I have an associate in Law Enforcement and some upper division work done. I have a good retirement that I'm very grateful for and an annual visa. I don't pretend to be a teacher, but I can help with word pronunciation that sort of thing.

So for me it would be more volunteer then anything else. However, I have no desire to risk my Visa.

So it seems to me the best thing to do would be finish off the degree and take the Tefl and get the work permit even if I'm volunteering.

So how does one go about getting the degree without cheating?

By the way I live in Udon so I assume that limits things a bit.

There are a number of study-online and distance-learning classes available- I'm not intimately familiar with them all, but I know that there are some in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. (the Open University is very respectable) and Australia. Do a google on study online, distance learning, and open universities. Anybody else have specific recommendations?

I have a specific answer. Payap University in Chiang Mai does have BA degree programs that are taught in English. The only draw back to that would be does a BA degree from a Thai University hold any weight back in farang land? I don't have an answer to that. I have spoken to a teaching recruiter from Japan (via Skype) and he said normally, teachers should have degrees from farang universities or colleges. I told him about Payap University and he said it sounded very interesting (whatever that means) and they would have to look into it more on a case by case basis.

The guy in charge of admissions is from the USA and is a retired U.S. Navy Officer named Sam. The girls who work in admissions are Thai but they do speak English well. Most of the courses are approved by the VA (veterans administration in the USA) educational section. They are in the process of approving the course I plan on taking (English Communication).

dont go to kao sarn road and buy one. They are cracking down on teachers who have fake degrees now.

I have a specific answer. Payap University in Chiang Mai does have BA degree programs that are taught in English. The only draw back to that would be does a BA degree from a Thai University hold any weight back in farang land? I don't have an answer to that.

This was my main concern before I enrolled in a university here in Thailand (Ramkhamhaeng Int.) and I found out something. The BA English program offered there lacks only one thing to make it accetptable in the West: a higher math course. The simple answer is to take a course like stats or calculus which they offer in the BBA program, and then it's accepted. The only serious problem for me is passing that math class . Keep in mind that hundreds, maybe thousands of Thai students who have graduated from Thai state and private universities get student visas to study for master's degrees abroad in the US, Europe and Australia every year. If these Thai universities were not accredited, then theses students wouldn't be taken on at these universities abroad.

Of course Udon is too far from Chiang Mai; you'd have to move. If you're already retired, I doubt you need to worry if a BA from Thailand is impressive in New York City or London. A Thai bachelor's degree would be impress Thais in Thailand. I have a BA from a third rate US uni, and the Thai schools who employed me never questioned its ranking. It would have satisfied the authorities (if the schools had bothered to submit my documents), simply because it's a real bachelor's from an accredited US university.

Good luck. An online degree might be the way to go (we used to call it a correspondence school degree, like LaSalle).

I have an associate in Law Enforcement and some upper division work done. I have a good retirement that I'm very grateful for and an annual visa. I don't pretend to be a teacher, but I can help with word pronunciation that sort of thing.

So for me it would be more volunteer then anything else. However, I have no desire to risk my Visa.

So it seems to me the best thing to do would be finish off the degree and take the Tefl and get the work permit even if I'm volunteering.

So how does one go about getting the degree without cheating?

By the way I live in Udon so I assume that limits things a bit.

Hi Ray,

As you are in Udon Thani you may be interested in this:

Khon Kaen University offer a Bachelor of Education program - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and a Bachelor of Science Program in English Education ( in collaboration with Northern Arizona University USA)

if you are interested in this you can contact KKU International Relations Office on 043 202059

Thank You

Of course Udon is too far from Chiang Mai; you'd have to move. If you're already retired, I doubt you need to worry if a BA from Thailand is impressive in New York City or London. A Thai bachelor's degree would be impress Thais in Thailand. I have a BA from a third rate US uni, and the Thai schools who employed me never questioned its ranking. It would have satisfied the authorities (if the schools had bothered to submit my documents), simply because it's a real bachelor's from an accredited US university.

Good luck. An online degree might be the way to go (we used to call it a correspondence school degree, like LaSalle).

Thats what i'm doing.This course was linked on this forum a couple of months ago and since then ive been in contact with them and everything seems sound.

http://www.ultraversity.net/

http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home.html

Its not cheap and lack of direct contact with fellow students will require more will power than say studying full time,but the online community they have is supposed to be outstanding.

I did look into studying at a Thai Uni but i was put off that because it seems that the Japanese and Korean education authorities don't take them to seriously.Anyone know much about this?

Wow, how things have changed. It used to be that you only heard from people trying to figure out how to get around the rules.

Refreshing.

Have a look at the website from the University of Wollongong, in Australia.

There are a number of study-online and distance-learning classes available- I'm not intimately familiar with them all, but I know that there are some in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. (the Open University is very respectable) and Australia. Do a google on study online, distance learning, and open universities. Anybody else have specific recommendations?

Here are 3 for a start. These are all regionally accredited.

Empire State College – State University of New York

http://www.esc.edu/esconline/online2.nsf/h...orlearning.html

Charter Oak State College (Connecticut)

http://www.charteroak.edu/

Thomas Edison State College (New Jersey)

http://www.tesc.edu/

http://www.tesc.edu/698.php

(Also see this Portfolio Guide, using life experience/work for course credit through portfolio assessment.)

http://www.degreeinfo.com/article2_1.html

-redwood