(Dan Tri Newspaper) - By drastically eliminating high school transcript scores or reducing the number of students admitted based on transcripts, many universities are aiming to recruit students with higher quality entrance scores through other methods.
For the 2025 admissions season, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education caused a stir with its announcement that it would completely eliminate academic transcript scores from its admissions methods.
A number of universities do not use academic transcripts for admissions (Photo: Hoai Nam).
The school will use the following admission methods: direct admission according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training (10% of the quota); priority admission and admission for students in specialized classes (10%-20%); admission based on a specialized aptitude test (40%-50% of the quota); and the remaining quota is reserved for admission based on high school graduation exam scores.
Regarding the decision to abolish the use of academic transcripts in university admissions starting in 2025, Dr. Huynh Trung Phong, Director of the Center for Student Support and Entrepreneurship Development at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, stated that the university is eliminating transcripts to ensure fairness and transparency, creating favorable conditions for candidates. Simultaneously, this aims to improve the quality of incoming students, meeting the demands of the modern labor market.
"The school does not use the method of admission based on high school academic results and only retains the minimum quality assurance conditions for entry, meeting the requirements according to the Ministry of Education and Training's admission regulations. In the future, the method of using specialized aptitude tests will become the main approach," said Dr. Huynh Trung Phong.
From 30% of its admissions quota based on academic transcripts each year, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade has also significantly reduced its enrollment quota using this method.
By 2025, the school will allocate only 15-20% of its admissions quota to academic transcripts and gradually move towards eliminating this method entirely.
According to Mr. Pham Thai Son, Director of Admissions at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, many public universities are turning their backs on considering high school transcripts because there are significant differences in transcript scores between high schools, making it difficult to accurately assess candidates' abilities.
Given this reality, using academic transcripts as a criterion for admission could lead to unfairness among candidates.
Speaking from a university's admissions position, Mr. Pham Thai Son stated that they have raised concerns about cheating or manipulating high school transcripts, which affects transparency and fairness in the admissions process.
Admissions based solely on academic transcripts can also lead to complacency and negligence in students' studies and preparation for the high school graduation exam, affecting quality.
Mr. Son said that many universities currently organize their own aptitude and thinking assessment exams with fairly good quality to use the results for admissions, along with methods such as using high school graduation exam scores or combining multiple criteria in admissions.
From 2024, the National Economics University has discontinued the admission method based on high school transcripts. In 2025, the university will use three main admission methods: direct admission, admission based on the results of the 2025 high school graduation exam, and combined admission.
According to school representatives, for many years, most high-achieving students in specialized schools (those eligible for admission based on academic transcripts) have also been eligible for admission based on international certificates or individual exam scores. Eliminating the use of academic transcripts reduces the rate of "ghost" applications (applications from students who are not eligible to enroll) because a single applicant can use multiple methods.
Previously, a number of universities did not use the academic transcript-based admission method from the beginning, such as Hanoi Medical University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Saigon University, etc.
A representative from a university that "rejects" high school transcripts commented that high school academic results depend on the assessment of each locality, each school, and even each individual teacher, making it difficult to achieve uniformity.
"A candidate with high academic scores in this region or at this school may not necessarily have better academic abilities than a candidate with lower scores in another region or at another school," he said.
According to many universities, there are more effective admission methods than simply reviewing academic transcripts (Photo: Hoai Nam).
Therefore, to ensure fairness and equity for all candidates, the school does not use academic transcripts but instead uses results from other exams and a combination of methods.
According to this person, when universities can proactively recruit students using more effective methods, there is no reason to rely on increasingly high grades in high school transcripts. This would avoid a situation where simply having a "glossy" transcript – which doesn't reflect true academic ability – is enough to get into university.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/lac-dau-voi-diem-hoc-ba-truong-dai-hoc-lo-diem-khong-trung-thuc-20250206143305811.htm
Comment (0)