This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

271053Z Dec 05

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