| Page last updated:
23 August, 2009 |
Lack of qualified lecturers at Thai universities:At IIS-RU, international university professors are queuing up for teachingAs Bangkok Post reported, the number of degree programs at Thai universities increased over 10-fold in only a few years. Fears are that there are too many unqualified lecturers conducting these courses. One of the reasons is that universities have to optimize their income from tuition fees due to the lack of other sources of income, such as from research and development for industries. This situation is even worse in the field of international programs at Thai universities. There are over 30 universities offering an English program, and two universities offering a Chinese program, in which all subjects are conducted in the foreign language. Since it is generally accepted that international program fees are higher than for a normal program, this offers a valuable source of income, along with gaining reputation for the university. Unfortunately, the requirements to a lecturer in an international program are much higher. These lecturers need to teach their subject in an international setting, what needs them to be a specialist with lots of experience in their field. They need to speak English fluently, to deal successfully with multi-cultural student groups, and to apply western teaching techniques aiming to develop skills, as opposed to the textbook oriented rote learning widely practiced in Thai programs. The higher income opportunities meet at most programs with radical cost-cutting programs. Students widely complain about lecturers who can's speak English, which includes Ph.D. holders who made their doctor many years ago in Australia and, as such, are highly qualified for international programs on paper. Only too many lecturers don't even know what their textbook knows, and as they feel uncertain with students' expectations in a multi-cultural environment, they end up enforcing perfect student uniforms and formally respectful behavior against the lecturers. That is the opposite of what it needs to develop critical thinking skills. For all that, Thai parents pay tuition fees up to 1,880,000 Baht for a Bachelor degree program in Thailand. (Source: http://studyinthailand.org/study_abroad_thailand_university/cost_Thai_undergraduate.html) Ramkhamhaeng University's Institute of International Studies (IIS-RU) chose a different way back in 2000, when the current director, Dr. Piboon Puriveth, took seat. The former acting rector of Ramkhamhaeng University used his personal network to university professors in the US and Europe to build up his faculty. IIS-RU works with a 'flying faculty': International university professors come to Thailand on a regular basis to conduct their courses in Bangkok and in learning centers in Chiang Mai, Chiangrai, Hat Yai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket, and Surat Thani. For that, IIS-RU adopted the modular system with each 48 credit-hour course conduced within 4 weeks including the final examination. IIS-RU has currently over 1,600 students from 50 countries, with foreigners making up to 50% in the undergraduate programs. Over 90% of the courses on Bachelor, Graduate Diploma, Master, and Ph.D./LL.D. level are conducted by western university professors. Thai lecturers conduct merely courses in Thai language and Thai Politics and Society. As opposed to over 120 western university lecturers, there are only 5 Thai lecturers across all programs. (Source: "We currently have long waiting lists of western university professors from the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Canada since we don't grow as fast as word of mouth spread about the teaching opportunity at IIS-RU." says Dr. Piboon Puriveth, the director of IIS-RU. Ramkhamhaeng University centralized all international programs of its faculties in the Institute of International Studies. With that, it avoided jealousy between the faculties while concurrently creating a really international unit. Students come now from all continents in numbers that grew over 10-fold in the past 5 years. "Conducting courses in such an environment forces you to keep state-of-the-art in your field", Professor Ulrich Werner says who left a top-management job 6 years ago to teach at IIS-RU. "As more foreign students are in class, as more critical the Thai students are as well." he adds. "Since the Thai students want to get in touch with the foreigners, they automatically begin practicing there little bit of English they could speak until then, and after 6 months they speak English fluently. The university doesn't need to do anything for that." Professor Ulrich Werner also heads the multi-university team of Studyinthailand.org, a not for profit Web site promoting to study in Thailand in general, and studying an international program for Thai students in particular. With his research focus in international higher education management and marketing, he learned a lot about practices of international programs at Thai universities. "In this field, one cannot trust any university what includes the 'name' universities in Thailand. An international program will prepare you for making a career in an international field, here in Thailand or abroad. The qualification of the professors is the crucial point. Just having a Thai university environment with Thai professors and Thai societal rules, just using US textbooks and English as the medium of instruction, is merely a waste of money and time", Professor Ulrich summarizes his experiences. ---------------------------------------- Professor Ulrich Werner, graduate and undergraduate lecturer in Business Informatics, New Media, and Communication, The Institute of International Studies (IIS-RU), Ramkhamhaeng University, RU Printing Press Building 7th floor, Ramkhamhaeng University, Ramkhamhaeng Road, Huamark, Bangkok 10240, phone: 0-2310-8895-9, email: ulrich.werner@studyinthailand.org, Web: http://www.ulrichwerner.com, http://studyinthailand.org
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Institute of International Studies (IIS-RU), Ramkhamhaeng University, RU Printing Press Building 7th floor, Huamark, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240 |
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