An eLearning Project for 100,000 Students per Year in Thailand by Prof.Dr.Srisakdi Charmonman

An eLearning Project for 100,000 Students per Year in Thailand by Dr.Natanicha Chorpothong

Introduction Many papers have been written about Information Technology and Internet in Thailand. A citizen of Thailand got to use the Internet when it first started in the United States around 1969.

IT leaders met at Teach-the-Teacher Conference supported by the US National Science Foundation with Prof.Dr.Srisakdi Charmonman as the Conference Director.

Numbers of Internet Users from Thailand Year #Users , , ,200, ,300, ,600, Million Million

In 1987, the Internet was brought to Thailand for the first time at AIT. In 1995, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously presided over the opening ceremony of the international Internat Gateway at Assumption University.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously presided over the opening of the first international Internet gateway for the private sector in Thailand at ABAC.

eLearning Universities all over the world are offering eLearning so that students can study any subject from anywhere and at anytime. In 2002, when the eLearning project at Assumption University was proposed, there were million students studying for their new degrees through eLearning.

eLearning The number of students interested in and entering into eLearning are increasing rapidly. There are many universities in the world offering Internet Distance Education.

Sample of Accredited Universities University of Phoenix with over 100,000 students. Jones International University, the first online and accredited university in the US. Canadian virtual University offering 175 programs with over 2,000 courses. UNITAR in Malaysia offering 15 degree programs at the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. levels.

Benefits of eLearning 1) The online degree will be equivalent to the Degree awarded to students on campus of the university offering the degree. 2) Student can earn the degree of his choice from fully accredited universities.

Benefits of eLearning 3) Student can study from any place and at any time through a combination of online media. 4) Student can save money without having to travel to the classrooms.

Benefits of eLearning 5) Student can study and continue working full-time. 6) Student can earn his degree from universities aboard while staying with his family in Thailand.

Purposes of eLearning Project at Assumption University 1) To serve the country by allowing those interested in education the opportunity to continue their studies conveniently, no matter from where or when. 2) To promote Life-Long Learning by using the Internet.

Purposes of eLearning Project at Assumption University 3) To expand Assumption University from Traditional classroom- based education to Internet-based distance education. 4) To increase the number of students as Assumption University from about 18,000 persons in 2002 to 100,000 persons later.

Establishment The Board of Trustees of Assumption University has approved the establishment of the College of Internet Distance Education on April 25, 2002.

Establishment With the support of - Rev. Bro. Dr. Prathip Martin Komolmas - Rev. Bro. Dr. Bancha Saenghiran Assumption University will offer eLearning to 100,000 students per year and make the College: “One-Stop Services for Worldwide E-Education for Anyone, from Anywhere, and at Anytime.”

Establishment The College is located at Srisakdi Charmonman IT Building with - Oven 2,000 Internet terminals. - Over 1,000 telephone lines to dial in. - Mirror site for degree programs from other countries.

Srisakdi Charmonman IT Building

Work Plan Phase I – Construction of Srisakdi Charmonman IT Building to house the College. - Negotiation with accredited degree programs from abroad.

Work Plan Phase I – 2004 (Cont.) - Preparation and submission of Internet Distance Education programs from Assumption University to the Ministry of University Affairs. - Speeding up of human resource development for Internet Distance Education.

Work Plan Phase II – Opening of Srisakdi Charmonman IT Building in August Starting to offer MS (Management) as a classroom-based program to be switched to eLearning.

Work Plan Phase II – 2005 (Cont.) - Continuing to develop human resources. - Starting to offer short courses. - Starting to offer accredited degree programs from abroad.

Work Plan Phase III – On To offer e-Learning to 100,000 students per year, probably : - 20,000 students with Assumption University programs. - 20,000 students with Asian programs.

Work Plan Phase III – On (Cont.) - 20,000 students. With North American programs. - 20,000 students with European program. - 20,000 students with Australian & New Zealand programs.

Work Plan The College of Internet Distance Education of Assumption University has entered into cooperation with many universities such as UKeU, Middlesex and UNITAR.

UKeU  BA Enterprise  BSc Business Information Systems  MA Public Policy and Management  MSc Bioinformatics  MSc Biomedical Science  MSc Coastal Zone Management  MSc Computer Science  MSc Energy Management  MSc Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Monitoring  MSc Geographical Information Systems  MSc Information Technology and Management  MSc Renewable Energy  MSc Tourism and Travel Management  LLM Environmental Law

 BSc Business Information Technology  MSc Business Information Technology  MSc Electronic Commerce Middlesex University

 Bachelor of Business Administration  Bachelor of Information Technology  Bachelor of Information Systems  Bachelor of Management  Master of Business Administration  Master of Information and Multimedia Technology  Master of Information Technology Management  Ph.D. UNITAR

Concluding In 2002, Assumption University announced a project to offer eLearning to eventually 100,000 students per year. Main problem is that the Thai government has not established any law to allow universities to offer eLearning degree programs.

Concluding It is hoped that by the year 2010 or before that, the target of 100,000 students, if not more, will be reached.