As a leading university in Vietnam with experience and strengths in the field of education quality assurance and accreditation, in 2013, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) was assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to develop a proposal for the establishment of an educational quality accreditation center.

On September 5, 2013, the Minister of Education and Training issued Decision No. 3568/QD-BGDDT to establish the VNU Center for Education Accreditation (VNU-CEA), marking the establishment of the first educational quality accreditation center in Vietnam.

VNU-CEA is a public service organization with legal identity, responsible for conducting quality accreditation for educational institutions outside VNU, providing consultation on quality accreditation and improvement, and organizing training and professional development in the field of educational quality accreditation.

Since the Minister of Education and Training appointed the Director in December 2013 and granted operational approval in November 2014, VNU-CEA has developed and implemented development strategies and short-term plans annually to fulfill its mission, making significant contributions to the development of the quality assurance system in education and building a culture of quality in higher education institutions and colleges in Vietnam.

After 11 years of operation, 2025 marked an important milestone in the institutional and organizational transformation of the VNU-CEA, as it came under a mechanism of comprehensive autonomy upon the recognition of its Management Council by the competent authority. With a modern, professional and transparent governance model, VNU-CEA continues to affirm its role in the higher education system and is translating into reality its vision of becoming a leading accreditation organisation in Viet Nam, with a strong reputation in the region and internationally. In July 2025, the Ministry of Education and Training conducted an evaluation of VNU-CEA in accordance with Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BGDĐT dated June 26, 2023. The results acknowledged that VNU-CEA achieved the highest level (Level 2), with 100% of the criteria meeting the requirements. The Minister of Education and Training also issued Decision No. 3226/QĐ-BGDĐT dated November 21, 2025 to extend the educational quality accreditation activities of the VNU-CEA.

Main achievements after 12 years of establishment and development

Organizational and human resources development: VNU-CEA has a well-established organizational structure, including: the Party Cell, Management Council, Board of Directors, Educational Accreditation Council, Trade Union, Youth Union, and functional departments. To carry out quality assessment, VNU-CEA has a team of collaborators consisting of full-time assessors and accreditors who are highly experienced and qualified, with over 200 members, including 30 professors and 102 associate professors.

Improvement of management processes:  In addition to complying with the general regulations of Vietnam, MoET, VNU-CEA has developed and issued a comprehensive system of internal management documents and procedures, as well as tools for managing various areas of activity: educational quality assessment and accreditation; development and cooperation; personnel; inspection and legal affairs; administration; planning and finance. The management documents and procedures are periodically updated and supplemented in accordance with current legal regulations and practical requirements.

Educational quality accreditation activities: As of December 31, 2025, VNU-CEA had completed external assessments procedure for 114 higher education institutions (HEIs), 06 colleges and 799 programs. This included the assessment and issuance of accreditation certificates for 112 HEIs, 06 colleges (one of which had undergone the second cycle) and 797 programs.

Training and capacity building for the accreditors: As of December 31, 2025, VNU-CEA has organized and co-organized 49 training courses for accreditors with 2.310 participants, of which 2.247 participants were awarded certificates of completion (among them, 436 have been issued the educational accreditor lisences); organized 41 workshops, training sessions, and seminars to enhance the capacity of accreditors, experts, and evaluators attracting the participation of over 2.000 individuals nationwide.

Development and cooperation:

- VNU-CEA has been the official full-member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) since March 2019, an associate member of the ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN) since May 2017, and a standing member (representing Vietnam) in the ASEAN Young Quality Assurance Officers Network (AYQON) since 2019. VNU-CEA has actively participated and contributed to the success of the EU-SHARE Project from 2019 to 2022, and led a project funded by INQAAHE to train core lecturers in developing training programs based on output standards in Vietnam and Laos from 2023 to 2024. Within the framework of the EU-SHARE Project, VNU-CEA was the first educational accreditation organization in Vietnam to be evaluated for improvement consultation by international experts according to the ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework (AQAF) standards. In addition, in 2024, VNU-CEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Japan Association for Accreditation of Higher Education (JUAA) in the field of quality assurance and accreditation.

- In Vietnam, VNU-CEA has cooperation agreements with 03 regional universities, and maintains cooperative relationships with the Department of Training and Education - Ministry of National Defense, the Department of Training - Ministry of Public Security, several provincial Departments of Education and Training, higher education institutions, and pedagogical colleges nationwide. Based on these cooperation agreements, in addition to conducting external assessments and implementing accreditation process, VNU-CEA organizes numerous capacity-building activities for evaluators, accreditors, quality assurance officers, and managers of educational institutions in areas such as quality assurance, EQA, university governance, developing output standards, and designing training programs.

Regarding scientific research and participation in postgraduate teaching: VNU-CEA has led and completed 03 research projects, developed, and successfully transferred a question bank for examinations to assess and select vocational education accreditors, as well as a question bank for training higher education and pedagogical college accreditors. VNU-CEA’s staffs have published 85 scientific articles, including 26 international publications in the WoS/Scopus on governance and management in higher education, have led and contributed to the development of 17 monographs, books, book chapters, and reference in the field of governance and management in education, and successfully supervised 34 master’s and doctoral students.

Other contributions and community service:

VNU-CEA participates in policy consultation proposing guidelines and policies to the MOET on quality assurance and educational quality accreditation. VNU-CEA actively contributes to the development and improvement of the legal framework and professional guidelines for implementing quality assurance and EQA in Vietnam through the Quality Management Department, M0ET.