“University autonomy” appears constantly in the press every admission season — usually attached to tuition hike stories. But financial autonomy under the law is a complete governance model, in which the power to set tuition is only one piece, paired with commensurate accountability. The current framework comprises the Law on Higher Education 2025 (125/2025/QH15, effective 1 January 2026; replacing the Law on Higher Education 2012), Decree 60/2021/ND-CP on financial autonomy of public non-business units (amended by Decree 111/2025/ND-CP, effective 07/7/2025), and Decree 238/2025/ND-CP on tuition (effective 03/9/2025).
This article explains the financial autonomy model of public universities and the real scope of tuition-setting power.
1. University autonomy under the Law on Higher Education
Article 14(1) of the Law on Higher Education 2025 recognizes the autonomy of higher education institutions in enrollment, training, scientific research, finance and personnel — but always tied to accountability to management authorities, learners and society. Autonomy is not “doing whatever one wants”; it is deciding within the law and answering for those decisions.
2. Four financial autonomy groups (Decree 60/2021/ND-CP)
Decree 60/2021/ND-CP classifies public non-business units into four groups by level of regular-expenditure self-coverage:
- Group 1: self-covering regular expenditure and investment expenditure — the highest autonomy;
- Group 2: self-covering regular expenditure at 100% or more (not yet investment) — the common model of large “fully autonomous” universities;
- Group 3: partially self-covering regular expenditure (from 10% to under 100%), in three sub-groups;
- Group 4: regular expenditure covered by the State (under 10%).
Each university builds a financial autonomy plan for a 5-year stability period, submitted to its superior management authority. The higher the group, the deeper the autonomy: deciding the use of financial resources, professional and management spending levels, hiring experts and scientists with superior remuneration, and establishing funds as prescribed.
3. Tuition-setting power — two distinct cases
Under Article 7 of Decree 238/2025/ND-CP, a public autonomous universitys tuition power is clearly divided:
Case 1 — Accredited programs: for programs meeting quality accreditation standards of the Ministry of Education and Training (or equivalent international standards), the university may self-determine tuition levels based on economic-technical norms issued by the university itself, while disclosing and accounting to learners and society. This is the greatest “privilege” of tuition autonomy.
Case 2 — Non-accredited programs: the university applies frameworks and levels set by competent authorities, on a roadmap toward full cost recovery suited to each areas socio-economic conditions.
In other words: quality accreditation is the “key” unlocking tuition self-determination. The more accredited programs a university has, the wider its tuition-setting scope.
4. Tuition autonomy does not mean arbitrary increases
Even when self-determining fees, universities remain bound by:
- Annual increase roadmap capped at 15% for higher education;
- Disclosure and accountability duties: explaining price components, increase roadmaps, and benchmarking against training quality;
- Tuition exemption and reduction policies for policy beneficiaries, the poor, etc., which must be fully implemented — autonomy does not waive social obligations;
- Compliance with the Law on Prices 2023: fees must ensure cost recovery with reasonable accumulation.
5. The other side of autonomy: accountability
Autonomy comes with controls: financial disclosure, independent audits, reports to superior authorities; the university council decides major financial matters. Universities abusing autonomy — raising tuition beyond regulations, misspending, lacking transparency — face inspection and sanctions, and even reconsideration of their granted autonomy level.
6. Frequently asked questions
Q: Is an autonomous university a private university?
A: No. An autonomous university remains public — it is only granted a high level of financial autonomy by the State, with gradually reduced budget subsidies. Private universities operate under full financial autonomy from the start.
Q: Do students keep tuition exemption/reduction policies at autonomous universities?
A: Yes. The duty to implement State tuition exemption, reduction and study-cost support policies applies to all public universities, including autonomous ones.
Q: Is Decree 81/2021/ND-CP still in force?
A: No. Decree 81/2021/ND-CP has been fully replaced by Decree 238/2025/ND-CP since 03/9/2025; tuition rules now rely on the new instrument.
Need advice on the autonomy model or building a financial plan for an educational institution? Contact us for advice.
This article was prepared by the FLAW AI Legal Council. Content is pending QA Council review before submission for approval; information is for reference only and does not replace legal advice for your specific case.