ABSTRACT:
vao w88 year of 2020 marks a new chapter of vao w88 autonomy mechanism forpublic universitiesin Vietnam under vao w88 Law on amendments and supplements to vao w88 2012 Law on Higher Education (Law No. 34/2018/QH14) and vao w88 Decree No.99/2019/NĐ-CP detailing and guiding vao w88 implementation of a number of articles of vao w88 Law on amendments and supplements to vao w88 Law on Higher Education. One of vao w88 key objectives of this Law on amendments and supplements is to address and remove institutional bottlenecks in vao w88 current university autonomy mechanism, including regulations on vao w88university council. This paper examines vao w88 nature of a university council as well as vao w88 vision and practical actions that a publicuniversitycouncil should adopt in vao w88 coming time.
Keywords:Higher education, universit, public, university autonomy, university council.
1. vao w88 legal nature of vao w88 university council in public universities under vao w88 Law to amend selected articles of vao w88 Higher Education Law 2012
It has been a common trend in vao w88 world to have vao w88 university council in university governance structures. In Vietnam, vao w88 council was first formally introduced in vao w88 Regulation on Universities 2003 (promulgated together with Decision No.153/2003/QĐ-TTg dated 30 July 2003 by vao w88 Prime Minister) as vao w88 governing body of a university, which is responsible for making macro-level policies to exercise vao w88 university autonomy. Then, vao w88 Higher Education Law (HEL) 2005 established vao w88 council of a higher education institution as vao w88 body which is responsible for deciding vao w88 institution’s strategic direction, mobilizing resources for vao w88 institution and overseeing vao w88 use thereof, aligning vao w88 institution with vao w88 broader community and society, contributing to achievement of higher education goals. vao w88 concept of university council has since then been further elaborated in vao w88 Higher Education Law 2012 and vao w88 Regulation on Universities 2014 (promulgated together with Decision No.70/2014/QĐ-TTg dated 10 December 2014 by vao w88 Prime Minister) and in vao w88 Law to amend selected articles of vao w88 HEL 2012 (Law No.34/2018/QH14, herein after referred to as Law No.34 for short).
Under vao w88 Law No.34, vao w88 university council is expected to be a game-changer in university governance. In vao w88 structure of a public university, vao w88 council – by its legal nature - serves as vao w88 governing body of vao w88 university, representing vao w88 owner and other stakeholders. Essentially, vao w88 governance function of a university council involves setting vao w88 university’s vision, mission and goals, making policies, overseeing vao w88 use of resources and investment, and overseeing vao w88 implementation of vao w88 university’s strategic plans. In addition, vao w88 council is also expected to monitor how vao w88 chancellor (or vao w88 executive head of vao w88 higher education institution) organizes vao w88 implementation of vao w88 institution’s strategic plans and to review vao w88 chancellor’s performance and accountability, ensuring that vao w88 institution is on track toward its stated goals and objectives. In line with such legal status, vao w88 council has vao w88 authority and function with respect to deciding vao w88 appointment and dismissal of vao w88 chancellor. This signifies vao w88 key distinction between vao w88 role played by vao w88 council and that played by vao w88 chancellor, who serves as vao w88 executive head of a university and is responsible for realising vao w88 strategic plans and goals of vao w88 university by means of developing vao w88 workforce, deploying resources and executing vao w88 planned work as set forth by vao w88 council.([1])
Given this approach, Law No.34 states:“vao w88 university council of a public university shall be its governing body, representing vao w88 owner of vao w88 university and other stakeholders”.([2])This statement reflects a major change in vao w88 legislative thinking, as universities are seen involving vao w88 interests of multiple parties (including vao w88 higher education institution itself, students, higher education regulators, and other stakeholders).
For Vietnam’s public universities, in order for vao w88 university council to become a game-changer in terms of governance quality and effectiveness, legal issues about vao w88 council should be clearly addressed in vao w88 Law, and implementation efforts with respect to legal provisions on vao w88 university council should be preponderant in a meaningful, complete, profound and convincing manner in vao w88 mind, belief and action of all regulatory authorities and all members of vao w88 university. This would mark a major change in vao w88 institution’s corporate culture, as well as in vao w88 capacity of vao w88 institution itself and of regulatory authorities in running and managing higher education operations. Only by so doing, will we be able to address vao w88 problem of “deficiency” in both capacity and performance of university councils as witnessed so far.
vao w88 importance of this cannot be stressed enough because, since vao w88 adoption of vao w88 HEL 2012, quality and effectiveness of university councils have remained a key concern in implementing university autonomy. Before vao w88 enactment of Law No.34 by vao w88 National Assembly, public universities diverged in their thinking and their approach with respect to vao w88 university council. Some public universities were reluctant to set up their councils due to vao w88 fear of “splitting” vao w88 actual power in vao w88 institution between vao w88 council and vao w88 chancellor. Some others, though predisposed to setting up a council, in fact felt indifferent about having or not having vao w88 council. In some public universities, though vao w88 council was set up, it was virtually for vao w88 purpose of formalities - nothing beyond ensuring compliance with vao w88 organizational structure requirements set forth by vao w88 law. In those universities, external members were hardly involved in vao w88 council activities because they perceived their role as “a guest” in an ineffective institutional arrangement. vao w88 number of public universities with a well-functioning council has been very limited. This is mainly due to institutional bottlenecks, which have caused vao w88 mindset and culture in university management to lag far behind vao w88 university autonomy mechanism. This problem has been noted in vao w88 report reviewing vao w88 implementation of vao w88 HEL, which was issued by vao w88 Ministry of Education and Training on 15 January 2018 as part of their proposal on amendment to vao w88 HEL. vao w88 report clearly pointed out:“vao w88 university council of a higher education institution is supposed to serve as vao w88 body with ultimate responsibility for vao w88 institution’s strategic direction and accountability. Article 16, Clause 2 of vao w88 HEL 2012 specifies vao w88 two roles of vao w88 university council, namely “vao w88 governing body” and “ownership representative”. But vao w88 Law is not clear about vao w88 functions, duties and powers of vao w88 council, and its interactions with vao w88 executive team of vao w88 university. This has made vao w88 university council a toothless tiger. Worse still, failure to set up vao w88 university council does not subject public universities to any sanctioning, thus compromising vao w88 justness of laws. vao w88 regulation to tie “term of office” of vao w88 council to that of vao w88 chancellor has resulted in an incorrect implicit interpretation that vao w88 chancellor is higher than vao w88 council in vao w88 power hierarchy”.([3])
It is high time to address all of vao w88 above concerns so that vao w88 university council is no longer perceived as “vao w88 fifth wheel” of vao w88 executive cart([4])of public universities – in addition to vao w88 existing four wheels, namely vao w88 communist party committee, vao w88 management, vao w88 trade union, and vao w88 youth union. According to Law No.34, vao w88 university council of a public university both serves as vao w88 governing body of vao w88 institution and vao w88 ownership representative of its stakeholders, and has vao w88 supreme power premised on vao w88 three fundamental powers, namely decision-making, rule-making and oversight powers as below:
1) vao w88 university council has vao w88 power to decide on important issues:
- vao w88 institution’s strategic plans and annual workplans; policy intentions to develop vao w88 institution into a full-blown university or to merge with another higher education institution;
- Plans for admission, new academic program offerings, joint/cooperative academic programs, R&D, and international cooperation; policies for higher education quality assurance, and for industry-university linkages;
- Organizational structure, workforce composition, creation, merger, division and dissolution of vao w88 institution’s departments and units; vao w88 institution’s job map and job profiles; vao w88 institution’s rules on recruitment, employment and management of teaching faculty and other staff in accordance with laws;
- Submission to vao w88 relevant authorities for issuing a decision to recognize or dismiss vao w88 chancellor; appointment and dismissal of vao w88 vice chancellor on vao w88 recommendation of vao w88 chancellor; decisions related to other management positions subject to vao w88 university’s internal rules on organizational and operational matters; annual performance review of vao w88 council chairperson and vao w88 chancellor; vote of confidence for vao w88 council chairperson and vao w88 chancellor in accordance with vao w88 internal rules on organizational and operational matters;
- Policies to attract resources for capital investment; policies on tuition and financial aid, student assistance; approval of financial plans; endorsement of annual financial statements and final expenditure statements for vao w88 university’s various legitimate sources of funding;
- Policy intentions to invest in and use high-value assets pertaining to vao w88 authority of vao w88 university council; performance-based pay for holders of executive and managerial position and other decisions as provided for in vao w88 university’s internal rules on organizational and operational matters.
2) vao w88 university council has vao w88 power to make internal rules on governance, including:vao w88 university’s internal rules on organizational and operational matters, rules on financial management, and rules on grassroots-level democracy, subject to vao w88 HEL and other applicable laws. This is vao w88 ultimate power exercised by vao w88 university council within vao w88 legal and governance framework in order to govern, manage and operate vao w88 university autonomy mechanism in academic, organizational, personnel, financial and asset matters. With such vested power, function and mandate, vao w88 university council is in vao w88 best position to serve as vao w88 pillar of governance in public universities.
3) vao w88 council has vao w88 power to oversee vao w88 implementation of its decisions and vao w88 university’s observance of law in all aspects of vao w88 university’s operations. This oversight power goes together with vao w88 needs to be compliant and liable to vao w88 law, competent authorities and stakeholders for vao w88 council’s decisions, to ensure openness, transparency and proper reporting, and also to be subject to inspections and audits by competent authorities. vao w88 university council should be held accountable within its scope of responsibility and power and should be subject to vao w88 oversight by vao w88 public and by individuals and entities internal to vao w88 university.
In a nutshell, at vao w88 core of vao w88 legal nature of vao w88 university council lies its ability to create and maintain an effective mechanism for driving, governing and controlling, in vao w88 best manner, vao w88 quality of all education and training activities of vao w88 university. It ensures concurrence in both vao w88 mindset and actions between vao w88 university council and “vao w88 remaining part” of vao w88 organization, and strikes a balance between autonomy and accountability of public universities to stakeholders, thereby ensuring democracy and transparency in every operation of vao w88 university – which are also demanded by vao w88 society and by law. This would also harmonize vao w88 interests of various stakeholders in higher education settings. Each higher education institution should ensure that their approach in creating and operationalizing vao w88 university council and harness its role as part of their move towards university autonomy is consistent with vao w88 legal nature, operations model and paradigm provided for in Law No.34.
2. Realization of vao w88 vision and mission of vao w88 university council in public universities in line with vao w88 Law to amend selected articles of vao w88 HEL 2012
At vao w88 overall level, vao w88 university council is envisioned by vao w88 amended Law (or Law No.34) as a body with vao w88 ultimate governing power in vao w88 organizational design of a public university, which closely approaches vao w88 model of university council widely adopted by universities over vao w88 world. There are two fundamental provisions in vao w88 Law that would properly empower vao w88 university council and appropriately position it in vao w88 organizational architecture of public universities:
1) vao w88 power to decide on matters that should, in essence, be decided by vao w88 university council but was granted to vao w88 chancellor by vao w88 HEL 2012 has now been retrieved and rightly vested with vao w88 council by vao w88 amended Law.
2) vao w88 amended Law confirms vao w88 council’s power to select, decide on and recommend for recognition of vao w88 personnel for vao w88 position of chancellor, who takes responsibility for managing and running vao w88 institution’s operations in accordance with laws and vao w88 institution’s internal rules.([5])These two important provisions reconfirm vao w88 “ultimate power” vested with vao w88 university council in public universities and serve as an important “lever” for vao w88 university council to become a real power in vao w88 university’s governance structure.
To make such vision happen, moving forward, public universities would have to resolve a lot of issues for effective implementation of legal provisions on vao w88 university council, such as procedural matters related to creation or re-creation of vao w88 council; determination of council composition, membership and number of members; capacity building for vao w88 council; planning and implementing a schedule for making internal rules governing vao w88 council’s operations; accountability and performance evaluation of vao w88 council chairperson; procedures for recommending for recognition of vao w88 council chairperson, council members, and vao w88 chancellor by competent authorities; and responsiveness to eligibility conditions for autonomy as set forth in Clause 2 Article 32 of Law No.34. For vao w88 aforementioned issues, public universities should:
First, ensure transparency in each and every academic operation of vao w88 institution: With vao w88 interwoven interests present in a public university, vao w88 role of governing, controlling and harmonizing stakeholder interests requires “objectivity” in managing and running vao w88 internal governance appratus, thereby ensuring democracy in every operation via vao w88 role of governing and representing ownership and stakeholder interests played by vao w88 university council.
Second,maintain and ensure coordination, consistency and harmony between vao w88 university council and internal management structures. In legal terms,“vao w88 council shall not intervene in vao w88 day-to-day running and operations of vao w88 institution. vao w88 council shall primarily focus on strategic planning processes, review and approval of vao w88 institution’s development strategy and workplans, and also on oversight of vao w88 work conducted by vao w88 chancellor as required by laws and vao w88 institution’s internal rules on organizational and operational matters, making sure that vao w88 institution is well on track with respect to its mission and goals. vao w88 council shall be “loyal” to public interests as expected of a public higher education institution, striking a harmony of interests and responsibilities among all stakeholders”.([6])This is crucial to university autonomy, which should be aligned with accountability.
Third, resolve effectively vao w88 question of managing and developing vao w88 “tripartite” relationship among vao w88 communist party committee vs. vao w88 university council vs. vao w88 chancellor in public universities. According to Clause 2, Article of Law No.34, such tripartite relationship is governed by vao w88 institution’s internal rules on organizational and operational matters. A common approach taken by a number of public universities is to create vao w88 university council and elect vao w88 council chairperson as part of vao w88 “personnel arrangements for vao w88 communist party committee” of vao w88 institution - which means vao w88 council chairperson is vao w88 chief of party ex-officio. All eligibility criteria for vao w88 elected council chairperson and matters related to vao w88 council fall within vao w88 purview of vao w88 party leadership and vao w88 institution’s executive team. vao w88 line agency is represented by a specified number of council members (say, one member). Such arrangement enables vao w88 Communist Party committee to exert their leadership by cathedral thinking while vao w88 university council addresses vao w88 institution’s strategy, operational plan, and big-picture decisions - thereby ensuring consistent efforts in driving vao w88 institution forward. vao w88 chancellor is vao w88 executive head, who is responsible for day-to-day operations and managing implementation efforts to realize vao w88 vision and broad policy lines already endorsed by vao w88 Communist Party committee and approved by vao w88 university council.
It is important to note that vao w88 process of setting up and operationalizing vao w88 university council as required by Law No.34 would inevitably result in a “shift of power” from vao w88 chancellor to vao w88 university council. A successful transition from vao w88 HEL 2012 to Law No.34 would demand strong political will from universities. Under current legislation, vao w88 chancellor of a higher education institution is its legal representative and account holder (Article 20, Clause 3 Sub-clause a), while vao w88 council works under vao w88 collegial principle and, by majority voting, decides all important matters of vao w88 institution. Therefore, who would be “vao w88 head” of a public university and take ultimate responsibility for all activities of vao w88 institution - would it be vao w88 chancellor as an individual or vao w88 council as a team? This important questions should be clarified in vao w88 protocols of coordination between vao w88 council and vao w88 chancellor. Especially, public universities should make clear in their internal governance and management framework who would be held liable for vao w88 bad decisions or poor performance of vao w88 university council which harm vao w88 interests of vao w88 institution, students, vao w88 State and vao w88 public. This means that a capable, well-performing council is critical to public universities in their “long-run journey” toward university autonomy.
Fourth, a staged and law-compliant approach should be taken in creating, strengthening or restructuring vao w88 university council. Inadequate capacity of vao w88 council as a team or of individual council members should not be an excuse for delaying vao w88 recreation or restructuring of vao w88 council. Also, to avoid “rushing and hustling”, vao w88 Decree that guides vao w88 implementation of Law No.34 outlines a spectrum of “legal scenarios” as below:
1) For a newly established public university, vao w88 line agency of such university shall direct and lead vao w88 creation of its university council. vao w88 first step is to appoint an acting chancellor, who will sit on vao w88 interim/provisional university council, exercise vao w88 powers and implement vao w88 tasks conferred on vao w88 chancellor until a formal recognition decision is granted. vao w88 line agency determines vao w88 number of members, composition, and election procedures of vao w88 provisional council and issues a decision to recognize vao w88 provisional council and chairperson. vao w88 duration of a provisional university council is at maximum a year, since vao w88 issuance of recognition decision by vao w88 line agency. Upon expiry, vao w88 provisional council must be replaced by an official council constituted in accordance with vao w88 new law. vao w88 creation of a new council will be led and directed by vao w88 leadership team of vao w88 university (comprising of party committee, chairperson of vao w88 council, vice chairperson of vao w88 council - if any, vao w88 chancellor and vice chancellors)([7])in accordance with laws.
2) For an operative public university with no council, within 6 months from 15 February 2020 (vao w88 date on which Decree No. 99/2019/NĐ-CP entered into force), vao w88 leadership team must initiate vao w88 establishment of vao w88 council.
3) For operative public universities which already have their university council in existence, their actions would depend on whether, as of 15 February 2020, vao w88 remaining term of office of vao w88 council is less than 6 months or otherwise. If vao w88 remaining term is less than 6 months, vao w88 council continues to operate until vao w88 end of their term. In parallel, vao w88 leadership team must initiate a process for constituting vao w88 council for vao w88 next term of office in accordance with current laws. If vao w88 remaining term is 6 months or more and vao w88 council was created in accordance with Law No.34 and applicable rules of vao w88 Party, it will continue its operations until vao w88 end of office with full powers to decide on personnel arrangement for vao w88 chancellor position as well as other powers and responsibilities as specified by laws and by vao w88 institution’s rules on organizational and operational matters. If vao w88 remaining term is 6 months or more but vao w88 council was not created in accordance with Law No.34 and applicable rules of vao w88 Party, vao w88 leadership team must initiate vao w88 process for establishing vao w88 university council for vao w88 succeeding term of office to replace vao w88 non-compliant council. Note that, in this case, vao w88 university must also review and amend its internal rules on organizational and operation matters. Once vao w88 new university council is constituted, it will exercise vao w88 decision-making power with respect to personnel arrangement for vao w88 chancellor position.[8]Two possible outcomes could be expected from such action: either vao w88 incumbent chancellor remains in office or he/she is replaced by another personnel.
In terms of legal procedures, at least 30 working days prior to vao w88 expiry of their term of office, vao w88 leadership team must prepare and submit relevant documentation to vao w88 line agency for recommending recognition of vao w88 council and chairperson for vao w88 next term of office. Documentation includes vao w88 proposal on recommended recognition; list of recommended personnel for vao w88 council chairperson position and members, CVs and written agreement to participate of vao w88 recommended personnel; meeting minutes, vote count minutes, written notice by vao w88 line agency on appointment of their representative to sit on vao w88 council, and other relevant documents. Decree No.99/2019/NĐ-CP requires vao w88 line agency, within 30 working days from receipt of such submission from vao w88 university, to issue a decision of recognition. vao w88 line agency may refuse to recognize vao w88 council, or refuse to recognize vao w88 recommended chairperson or any council members. Such refusal must be in writing and vao w88 reasons therefor must be clearly stated. Such “refusal to recognize” is a mechanism for vao w88 line agency to exercise vao w88 power of vao w88 owner (i.e. vao w88 State) as vao w88 regulator of higher education, and such power is only used where it is so required to prevent public universities from “crossing vao w88 limits” when crossing vao w88 limits jeopardizes their effectiveness as a provider of higher education and undermines vao w88 common interests. Therefore, what public universities should do for vao w88 time being is to thoroughly consider and devise a well-thought, forward-looking strategy for personnel arrangements for vao w88 council chairperson and elected members, thereby ensuring a sound composition of vao w88 council with quality, reputation and right mix of skills and abilities, right balance of internal and external council members. Many recent studies reveal that among vao w88 most important skills required for a council member are generalization, environmental scan, constructive interaction, innovation and learning ability. Ability to generalize enables a council member to capture a broader view and to be more visionary. Similarly, environmental scanning skills help a council memeber to accurately assess vao w88 institution’s issues in relation to both internal and external factors. Ability to interact effectively and to judge personality help council members elect vao w88 right executives and cooperate with them. Ability to learn allows council members to quickly change vao w88 course of their thinking and action based on new information available to them or unexpected changes in circumstances. Those are vao w88 qualities expected of a person involved in strategic planning – that is, council members. They are vao w88 ones who make strategies, set principles anc core values, and oversees vao w88 performance of vao w88 chancellor and of departments/units of vao w88 institution.
Public universities should be careful in selecting their council members, who should have a good insight into vao w88 institution and higher education management and have sufficient knowledge and skills for operating a university and driving it towards vao w88 stated goals. It is essential that vao w88 interests of council members are aligned with vao w88 institution’s interests, because“no model or solution would work if vao w88 people who are directly involved do not, for a start, assimilate vao w88 nature, meaning, pros and cons, and pre-requsites for vao w88 application of such model or solutionx”.([9])Moving forward, public universities should, above all, aim for professionalism of and merit-based remuneration for their council members./.
NOTES AND REFERENCES:
([1]). Fielden John, Global trends in university governance, vao w88 World Bank, United States, 2008, p. 37. Bruneau William, Grosjean Garnet, Schuetze Hans G., University governance and reform - Policy, fads and experience in international perspective, Palgrave Macmillan, United States, 2012, p. 4 - 6.([2]). Article 16, Clause 1 of vao w88 Law to amend selected articles of vao w88 HEL.
([3]). Ministry of Education and Training, “Report on reviewing vao w88 implementation of vao w88 HEL (as part of vao w88 Ministry’s submission No.12/TTg-BGDDT dated 15 January 2018), pp. 9-10.
([4]). Phạm Thị Lý, “vao w88 university council in university governance in Vietnam: A business perspective”, Journal of Education Sciences, Issue 137, February 2017, pp. 6-11; Lâm Quang Thiệp, “vao w88 university council in Vietnam’s public higher education institutions”, Vietnam’s annual education report, 2012, pp. 402-422.
([5]). Article 20, Clause 1 vao w88 Law to amend vao w88 HEL.
([6]). Ministry of Education and Training, “Report on reviewing vao w88 implementation of vao w88 HEL (as part of vao w88 Ministry’s submission No.12/TTg-BGDDT dated 15 January 2018), p.10
([7]). Sub-Clause đ, Clause 1 Article 7 Decree No. 99/2019/NĐ-CP.
([8]) Sub-clause c, Clause 1, Article 7, Decree No. 99/2019 NĐ-CP, providing detailed guidance on implementation of selected articles of vao w88 HEL.
([9]). Phạm Thị Lý, “vao w88 university council in university governance in Vietnam”, cited before, pp. 6-11.
REFERENCES:
1. Bruneau William, Grosjean Garnet, Schuetze Hans G. (2012). University governance and reform - Policy, fads and experience in international perspective. United States: Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Fielden John. (2008). Global trends in university governance. United States: vao w88 World Bank,
3. Phạm Thị Lý. (2017). vao w88 university council in university governance in Vietnam”, Journal of Education Sciences, 137, February 2017, pp. 6-11.
4. Lâm Quang Thiệp (2012), “vao w88 university council in Vietnam’s public higher education institutions”, Vietnam’s annual education report, pp. 402-422.
Hội đồng trường của các trường đại học công lập tại Việt Nam: Bản chất, tầm nhìn và hành động
ThS. NGUYỄN TUẤN HƯNG
Trường Đại học Y Hà Nội
TÓM TẮT:
Năm 2020 được xác định là điểm xuất phát tiếp theo của việc thực hiện cơ chế tự chủ đại học đối với các trường đại học công lập tại Việt Nam, trên cơ sở của Luật sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Giáo dục đại học năm 2012 (Luật số 34/2018/QH14) và Nghị định số 99/2019/NĐ-CP quy định chi tiết và hướng dẫn thi hành một số điều của Luật sửa đổi, bổ sung một số điều của Luật Giáo dục đại học. Một trong những mục tiêu quan trọng khi sửa đổi, bổ sung Luật lần này là nhằm tháo gỡ, khắc phục những “điểm nghẽn” về thể chế tự chủ đại học hiện nay, trong đó có liên quan đến hội đồng trường. Bài viết tập trung trao đổi về thiết chế này từ phương diện bản chất, tầm nhìn và hành động thực tế mà các trường đại học công lập ở Việt Nam cần làm thời gian tới.
Từ khoá:Giáo dục đại học, trường đại học, công lập, tự chủ đại học, hội đồng trường.
[Tạp chí Công Thương - Các kết quả nghiên cứu khoa học và ứng dụng công nghệ, Số 17, tháng 7 năm 2020]