which is not
related to evaluation or quality assurance. I only participated in some short courses on quality
assurance and accreditation. Obviously, I lack basic quality assurance knowledge and skills.
Hence, sometimes when I give ideas, others don’t listen and say that I don’t know anything about
quality assurance. It means that the validity of my words is not high (PI-19, internal quality
assurance practitioner).

Lack of experience in quality assurance

Not only did universities lack human and incentive resources for quality assurance but they
were also inexperienced in applying the quality assurance process. This problem seemed
unavoidable because the majority of quality assurance staff formerly worked in other areas.
Many quality assurance officials working at both the macro and micro levels relayed
their inexperience in quality assurance and accreditation. For example, they shared that:
I do not have much experience in providing support for universities to effectively implement
quality assurance activities such as developing quality assurance plans and preparing self-
evaluation reports. The main reason is that my background is not in assessment or quality
assurance (PI-5, external quality assurance practitioner).

I’m a newcomer in this field, so it is hard to get good results in my work (PI-16, internal quality
assurance practitioner).
 I have worked in quality assurance for around 2 months. I do not have any previous knowledge, Internal
skills or experience in this area. I was assigned to work in this division [higher education quality
assurance] by my boss (PI-7, external quality assurance practitioner). challenges for
quality
One accreditor responsible for participating in a site visit team to externally evaluate higher
education institutions and programmes even stated:
assurance
I have been involved in quality assurance for a short period of time. I think you need a lot of
experience to work as a policymaker or specialist in quality assurance. Certificates in quality
assurance or theoretical knowledge are not enough, but the experience is important (PI-12,
external quality assurance practitioner).
Moreover, many universities also claimed that everything in this field was new to them. All
institutional members (even quality assurance specialists) had failed to develop internal
quality assurance programmes or conduct self-evaluations. Some interviewees noted:
Quality assurance and accreditation are new concepts for institutional staff. As a result, we have
had a number of difficulties in collecting evidence and preparing the self-evaluation report (PI-18,
internal quality assurance practitioner).

Accreditation and self-evaluation are very new. Institutional staff and lecturers cannot completely
comprehend them. As a result, they are not aware of their responsibilities or duties when
implementing quality assurance activities (PI-22, internal quality assurance practitioner).

No formal training in quality assurance

As mentioned above, most officials or policymakers in Vietnam’s higher education quality
assurance and accreditation system were not trained formally in assessment, evaluation or
quality assurance. One quality assurance official at the national level shared:
I, myself, did not have any formal training in assessment, evaluation and quality assurance. The
knowledge and skills I gained in quality assurance mostly came from short courses (PI-8, external
quality assurance practitioner).
Several universities in the world offer masters and PhD programmes in educational
evaluation and assessment – quality assurance-related programmes. However, quality
assurance officials rarely applied to these programmes because of their English ability and
cost. One participant shared:
I have been told that some universities in Australia and the USA offer Master’s courses in
Evaluation and Assessment, which would really help my career. I want to study this course.
However, my English is not really good. Moreover, I could only follow this course if I were
awarded a scholarship. In fact, it is very difficult for me. I think I will study at a local university
(PI-21, external quality assurance practitioner).
Additionally, several informants particularly internal quality assurance practitioners shared
that one university in Vietnam offered masters and doctoral courses in educational
evaluation and measurement. However, few officials enrolled in these courses, as they were
apparently difficult to study. This is one reason why quality assurance officials said they
often lacked formal training in quality assurance or related areas.

Limited ability in English communication

English is the official language of communication within the quality assurance community.
The majority of written materials in quality assurance and accreditation are written in
English. International workshops and conferences are typically held in English. However,
QAE few Vietnamese quality assurance officials can communicate fluently in English. One top
policymaker stated:
English is one of the difficulties for officials at the national quality assurance agency. There are
many international conferences that only those good at English can attend. Those who have weak
English can only participate when accompanied by an interpreter and this is a problem (PI-3,
external quality assurance practitioner).
Several quality assurance officials admitted that not knowing English well prevented them
from greater involvement in quality assurance and accreditation communities. For example,
some stated:
My English is not good, so it is hard for me to be engaged with good practice models in quality
assurance and accreditation in other countries around the world (PI-4, external quality assurance
practitioner).

I’m not confident in my ability to communicate in English when performing my task. I want to
study more English for my current job in quality assurance (PI-21, external quality assurance
practitioner).
Other informants (both internal and external quality assurance practitioners) cited English
as their primary challenge. Because of their poor English abilities, they could understand
little when attending international workshops or conferences. Particularly, they were not
confident enough to join in discussions or raise questions with presenters.

Discussion
The current research found Vietnam’s quality assurance officials reported difficulty in
performing quality assurance tasks primarily due to a lack of knowledge, skills and
experience in higher education in general and quality assurance in particular. This confirms
the Nguyen’s (2019) observation that a large number of external quality assurance assessors
are incompetent; consequently, external quality assurance agencies have difficulty finding
qualified assessors for site visits. Many lacked the requisite knowledge and skills because
they had not been formally trained as professionals in the quality assurance field. In
addition, English communication posed a major challenge.
Firstly, most officials working at the national quality assurance organisation claimed
they lacked higher education-related knowledge and experiences. As noted by Cheung
(2015), ENQA (2016) and International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher
Education [INQAAHE] (2021), external quality assurance staff should be competent in
higher education. Specifically, they must have good knowledge in higher education,
including governance and management in higher education, trends in higher education and
globalisation, internationalisation and cross-border education. Throughout this study’s
investigation, the researcher found that, of the 12 officials directly involved in higher
education quality assurance and accreditation policy-making, only four had previously
worked in the higher education sector. The others had worked in education at lower levels
such as primary or secondary education or simply worked as policymakers, as graduating
from university. In addition, these informants shared they had not frequently updated their
knowledge related to regional and global higher education trends. In comparison with
professional competencies for external quality assurance practitioners (Table 2), the
research participants seem to lack professional practice, systematic inquiry, reflective
practice and part of interpersonal competencies (professional attitude, autonomy and
proactivity). Understanding higher education in local, regional and international contexts is
particularly essential for those working in quality assurance. One of four modules in
INQAAHE’s (2021) programme for training external quality assurance practitioners focuses Internal
on higher education. challenges for
Furthermore, the current study found that higher education quality assurance and
accreditation knowledge and skills amongst most quality assurance staff were limited.
quality
Discussion with informants revealed that the majority of them were not professionally assurance
or academically trained in quality assurance or even educational management. At the
micro-level, when benchmarking with professional competencies for internal quality
assurance practitioners (Table 1), the study participants seem to lack quality
experience, quality innovation and part of quality knowledge (up-to-date knowledge of
quality strategies in higher education). At the macro level, of the agency’s 12 permanent
officials, four had doctoral degrees, six had master’s degrees and the rest were enrolled
in local master’s programmes. Only one staff member had earned a Master of
Assessment and Evaluation while others followed their academic qualifications,
including educational management, biology or geography, in their further education.
This echoes the Nguyen’s (2019) finding that most of those working in Vietnamese
quality assurance has not been trained academically in this area. Similar findings were
also observed in Afghanistan that untrained assessors were assigned to visit
universities (Welch and Wahidyar, 2019). Obviously, quality assurance officials must
thoroughly comprehend the knowledge base of quality assurance (terms, concepts,
theories, assumptions) and procedures related to quality assurance. They should also
be knowledgeable about quality assurance models and understanding the strengths
and limitations of each model (Cheung, 2015). Furthermore, officials working at
external quality assurance agencies need to be capable of analysing the higher
education context, conceptualising appropriate quality assurance models and
translating those into methodologies and procedures for implementation (Materu and
Righetti, 2010).
Additionally, many quality assurance officials conceded they lacked quality assurance
experience. Quality assurance specialists in Vietnamese higher education are required to be
experienced in both internal and external quality assurance (Nguyen, 2019). However, this
study found that only a small number of external quality assurance practitioners had
directly participated in internal quality assurance activities such as preparing self-
evaluation reports at the institutional or programme levels. In addition, interviews with
these officials showed they possessed different understandings of constructing quality
cultures within higher education institutions and implementing quality assurance
programmes. Pham (2019) noted similar findings and reported that a common theme related
to quality assurance capacity in Vietnam’s higher education was quality assurance staff’s
limited understanding and expertise of the area. According to informants from accrediting
centres and universities, quality assurance specialists working in external quality assurance
agencies must better understand internal quality assurance, self-assessment procedures and
quality culture construction to develop suitable policies. For external quality assurance, the
current study found that the majority of officials had not been directly involved in external
evaluation activities. This seems unusual in the wider Asia-Pacific context, where officials
working in many quality assurance agencies often also act as assessors or evaluators (Stella,
2008).
Surprisingly, the majority of informants stated that those working in the higher
education quality assurance sector must possess effective English communication
skills, as they often participated in international workshops or conferences where
English was the official language. They added that without good English capacities,
Vietnamese quality assurance officials could barely understand quality assurance
QAE materials, which are typically written in English. This finding is consistent with the
attitude component of the ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA)
Professional Development Competency Model – proficiency in English is a requirement
for AUN-QA practitioners, experts, assessors and lead assessors (AUN-QA, 2018).
However, despite the importance of English language competencies, this study
identified few quality assurance staff who could communicate and write well in
English. Informants also shared that attending English courses was an excellent
strategy for improving English skills, but admitted they were too busy with their
administrative tasks to enrol.

Conclusion
The current study sought to identify internal challenges facing Vietnamese higher
education quality assurance staff. Significant issues, including the lack of knowledge
and experience in higher education; limited knowledge, skills and experience in quality
assurance; no formal training in quality assurance; and limited English communication
ability, were investigated in detail. At the macro level, the challenges caused difficulties
for the national quality assurance practitioners to supervise, monitor and support
quality assurance implementation. At the meso level, difficulties arose for external
quality assurance agencies when seeking to select competent assessors for external
evaluation teams (Nguyen, 2019). At the micro-level, these challenges could result in
obstacles for higher education institutions when implementing quality assurance
programmes (Pham, 2019).
The higher education quality assurance system in Vietnam has encountered
challenges with limited human resources to develop quality assurance policies and
implement quality assurance activities (Madden, 2014). One of the solutions suggested
is to use more staff to work at the national quality assurance organisation, accrediting
agencies and internal quality assurance units of higher education institutions (Nguyen
et al., 2017). The utmost essential requirement, however, is to build professional
competencies for quality assurance staff at all levels of the system. In the context of
Vietnam, higher education quality assurance remains in a nascent stage and most staff
working in this field have not been trained professionally in quality assurance or
evaluation. Capacity-building or professional development activities should be
provided for them regularly and of adequate periodically, which can help them gain
knowledge and skills necessary for their quality assurance work.

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Corresponding author
Cuong Huu Nguyen can be contacted at: nguyenhuucuong@tdtu.edu.vn

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