VUFO NGO Resource Centre
National Consultant to support the University of Danang (UD) to develop and launch an Online Academic Course at UD
USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER)
SCOPE OF WORK
for National Consultant to support the University of Danang (UD)
to develop and launch an Online Academic Course at UD
I. BACKGROUND
The Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) is an initiative to help strengthen Vietnam's leading public universities. The project activities are funded by USAID to support targeted reforms to improve institutional leadership and administrative capacity, improve teaching practices to enhance the University of Da Nang's learning outcomes, elevate university research capacity to international standards, network Vietnamese researchers to maximize access to global knowledge, enable university graduates to better engage with the labor market, and help university faculty leverage their research for innovation.
To achieve these objectives, PHER activities focus on:
Governance: This pillar supports the building and strengthening of institutional performance management systems based on agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) supported by a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) that provides consistent, reliable data for decision making and for accreditation of institutions and programs. This includes the establishment of a robust internal quality assurance (IQA) system at each of the target universities. Improved governance will help the leadership of public universities in Vietnam make better informed decisions as they exercise greater autonomy and focus on academic quality.
Teaching & Learning: This pillar supports the expansion of faculty capacity to design state-of-the-art courses, digitize curricula, support the development of priority online courses and programs, improve student learning assessment techniques, and develop graduate students in the teaching profession. This pillar will also support technical assistance to help prepare faculty and administration for international accreditation reviews of academic programs and institutions. The objective is for improved teaching and learning at Vietnam’s public universities to increase learning outcomes, enhance recognition of high-quality academic programs, and improve the employability of graduates.
Research & Innovation: This pillar supports the enhancement of research capacity so that the scientific outputs of public universities in Vietnam meet international standards, increase knowledge sharing among specialists, grow the number of publications in recognized journals, and align research activities to the social and economic needs of the country. This will take place through faculty exchanges, visiting scholar programs, research conferences, webinars, workshops, and short course training on research methodologies and academic specialties. The key vehicle for this pillar is the establishment of Vietnam International Academic Networks (VIAN) to help scientists across Vietnam connect more readily with fellow experts from around the world. The objective is for VIAN activity to lead to greater knowledge sharing, a broader promotion of research taking place in Vietnam, and enhanced opportunities for joint research and publications with partners abroad.
The PHER project also seeks deeper exploration of policy areas vital to the improvement of Vietnamese public higher education by supporting analytical work on the areas of technology and digitization, as well as gender equity. These cross-cutting policy areas are essential to success across the four pillars and to supporting the long-term sustainability of higher education reforms in Vietnam.
PHER focuses on reforms at three major Vietnamese public universities, their member universities, and respective institutes and academic programs:
- Vietnam National University-Hanoi (VNU),
- Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM), and
- The University of Danang (UD)
II. OBJECTIVE OF ASSIGNMENT
PHER seeks a national consultant or a team of consultants to provide technical assistance to the University of Foreign Languages (UFL) at the University of Danang (UD) to develop one (01) online English course. The consultant(s) will provide hands-on coaching sessions for technical staff and faculty members who are in charge of developing online academic courses. The English course must be developed in alignment with the university’s learning management systems (LMS), aiming to improve the quality of online education at the University.
The work of this assignment is to be conducted in Vietnamese, but all summary reporting is required in English or Vietnamese. All activities should ensure equitable treatment, irrespective of gender, disability, or ethnic background.
III. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS
This assignment is aimed at completing the following main objectives:
- Develop coaching materials for online academic course development, not limited to coaching contents, procedures and guidelines, quality assurance, and technical support, in alignment with the LMS used at University of Foreign Language (UFL);
- Deliver on-site coaching sessions for technical staffs and faculty members in charge of developing an English course at UFL;
- Deliver online coaching sessions for technical staffs and faculty members in charge of developing an English course at UFL;
- Support technical staff while piloting the developed online English course at UFL.
- Support technical staff to assess the piloted course and make improvements if needed.
- Support technical staff and faculty members in charge of launching the developed course.
- Provide technical assistance and trouble-shooting support regarding the training management system to the PHER team and people in charge at UFL.
All activities should take place without regard to gender, disability, or ethnic background.
III. TIME AND LOCATION
The timing is negotiable, but the work is expected to commence between April 2024 and October 2024. A number of working days are planned for both face-to-face and online working sessions over the above period. Preferably, the consultant will undertake in-person coaching sessions at UFL, UD. Beside the in-person coaching sessions, the consultant will complete the remaining work remotely.
IV. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES
# | Tasks | Deliverables |
1 | Meet with faculty and technical staff to jointly analyze and evaluate the current situation of online courses at University of Foreign Language (UFL). [UD will provide consultant access to the local instance of the LMS] | 01 report on the LMS compatibility for the development and launch of one new online course in English at UFL (03 credits), UD |
2 | A webinar on overview of online education and survey of experiences with online programs at HEIs internationally and nationally | 01 PowerPoint presentation and package of background documents/ reference materials covering guidelines for course development and quality assurance practices for online course |
3 | Support UFL in developing an implementation plan to develop the two new online courses | 01 implementation plan |
4 | Develop coaching packages (customize for UFL compatible with its LMS) | 01 coaching package to develop and launch the course, including guidelines, quality assurance considerations, with clear expected outcomes from the coaching. If possible, the package should include demo English teaching software, courseware/ platforms compatible with the English learning environment of university students in Vietnam |
5 | Deliver on-site and online coaching sessions for UFL to develop Beta version of online course | 01 Beta version of English online course |
6 | Work with faculty and technical staff at UFL and UD to jointly develop Beta testing the online course with analytical reflection on its operation and proposed updates to generate Alpha version | 01 Alpha version of English online course |
7 | Work with faculty and technical staff at UFL and UD to jointly to ensure Alpha version is fully operational | 01 fully operational online English course on UFL LMS |
8 | Support UFL faculty and staff in preparation for demonstration of finalized online course to UD academic leaders | 01 demonstration of the new online course to UD officials and invited member university representatives |
9 | Complete the final report | 01 final report, including (A) all prior deliverables 1-8, (B) analysis of experience in course development at UFL, including lessons learned, and (C) recommendations for further course delivery and development of future courses. |
Notes:
The final report should include all resource materials, agendas, and reports, along with analysis of objectives, lessons learned, and recommendations.
V. BUDGET (working time)
The USAID PHER grant will allocate a budget agreed upon with the consultant to support the implementation of the activities and deliverables per the SOW above.
VI. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING
The consultant will work under the supervision of the PHER team.
VII. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Essential:
- holds a master’s degree in relevant field
- has at least five years’ experience in developing online courses and professional development training
- has expertise in online course creation, software, learning enhancement tools, and/or LMS used for online/blended courses
Preferred:
- holds a doctoral degree in a relevant field
- is familiar with the LMS in use at UD
VIII. APPLICATION
The application documents include:
- A letter of motivation (for the whole team)
- CV with three references (each candidate in a team needs to provide a separate CV)
- A technical proposal (for the whole team)
- Financial proposal, indicating the expected consultancy fee (for the whole team)
Application documents should be sent to [email protected] titled “Consultancy on Online Academic Course Development - The University of Danang” by April 4, 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position will remain open until it is filled. We sincerely appreciate your interest in this job opportunity, but only shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview.