Vietnam and Higher Education Internationalization: The Promise of Community Colleges

Abstract

Despite educational reform practices since the 1980s, including a shift from Soviet- to Western-style education and gradual growth in participation in higher education, the greatest chronic problem affecting higher education institutions in Vietnam today is access. The extant research suggests that Vietnam has adopted the US community college system as a means to improving access for more rural Vietnamese students, while it also internationalizes the Vietnamese education system through partnerships with community colleges in Western nations. This chapter discusses the Vietnamese efforts to internationalize aspects of the higher education system, both through the continuation of international mobility and partnerships and through the development of community colleges. While international mobility remains the privilege of few and may be a drain on the country’s intellectual resources, the community college movement promises to expand access to students in rural areas and so widen overall participation in higher education. The chapter draws on recent studies, policy reports, and relevant academic literature to make recommendations for future policy and practice.