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8.1 The student intake policy and admission criteria are defined, communicated, published, and up-to date.
The intake policy and the admission criteria are clearly specified in the programme and the poster or leaflets for programme advertisement (see the programme and the faculty webpage: sola.kmutt.ac.th/homesola/?page_id=358). The selection criteria focus on academic background (a master’s degree, with a GPA of at least 3.25), English proficiency (valid TOEFL or IELTS scores–within 2 years) and research mindedness as shown by their research proposal and the performance in the recruitment interview. This is to ensure the quality of the entering students.
The information about the programme reaches the target audience well as each year, there are a lot of applicants and the selection process is quite competitive. The selection ratio is satisfactory. The programme can also attract foreign students who stay in Thailand or come directly from their home countries.
Figure 8.1 Intake of First-Year Students (last 5 academic years)
| Academic Year | Applicants | ||
| No. Applied | No. Offered | No. Admitted/Enrolled | |
| 2555 | 18 | 6 | 4 |
| 2556 | 26 | 7 | 5 |
| 2557 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| 2558 | 19 | 5 | 4 |
| 2559 | 22 | 3 | 3 |
Figure 8.2 Total Number of Students
|
Academic Year |
Students |
Total |
||||
| 1st year | 2nd year | 3rd year | 4th year | >4th year | ||
| 2555 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 24 |
| 2556 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 27 |
| 2557 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 30 |
| 2558 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 30 |
| 2559 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 31 |
Figure 8.3 Percentage of foreign students
| Curriculum | Total number of students | Number of foreign students | % of foreign students |
| Ph.D. | 30 | 10 | 33.33 |
8.2 The methods and criteria for the selection of students are determined and evaluated.
The methods and selection criteria are clearly determined and the selection methods and criteria are effective enough even though there is no formal evaluation of the selection methods.
So far the selection process has help the programme get qualified PhD candidates as the selection criteria focus on language proficiency, academic background, and research mindedness which are the key attributes required in the programme. Only qualified applicants will be accepted for the programme.
The recruitment process starts at the university level. The university admission office will send the applicant’s basic information to the faculty and then the PhD programme committee. Only the applicants who meet all the required qualification will be eligible for the next selection process. For those who do not have TOEFL or IELTS scores, they can choose to take the written exam (focus on English and academic background) provided by the School of Liberal Arts. The exam is marked by an evaluator using clear marking criteria. The scores from the written exam will be sent to the graduate studies committee (GSC) for consideration. Then, only candidates who pass the written exam will be invited for the interview which will be done by 3 appointed recruitment team. Although the recruitment team consists only of 3 staff, the recruitment process involves the whole PhD committee as the applicants’ proposals are circulated among all the PhD committee members to read, evaluate and give comments (See Appendix 19_PhD proposal evaluation form for recruitment). Then their suggestions on the applicants’ academic background and suitability of the research and the programme are sent to the recruitment team as basic information for the screening interview. Only applicants with research-mindedness and those with sufficient academic background will be accepted. As for Plan B applicants, only the ones with publications and strong research background would be selected. The recruitment results will be presented to the PhD committee and the GSC to determine and announce the final results.
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- Appendix _PhD Proposal Submission Form and Evaluation Form
- Appendix 19_PhD proposal evaluation form for recruitment
8.3 There is an adequate monitoring system for student progress, academic performance, and workload.
Each year the academic advisor would be appointed to take care of the students in all aspects of their PhD life. Apart from the research supervisors, the academic advisor plays an important role in monitoring the students’ progress, academic performance and workload.
While doing research, the students are required to meet the supervisors at least 2 times each semester (See Appendix 20_ PhD Document: the requirement of presence p. 3). They have to fill in the progress form and do oral presentation at the end of the semester (See Appendix 21_PhD progress report forms). The PhD progress report of each semester is set in the GSC schedule and announced to all staff and students. The supervisors and the internal examiners read the progress reports and listen to their presentations which is an open sessions. Questions, comments and suggestions from general audiences and the internal examiners are encouraged in at the end of each student’s progress presentation.
There is a system for assigning credits to the students’ theses. Students will earn the credits from both the process and the products or the chapters that they could finish writing. For examples, credits will be assigned for the proposal, the data collection and analysis, and the chapters and the viva. The thesis supervisor will be the ones who determined the numbers of credits that the students should earn in each semester at the end of each semester. The credits earned will be recorded and submitted to the registration office.
Self assessment is also used to monitor students’ progress. Each semester, the students would evaluate their satisfaction about their progress and performance semester (See Appendix 21_PhD progress report forms). From the evaluation process, students are satisfied with adequate supervision and their own progress and performance.
Regulations on the numbers of supervisees that each PhD staff can supervise are also strictly followed. The programme does not allow one supervisor to have more than 10 students.
As for the workload for each semester, the programme follows the study plan outlined in the curriculum. The students take one or two courses in each semester depending on their track (Plan A or B). They then will be encouraged to take the qualifying exam and the proposal defense in the first year. The students will discuss the research plan with their research supervisors. With these monitoring processes, the programme can take care of the students’ progress and performance. However, most of the students take more time to finish the programme. An average student takes 4-5 years to complete because of the publication requirements in a Q1 international journal.
Being aware of this issue, the PhD committee discussed some measurements to solve the problems, such as to provide a clearer plan and timeline for each student, and to encourage the students to write the chapters at the same time as the research papers.
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8.4 Academic advice, co-curricular activities, student competition, and other student support services are available to improve learning and employability.
The main concern of the programme is developing the students to become professional researchers. Therefore, extracurricular activities such as research discussion, research cluster, and workshops on demand are provided. Students are also encouraged to sit in and participate in PhD courses arranged for their juniors or to take part in optional courses, although they are not the requirement of the programme so that they could share ideas and learn more from the class discussion and the issues explored in different cohorts.
To enhance students’ learning and to promote the academic atmosphere in the programme, a PhD community has also been developed physically and through on-line discussion. The students work and cooperate with each other in their PhD common room where the physical community was created. The students are also suggested to regularly contribute ideas in the academic on-line PhD discussion.
Furthermore, students will also gain academic advice from their academic advisor. In case of new students whose research topics have not been completely developed, they would be assigned one or two pre-supervisors to provide additional supports until they gain a clear focus.
So far, there is no problem of employability because most of the students who study in this programme already have a job, and from the interview with graduate users, the results are very satisfactory; they are satisfied with the quality of the graduates of the programme and they clearly mentioned that the programme is very strong in terms of research.
8.5 The physical, social and psychological environment is conducive for education and research as well as personal well-being
To have strong community of PhD students, the common room is provided for the students to come and spend time together. The room is equipped with four computers, two printers, tables, chairs and a small refrigerator. The students like to spend time in the common room and bought a sofa to make the room more comfortable. For those who would like to have a quiet area to study, they can work in the resource centre which is in the same floor as the common room, or reserve a study room on the ninth floor. The students share information with each other and they have good relationship in their community.