Phan Thi Thanh Thao, Nguyen Thi Song Ha, Nguyen Thuy Van, Tran Thi Thu Trang
Vietnam's framework established a quality assurance baseline, but substantial OBE-related gaps remain despite accreditation. These findings identify priorities for continuous quality improvement and highlight the importance of examining criterion-level performance when accreditation systems seek to move from minimum compliance toward outcome-based quality enhancement.
BACKGROUND: Program accreditation is central to quality assurance in higher education. However, evidence on accreditation outcomes under Vietnam's first national program accreditation framework remains limited, particularly regarding criterion-specific quality gaps in pharmacy education. Identifying these gaps is needed to prioritize quality improvement and inform implementation of the revised framework, which places greater emphasis on outcome-based education (OBE) and continuous quality improvement.
OBJECTIVE: To examine accreditation outcomes of Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) programs in Vietnam and identify strengths and weaknesses in OBE implementation.
METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study analyzed official external evaluation reports of 32 nationally accredited BPharm programs. Performance was examined at program, standard, and criterion levels. Public (n = 10) and private (n = 22) institutions were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test with effect size r.
RESULTS: All 32 programs met accreditation requirements (≥80% of criteria rated ≥4), yet 62.5% had mean scores below 4.0. The highest non-achievement rates were observed for assessment methods (Criterion 5.3, 84.4%), constructive alignment (Criterion 3.2, 78.1%), program learning outcomes (Criterion 1.2, 50.0%), and course syllabi (Criterion 2.2, 46.9%). Public institutions scored moderately higher than private institutions (r = 0.44-0.46) on three criteria concerning assessment methods and academic staff; differences for the remaining 47 criteria were not evident.
CONCLUSION: Vietnam's framework established a quality assurance baseline, but substantial OBE-related gaps remain despite accreditation. These findings identify priorities for continuous quality improvement and highlight the importance of examining criterion-level performance when accreditation systems seek to move from minimum compliance toward outcome-based quality enhancement.