Institutional Autonomy of Vietnamese Public Universities:An Agency Theory Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/kpg16f91Keywords:
agency theory, institutional autonomy, post-Soviet context, university governance, Vietnamese public universitiesAbstract
In 2012, the Vietnamese government enacted the institutional autonomy policy to support the reform process of the higher education system. The autonomy policy signifies the transfer of decision-making authority from ministries to public universities to increase university performance and competitiveness in the globalized knowledge economy. This paper examines the nature of autonomy as a new form of governance in Vietnamese higher education through the lens of agency theory. I used thematic analysis to analyze policy documents released by the Vietnamese government between 1993 and 2021. The findings indicate autonomy means Vietnamese public universities have authority to make decisions on primary activities; yet they must be accountable for their decision-making and responsible for funding sources. The study contributes to the literature on comparative and international higher education by providing a better understanding of autonomy in a post-Soviet context and informing a transformative approach to policy practices for the higher education reform.
References
Altbach, P.G. (2016). Global perspectives on higher education. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Aboye, A. (2021). Political Ideology and Academic Autonomy in Ethiopia. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(4), 16–27. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i4.2871
Austin, I., & Jones, G. A. (2016). Governance of higher education: Global perspectives, theories, and practices. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315816401
Bendickson, J., Muldoon, J., Liguori, E. W., & Davis, P. E. (2016). Agency theory: Background and epistemology. Journal of Management History, 22(4), 437–449. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-06-2016-0028
Berdahl, R. (1990). Academic freedom, autonomy, and accountability in British universities. Studies in Higher Education, 15(2), 169–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079012331377491
Blackmore, J. (2010). Research assessment: A calculative technology governing quality, accountability, and equity. In J. Blackmore, M. Brennan, & L. Zippin (Eds.), Re-positioning university governance and academic work (pp. 67–83). Sense Publishers.
Braun, C., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Capano, G. (2011). Government continues to do its job. A comparative study of governance shifts in the higher education sector. Public Administration (London), 89(4), 1622–1642. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01936.x
Central Committee of Vietnam’s Communist Party. (1993). Resolution on continuing the renovation of education and training. (Resolution 04-NQ/HNTW).
Central Government. (2005). The Vietnamese government’s resolution on substantial and comprehensive renewal of Vietnam's tertiary education during the 2006–2020 period. Thư Viện Pháp Luật. https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Giao-duc/Nghi-quyet-14-2005-NQ-CP-doi-moi-co-ban-va-toan-dien-giao-duc-dai-hoc-Viet-Nam-giai-doan-2006-2020-5013.aspx
Central Government. (2006). Decree: Regulations on institutional autonomy and self-responsibility of public service delivery units on performance, organization, and finance (Decree No. 43/2006/NĐ-CP). Cổng Thông tin điện tử Chính phủ. http://vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban?class_id=1&_page=1&mode=detail&document_id=15218
Central Government. (2015). Decree: Regulations on institutional autonomy of public service delivery units (Decree No. 16/2015/NĐ-CP). Cổng Thông tin điện tử Chính phủ. http://vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban?class_id=1&_page=1&mode=detail&document_id=179065
Central Government. (2019). Decree: Detailed regulations and guides on implementing some articles of the Revised Higher Education Law (Decree No. 99/2019/NĐ-CP). Cơ Quan Chủ Quản: Ban Tuyên Giáo Trung Ương. https://tulieuvankien.dangcongsan.vn/Uploads/2020/1/7/6/ND-99.signed_01.pdf
Creswell, J.W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Dao, K. V., & Hayden, M. (2010). Reforming the governance of higher education in Vietnam. In G. S. Harman, M. Hayden, & T. N. Pham (Eds.), Reforming higher education in Vietnam: Challenges and priorities (pp. 129–142). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3694-0
Dao, V. K., & Hayden, M. (2019). Vietnam’s progress with policies on university governance, management, and quality assurance. In N. T. Nguyen & L. T. Tran (Eds.), Reforming Vietnamese higher education: Global forces and local demands (pp. 37–50). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8918-4
de Boer, H. F., Jongbloed, B. W. A., Enders, J., & File, J. M. (2010). Progress in higher education reform across Europe: Governance reform. European Commission, Brussels. Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS). https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/5141375/GOV+vol+3+Governance+fiches.pdf
de Boer, H. F., Jongbloed, B., Benneworth, P., Cremonini, L., Kolster, R., Kottmann, A., & Vossensteyn, H. (2015). Performance-based funding and performance agreements in fourteen higher education systems. Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS).
Donina, D., & Paleari, S. (2019). New public management: Global reform script or conceptual stretching? Analysis of university governance structures in the Napoleonic administrative tradition. Higher Education, 78(2), 193–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0338-y
Dougherty, K. J., & Natow, R. S. (2019a). Analyzing neoliberalism in theory and practice: The case of performance-based funding for higher education. Centre for Global Higher Education (Working paper no. 44). https://www.researchcghe.org/perch/resources/publications/cghe-working-paper-44.pdf
Dougherty, K. J., & Natow, R. S. (2019b). Performance-based funding for higher education: how well does neoliberal theory capture neoliberal practice? Higher Education, 80(3), 457–478. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00491-4
Education Law, Publ. L. No. 38/2005/QH11 (2005). Cổng Thông tin điện tử Chính phủ. http://congbao.chinhphu.vn/tai-ve-van-ban-so-23-vbhn-vpqh-1249-398?format=pdf
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. The Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 57–74. https://doi.org/10.2307/258191
Enders, J., Boer, H. d., & Weyer, E. (2013). Regulatory autonomy and performance: The reform of higher education revisited. Higher Education, 65(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9578-4
Hanushek, E., Link, S., & Woessmann, L. (2013). Does school autonomy make sense everywhere? Panel estimates from PISA. Journal of Development Economics, 104(104), 212–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2012.08.002
Higher Education Law, Publ. L. No. 08/2012/QH2013 (2012). Cổng Thông tin điện tử Chính phủ. http://vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/hethongvanban?class_id=1&_page=1&mode=detail&document_id=163054
Jafarova, Z. (2022). Mapping institutional changes in higher education: the comparative analysis of the effects of democratic backsliding. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(5S), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i5S.4214
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X
Jongbloed, B. (2010). Funding higher education: A view across Europe. European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities
Jongbloed, B. (2018). Public Funding of Higher Education, Europe. In P. Teixeira, & J. C. Shin (Eds.), Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions (pp. 517–521). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_74-1
Kickert, W. (1995). Steering at a distance: A new paradigm of public governance in Dutch higher education. Governance (Oxford), 8(1), 135–157. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.1995.tb00202.x
Kivistö, J. (2005). The government-higher education institution relationship: Theoretical considerations from the perspective of agency theory. Tertiary Education and Management, 11, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2005.9967136
Kivistö, J. (2007). Agency theory as a framework for the government-university relationship [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Tampere.
Kivistö, J. (2008). An assessment of agency theory as a framework for the government-university relationship. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 30(4), 339–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600800802383018
Kivistö, J., & Zalyevska, I. (2015). Agency theory as a framework for higher education governance. In J. Huisman, H. de Boer, D. D. Dill, & M. Souto-Otero (Eds.), The Palgrave international handbook of higher education policy and governance (pp. 132–151). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-45617-5
Kohtamäki, V., & Balbachevsky, E. (2019). An explorative study of the consequences of university autonomy in Finland and Brazil. Higher Education Quarterly, 73(3), 328–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12186
Le, A. (2022). The Influence of Institutional Autonomy Policy on Internationalization of Higher Education: A Case Study in Vietnam. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(5S), (55–63). https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i5S.4496
Le, T. K. A., Hayden, M., & Nhan, T. T. (2019). Development of the higher education sector in Vietnam. In N. T. Nguyen & L. T. Tran (Eds.), Reforming Vietnamese higher education: Global forces and local demands (pp. 1–23). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8918-4
Maassen, P., Gornitzka, Å., & Fumasoli, T. (2017). University reform and institutional autonomy: A framework for analyzing the living autonomy. Higher Education Quarterly, 71(3), 239–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12129
Madden, M. (2014). Walking the line: Quality assurance policy development and implementation in Viet Nam. Higher Education, 67(1), 91–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9642-8
Marklein, M. B. (2019). University leaders to be given more autonomy in new law. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190110133611290
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
MOET. (2016). Official Dispatch on the University A’s recommendations on adjusting and updating some contents of the Decision No. 6600/QĐ-TTg.
MOET. (2017). The evaluation results of the implementation of Resolution 77/NQ-CP on the piloting working mechanisms of public higher education institutions during the period of 2014–2017.
Olssen, M., Codd, J. A., & O'Neill, A. (2004). Education policy: Globalization, citizenship, and democracy. London, Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Olssen, M., & Peters, M. A. (2005). Neoliberalism, higher education, and the knowledge economy: From the free market to knowledge capitalism. Journal of Education Policy, 20(3), 313–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680930500108718
Ørberg, J., & Wright, S. (2019). Steering change: Negotiations of autonomy and accountability in the self-owning university. In S. Wright, S. Carney, J. B. Krejsler, G. B. Nielsen, & J. W. Ørberg (Eds.), Enacting the university: Danish university reform in an ethnographic perspective (pp. 127–153). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1921-4
Prime Minister. (2014a). Decision on the approval of the scheme of piloting working mechanisms of University A during the period of 2014–2017 (Decision No. 6600/QĐ-TTg).
Prime Minister. (2014b). Resolution on the piloting working mechanisms of public higher education institutions during the period of 2014–2017 (Resolution No. 77/NQ-CP). https://vanbanphapluat.co/nghi-quyet-77-nq-cp-2014-thi-diem-doi-moi-co-che-hoat-dong-co-so-giao-duc-dai-hoc-cong-lap-2014-2017#:~:text=Nghị%20quyết%2077%2FNQ-CP.%20Nghị%20quyết%2077%2FNQ-CP%20năm%202014,Văn%20bản%20pháp%20luật.%20Giáo%20dục.%20Nghị%20quyết.
Pruvot, E.B., Claeys-Kulik, AL., Estermann, T. (2015). Strategies for Efficient Funding of Universities in Europe. In: Curaj, A., Matei, L., Pricopie, R., Salmi, J., Scott, P. (eds) The European Higher Education Area. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20877-0_11
Revised Higher Education Law, Publ. L. No. 34/2018/QH14 (2018). http://vbpl.vn/bogiaoducdaotao/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=137459
Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing education policy. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203867396
Shin, L. C., Li, X., Nam, I., & Byun, B.-K. (2022). Institutional autonomy and capacity of higher education governance in South Asia: A comparative perspective. Higher Education Policy, 35(2), 414–438. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-020-00220-y
Shin, J. C., Ho, S. S. H., Chen, R. J. C., & Lee, J. K. (2022). Does institutional performance matter under competition-based funding for higher education in East Asia? A comparative study in Korea and Taiwan. Studies in Higher Education, 48(3), 383–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2022.2138849
Shore, C. (2010). The reform of New Zealand's university system: 'After neoliberalism'. Learning and Teaching, 3(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2010.030102
Sorlin, S. (2007). Funding diversity: Performance-based funding regimes as drivers of differentiation in higher education systems. Higher Education Policy, 20(4), 413–440. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300165
Thornton, M. (2004). The idea of the university and the contemporary legal academy. Sydney Law Review, 36(4), 481–502.
Tran, T. T. (2014). Governance in higher education in Vietnam - a move towards decentralization and its practical problems. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 7(1), 71–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2013.873341
Verhoest, K., Peters, B. G., Bouckaert, G., & Verschuere, B. (2004). The study of organizational autonomy: A conceptual review. Public Administration and Development, 24(2), 101–118. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.316
Welch, A. (2016). Audit culture and academic production: Re-shaping Australian social science research output 1993–2013. Higher Education Policy, 29(4), 511–538. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-016-0022-8
Wilson, J. (2021). Chinese Higher Education and the Quest for Autonomy: One Step Backward. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 13(2), 145–51. https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v13i2.2049
World Bank. (2015). Strengthening governance, financing, and quality of higher education. http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2015/06/25/strengthening-governance-financing-and-quality-of-higher-education.print
World Bank. (2019). The World Bank in Vietnam. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam
Yang, R., Vidovich, L., & Currie, J. (2007). "Dancing in a cage": Changing autonomy in Chinese higher education. Higher Education, 54(4), 575–592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-006-9009-5
Yokoyama, K. (2007). Changing definitions of university autonomy: The cases of England and Japan. Higher Education in Europe, 32(4), 399–409. https://doi.org/10.1080/03797720802066294
Yokoyama, K. (2008). Neo-liberal 'governmentality' in the English and Japanese higher education systems. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 18(3–4), 231–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620210802492815
Yokoyama, K. (2011). Quality assurance and the changing meaning of autonomy and accountability between home and overseas campuses of the universities in New York State. Journal of Studies in International Education, 15(3), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315309342577
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.
