Circular 58/2026/TT-BGDĐT · University organization and operation
What this means for you
- Obtain the current organization rules and delegations before negotiating; a university's name or international office does not prove signing authority.
- Identify the actual contracting entity and the people responsible for academic decisions, cooperation, quality and student support.
- Check the institution's replacement rules and transition dates. Its charter does not replace the separate program and recognition requirements.
Questions about how this applies to your institution? Talk it through with a USVN senior advisor.
The detail
1. The rule and its status
Vietnamese higher-education institutions must publish internal organization and operation rules identifying their legal structure, authority and responsibilities. In force: issued July 7, 2026; effective August 22, 2026. Regional-university and existing-charter transitions have separate dates. Official text, Articles 1–6.
2. Who it affects and what it means for a US school
This affects diligence on who may commit a Vietnamese institution, which entity is the actual partner and what approvals its internal process requires. Article 1 has specific treatment for defense/security institutions and treaty-established institutions. A treaty governs the latter where it addresses the matter; otherwise the new Higher Education Law, Decree 91/2026 and this circular apply. Neither a university's name nor its public/private label proves authority to approve a foreign program.
Article 3 requires the rules to identify internal entities' legal status and functions, delegation to branches and other teaching locations, management powers, staffing and financial responsibilities, and the lead/coordinating units for training, cooperation, investment and quality assurance. These are useful documents to obtain before negotiating a contract.
3. What to do, by partnership model
- Recruitment: establish who can approve representation, branding and recruitment undertakings; the international office's involvement alone does not establish signing authority.
- 2+2/3+1: obtain the current charter and delegations for curriculum, credit decisions, mobility and student records. This is a diligence action derived from Article 3, not a new approval procedure created by this page.
- Dual degree and joint program: identify the legal contracting entity, academic decision maker and cooperation/quality units, then verify the separate national program-approval basis.
- Online/blended: check who controls any branch or other teaching location and who owns quality assurance and student support. The charter does not replace program or recognition conditions.
- Branch campus: distinguish a foreign university's branch from a Vietnamese partner's branch. Check both legal status and delegation rather than assuming a branch signs for the parent.
Article 2 requires consultation and publication. For public institutions, issuance follows agreement of the institution's Party committee; for private institutions, investor and university-council processes apply, with the stated allocation where views differ. The rules must be posted within one working day of issuance; the decision must be sent within five working days to MOET, the direct managing authority and relevant provincial government.
4. Change history
Article 4 requires national universities/member institutions to complete new rules before September 15, 2026, but ties their effectiveness to the Prime Minister's repeal of Decision 26/2014/QĐ-TTg, identified in Article 4. Confirm whether the Prime Minister’s separate repeal has taken effect before applying this national-university transition.
Regional universities continue under Circular 10/2020 except provisions inconsistent with the new law; new regional rules take effect November 1, 2026. Article 5(2) repeals Circular 10/2020 on November 1, not August 22. Other institutions' lawful older rules continue subject to consistency until replaced, with completion before December 31, 2026 and expiry of the older rules from December 31. Check the actual institutional replacement date. Official text, Articles 4–5.
5. Sources and verification
Official Vietnamese signed PDF · Official register
Last verified: 2026-10-21. English explanation; the official Vietnamese text controls.
6. Related pages
University Atlas · VNU Hanoi profile · VNU HCMC profile · Joint-program rules. Atlas profiles do not establish a complete current authority bundle.
7. Briefing and legal note
Not legal advice. Prepare a briefing with a USVN senior advisor around the actual partner's charter, delegation and proposed award arrangement before treating an institutional signature as program authorization.
For general information only, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with qualified counsel and the relevant Vietnamese authorities before acting.