University Council: Who's in, who's out?

The University Council of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy has members outside the school who make active and effective contributions - Photo: YDS

In reality, many non-university members have a vague role in the university council and contribute very little to the school. Many opinions say that there should be specific criteria for university council members.

University councils in many countries have many members outside the school, most of whom are alumni and are all highly successful in their careers (owners of large corporations, prestigious experts...).

Therefore, they all have many contributions to the school in terms of both funding and academics.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Duc Lung

Operating at a standstill

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Van Nhiem - Chairman of the Board of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, the current Law on Higher Education stipulates that the board of a public university is an administrative organization, exercising the representative rights of the owner and related parties.

Non-school members join the school board with the aim of ensuring the connection between training and practice, linking training with social needs.

However, in reality, besides some members outside the school who promote their positions and roles, there are still many members outside the school who are not active at all, and cannot even arrange time to attend school council meetings.

"The reason for this problem can be attributed to the fact that most of the members outside the school are people with high positions in society, their work schedules are always dense and very busy.

The coordination mechanism between the school board and non-school members has not received due attention, there is a lack of regulations on binding responsibilities (and also a lack of basis for regulations) when inviting them to participate in school activities, on the other hand, the policies and benefits for non-school members of the institutions are also very different. The school board mechanism is still new, so the institutions have to evaluate, summarize, and learn from experience while doing it," Mr. Nhiem explained.

Associate Professor Dr. Vu Duc Lung, Chairman of the University Council of Information Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), also said that because the new school council mechanism has not been standardized, the selection of members outside the school is not stable.

The leaders of Ho Chi Minh City National University once requested research to come up with specific criteria for members outside the school. However, to date, it has not been implemented.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Hong, a university education expert, commented: "A series of board members of many universities in Ho Chi Minh City who were recently dismissed were people who did not truly represent the school.

If a school board member is found to have committed fraud or even violated the law, it is the responsibility of both the board and the school. In this case, the school board needs to seriously review the nomination of members from outside the school.

"For enough structure" (?!)

According to current law, the university council will have some members who are outside the school. These are people with prestige in society, prestige in the profession in the field the school is training; alumni...

"This regulation is correct if we choose good people who actively participate in activities and strictly implement the regulations of the school board. Building criteria for school board members is very important.

In addition, there should be specific regulations for school board members. For example, the school board only meets a few times a year to discuss core issues and strategies of the school, so members cannot be absent. For members who are absent from meetings, it is necessary to reconsider whether to continue to have them on the school board or not," Mr. Hong suggested.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh, an education expert, frankly acknowledged the fact that there are still some non-school members on the school board to complete the composition structure but have little understanding of the academic environment and organizational culture of the university. Therefore, the implementation of the tasks of non-school members such as supervision, support, promotion of cooperation, and contribution to planning is not good.

"Representatives from organizations, businesses, communities or governments must have expertise and vision that is consistent with the school's goals and strategies, which many schools often overlook. The selection of non-school members should be based on clear criteria such as leadership ability, management experience, understanding of education or potential cooperation with the school. Non-school members who are too busy or have limited capacity should not be accepted as school board members," said Mr. Vinh.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Duc Lung - Chairman of the University Council of the University of Information Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) spoke at the 13th meeting (term 1), term 2020 - 2025 of the University Council - Photo: NHU Y

Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Dung, former principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, also said that most members outside the school are busy with their own work and are often absent from meetings.

There are few people who have a deep understanding of university education, so they rarely give opinions on the school's work. Although there is a regulation that non-school members are elected by the university's representative conference, in the introduction step, the school leaders pre-selected non-school members who are familiar with the board of directors to have a majority vote in selecting personnel.

"Currently, the 30% level makes many school board meetings nervous because they fear that they will not have enough minimum members to attend.

There should be clear regulations on the attendance of at least 80% of the conference; reduce the number of non-school members to 20%. Non-school members must have experience and knowledge in higher education, so it is necessary to include famous education management experts in non-school members," Mr. Dung suggested.

Who should I choose?

According to Prof. Dr. Tran Diep Tuan - Chairman of the University Council of Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the university council members who are outsiders are a very important part. The university councils of universities in other countries have a large number of outsiders including politicians, businessmen, lawyers and even representatives of the people to protect the rights of students.

These are people with prestige and influence in society. If the right person is chosen, they will actively participate and contribute a lot to the school as a member of the school council. On the contrary, if the wrong person is chosen for the school council, that person will only have a name but will not contribute anything, and may even affect the activities of the school council.

"I think the school council needs to have members from outside the school. The specific composition is determined by each school. Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy determines that the school council must be diverse and the members must be prestigious and influential people in society. In fact, the non-school members of our school council have all contributed very well," said Mr. Tuan.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoi-dong-truong-dai-hoc-ai-vao-ai-ra-20241010085904588.htm