New students of International University are upset because of their major assignment.

(Dan Tri) - Many new students were "shocked" when they were admitted to the International University and learned that the school would allocate majors based on the registered majors, not allowing them to enter directly into the major they wanted.

This is a big shock for candidates who have spent a lot of time researching and nurturing their dreams about a specific field of study.

From personal expectations to industry allocation "shock"

Reflecting to Dan Tri , Thao Thanh ( Dong Thap ), a new student at International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University, expressed her frustration when she was admitted and then found out that the school assigned classes instead of allowing new students to study whatever major they wanted.

The candidate said that his only wish was to study Logistics and Supply Chain Management. However, when he applied to the International University, this major was classified in the IU05 Engineering group.

In the group, there are 7 other majors including: Industrial systems engineering; Electronics - telecommunications engineering; Control and automation engineering; Biomedical engineering; Space engineering (Analysis and application of big data); Construction engineering; Construction management.

However, upon admission, students realize that they are not free to choose their major but must participate in a placement process based on their wishes and school scores.

Thanh said that the school's admission information is not clearly stated so candidates cannot grasp it.

The school's information mentions the criteria for majors and training programs, but is not clear about the quotas for each method (Screenshot).

Although it is stated that the targets will be allocated according to each method, the targets are grouped together in general (Screenshot).

Thao Thanh is worried that with a score close to the standard, she will not be able to compete in hot industries. She may still be "pushed into" drier industries such as Construction Engineering or Electrical Engineering..., industries that are considered suitable for men or industries that she does not like.

"Or if unfortunately the quota for the majors is full, I will be assigned to Biomedical Engineering, for example, I did not study Biology in high school, now I "don't know a single word"... So how can I study?", Thao Thanh's worry is also the concern of many other candidates.

On social networking forums for students, many candidates also complained similarly.

In response to the above question, the International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University said that when candidates register for admission online on the school's admissions page, they will be required to choose their desired major from the group of majors they have been admitted to.

The school will determine the major in the group of majors according to the candidates' registration wishes and this distribution step is carried out according to the principle of priority according to the candidates' registration wishes and according to the admission score.

Therefore, the school affirms that the reflection that "candidates admitted to the IU05 group cannot proactively choose their major and the school will automatically arrange majors for them" is incorrect.

Despite this assertion, when asked whether the school can guarantee that 100% of candidates who want to study a certain major will be admitted to that major, the school said it will consider it.

“The school will proceed with the distribution step according to the principles approved by the Admissions Council: Candidates admitted to the major group will continue to register for their 1st-2nd-3rd wishes in the desired majors in the training major group. The Admissions Council will prioritize considering the candidate's 1st wish. If the 1st wish major has run out of quotas, it will continue to consider wishes 2, 3…”, the school said.

Students enrolling at International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University (Photo: School).

Through the review of reporters, the information announcements on enrollment, quotas, and allocation of majors... are stated separately in many documents, at different times, and are adjusted during the admission process. The wording in the enrollment information can be interpreted in many different ways. This makes it difficult for candidates to access and grasp the whole picture.

"Twisted" industry group

One of the core issues of the candidates' reactions lies in the way the school builds the major groups. Specifically, the IU05 group is called "Technical Group" but it groups together 8 majors belonging to 3 different level II major codes (this is the code showing the training field code) 51, 52 and 58 according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training .

The school explained that this is done based on the level of connectivity and the amount of general knowledge of the majors in each group to divide the majors.

The school recruits students by major group according to the school's training program development strategy to increase connectivity between majors, create conditions for students to change majors, and study interdisciplinary and dual major programs.

Responding to the question that the school grouped difficult-to-recruit majors with popular majors to make it easier to recruit and then "forced" candidates into difficult-to-recruit majors, the school said it had announced this in the enrollment information.

Enrollment by major group will be implemented according to a common strategy for all majors in the 2025 enrollment period and there will be no distinction between majors that are difficult to enroll or majors that are easy to enroll.

However, according to the reporter's research, the number of admissions compared to the target of this group of majors has clearly shown inadequacies.

Typically, in 2024, majors will appear such as: Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering (quota 50, enrollment 89), exceeding 39 students, equivalent to 78%; Control and Automation Engineering (quota 90, enrollment 127), exceeding 37 students, equivalent to 41.1%; Logistics and Supply Chain Management (quota 160, enrollment 200), exceeding 40 students, equivalent to 25%.

Meanwhile, there are industries with very low admission rates, only reaching 50%, and even in 2023 it will be only 27.5%.

The regulation of the Ministry of Education and Training is a violation when exceeding 3%.

Admission quotas and numbers of majors in group IU05 in the last 2 years (Synthesis: PV).

According to experts, this is "ironic" and there is no clear similarity between industries.

Mr. Nam, Head of Training Department of a large public university, said that grouping majors in this way seems "awkward", and there is no clear similarity between majors in the IU05 group.

According to him, when building a group of industries, the industries in the group need to share the same training code (level II code).

"I don't understand how the school will determine its quota with this arrangement. This information is not publicly available in the school's Admissions Information, so it is difficult for society to monitor and supervise," said Mr. Nam.

International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University (Photo: School).

A leader of the admissions office of another public school in Ho Chi Minh City also said this goes against career guidance and choosing majors for candidates.

“For a long time, we have been saying that you should choose a major first and then choose a school. But this way of doing things puts candidates in a situation where they choose a school first and then wait for their major to be assigned. For example, candidates who only like Logistics and Supply Chain Management are now forced to choose two other majors if there are no more vacancies. So why are they still passionate about studying?”, he shared.

This person also advised candidates and parents to be extremely careful when encountering schools that group students in this way because they may be placed in an unwanted major.

“There are more and more confusing admission methods, some schools play “tricks” in admission to easily coordinate enrollment quotas from easy majors to difficult majors and vice versa. Therefore, candidates need to read the admission information carefully, ask clearly, preferably in writing or have a recording when choosing schools with such confusing admission information,” the expert said.

The leader of a southern university protested the way the majors were assigned to students.

He frankly said: “I think that recruiting students in this way is “unethical”. The right to choose a major should belong to the candidates. Candidates have chosen a major with high expectations for their future, but now they may have to switch to another major. The school does not have the right to decide their future.”

International University has exceeded enrollment targets for many years.

At the end of 2024, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Training issued Conclusion No. 33/KL-TTr after conducting an inspection of the International University, Ho Chi Minh City National University.

In which, there is content, for 2 consecutive years 2021, 2022, International University recruited students exceeding the allowed quota.

The school organized university admissions in 2021, with group III enrolling 26.1% more students than the announced target; group V enrolling 11.1% more students than the announced target; and group VII enrolling 11.4% more students than the announced target.

The university organized the 2022 undergraduate enrollment in the field of Business and Management, recruiting 13.5% more students; the field of Mathematics and Statistics recruited 23.3% more students; the field of Computer & Information Technology recruited 22.5% more students; and the field of Engineering Technology recruited 18.8% more students than the announced target.

* Student and expert names have been changed

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/tan-sinh-vien-dai-hoc-quoc-te-buc-xuc-vi-bi-phan-bo-nganh-hoc-20250829092220955.htm