Impact study of programme assessment at three universities in Vietnam: atudents’ perspectives

Abstract

The study examines the impact of the AUN-QA assessment at the programme level on quality improvement from the students’ perspective. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire distributed to 439 participating students in the third and final years of the three programmes from three universities that were assessed and recognised by AUN-QA in 2018 and 2019. The findings indicate very positive changes observed by students during the AUN-QA assessment process at the programme level. Most students observed changes in curriculum design and development, teaching methods, student assessment methods, equipment and facilities, and research while few students observed changes in academic staff, support staff, and student support services. These changes appeared to be attributed to the adaptation of the OBE approach by the universities in this study as well as the requirements of the AUN-QA for programme assessment. However, the study also shows a difference in the students’ self-reported evaluation or observation of changes at the three universities. It is suggested that further studies should be conducted using more direct methods of measuring changes such as direct assessment of student learning for evaluating the impacts of external QA. Another research applying a qualitative approach (such as interview) could provide more in-depth information on the impacts of AUN-QA assessment from the students’ perspectives.