Whitey Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 There is no such thing as any easy legit degree. I spent 3 years at university and for personal financial reasons I had to quit college and work. I traveled a lot and fell into teaching. No one cared about degree and I didn't need to lie about it. But then I found myself in Thailand and decreasing job opportunities. I left Thailand to finish my degree. I found an accredited distance program that allowed me to take CLEP and DSST tests to finish up enough credits to get my degree. The tests weren't easy and i had to study for each test to prove I had a handle on the material that anyone studying in a traditional university would have gained. By the way, CLEP and DSST's are done by the same people who do the SAT and GRE. Anyways, I managed to take enough tests in 3 weeks to finish my degree. All in all, it cost me about $2200 for all the fees. Next for me? I found a state university back in the states that has online graduate programs and that is what I am working for, a masters in instructional technology. For other Americans: I really suggest finding an online university for you to finish your BA degree or even going for a master's. The online programs can be done anywhere you have an internet connection. Maybe that isn't that special, but what is special, you can get federal financial aid for online programs. For a BA, if you choose the right university, your pell grant will pay enough to pay your tuition(remember, you are earning next to nothing in Thailand) and if you choose to take out any loans, you can get enough to pay for your living expenses while you study. For example, a Master's program provides enough loan financial aid for more than what you would earn as a teacher in Thailand. The same goes for a BA student. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamypocopants Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Ultraversity is another online degree, the distance learning subsidiary of Anglia Ruskin University, England. "its main rival is the Open University - the UK's biggest distance learning provider. While OU delivers a few courses or modules in a fully online format, all its degree programmes are taught by supported distance learning - a mix of online and face-to-face teaching and summer schools. This makes OU more expensive compared to Ultraversity's £850-a-year course fees. OU degrees also take longer to complete - on average six years - while Ultraversity is designed to take three years while the student is in full-time work." cited Guardian newspaper online. Their degree is called a BA (Hons) Learning, Technology and Research, and looks like an interesting option for someone living in Thailand who wants to get a legitimate degree while still working. I am in much the same boat as the original poster and after looking at the myriad of dodgy options that are offered online the above appears like it may be for me. If you google Ultraversity, you get an article in the Guardian newspaper giving an overview of the university and degree. When I looked last, some of the degrees offered in English at Ramkhamheng University looked like they could be really interesting and cheap too. Unfortunately, the one I was interested in is only offered in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robski Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 (edited) Thanks very much Mamypocopants I've had a good look at the website and it does seem a really good method of obtaining a degree that is related to teaching. Perhaps not as indepth as OU, but that's not nessecarily a bad thing, and the format is much more flexible. I think it could be the one. Kind regards Edited November 27, 2006 by Robski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunderland Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 For anyone wishing to put the work in, I can recommend looking at RDI's website. They are a UK based company which handles distance learning courses on behalf of Sunderland, Leicester and Bradford Universities. Their website is http://www.rdi.co.uk/index.html RDI also administer the running of the course in the SE Asia region through this website in Hong Kong - http://www.managementlearning.net A 3 year BSc in Business and Management Studies offered by the University of Bradford would cost in the region of 500,000 baht once you add on the costs of taking examinations at an approved centre in Thailand (usually the British Council). If you have a business related HND (equivalent to a 2 year Foundation Degree) you can apply for a one year top-up degree in Business Management at the University of Sunderland. The cost is approximately 250,000 baht. Obviously these courses are cheaper if you study them back in the UK, but the distance learning allows you to continue working in your present location, which is ideal for those who would find returning to the UK a difficult or expensive option. I am sure that there are other similar accredited distance learning courses in the USA and Australia. I mentioned the above as I was looking to top up my 2 years of previous study. Just be careful when searching the Internet that the degrees are accredited. I am sure there will soon come a day when degrees that required zero effort will be worth zero too ... so I back those who advise putting in the effort to get a real degree. You needn't worry about getting a first class honours degree. Although I don't recommend it, I doubt that a third class 'drinking degree' will stand against many applicants in the majority of Thai schools ... unless the authorities do push forward with their wish to have every teacher working here as a qualified teacher with a BA Education + PGCE, etc. I heard a rumour (mmmmm ... maybe it was here on the forum) that next year you might need a BA + MA + PhD + MBE just to teach kindergarten. But I have my doubts. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robski Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I heard a rumour (mmmmm ... maybe it was here on the forum) that next year you might need a BA + MA + PhD + MBE just to teach kindergarten. But I have my doubts.Cheers! Crikey where are they going to find teachers to teach you all that in the first place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastender Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Can we have a forum about studying in Thailand please? If not please answer my questions. Can I transfer my points between the British O.U. and Ramkamhaeng university? How about a similar university in Nakhon Sawan? Could I do a degree with hounous in English at Ram uni? A friend of mine studied the Thai language on a government course with recognised exams. Where can I do the same? etc etc. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florin Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 By British O.U. you mean an online university? Are they accredited? If yes, I don't see why not...you have to have minimum "C" grades for the subjects you want to transfer, though. You'll also very likely need an official course outline from the uni for each subject. As for the existence of a forum on the topic, I guess there needs to be enough demand for that...there's obviously more people looking to teach here than to study Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Mist Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I'll just move it to teaching forum, might get a better response there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Good idea, Bronco- we've had the occasional thread or three on this topic, if you look through the backlog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbkudu Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Can we have a forum about studying in Thailand please? If not please answer my questions.Can I transfer my points between the British O.U. and Ramkamhaeng university? How about a similar university in Nakhon Sawan? Could I do a degree with hounous in English at Ram uni? A friend of mine studied the Thai language on a government course with recognised exams. Where can I do the same? etc etc. Thanks. Like IJWT said, the answers are here if you look around. You can transfer your credits to Ramkamhaeng (do you mean their international program or Thai program?). I had some credits from previous study in the US, but it was so long ago, it costs extra and the process was too annoying for me to do it, so I didn't bother. Here is more information Ram Inter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Mist Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Good idea, Bronco- we've had the occasional thread or three on this topic, if you look through the backlog. you can pin this in the teaching section, if you think it warrants it, you guys are the chalkies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 There have been a number of past threads with various information- perhaps it's time to collect them together and pin them- give me some time and I'll merge & pin 'em all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastender Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Thanks for the response. Maybe I worded my original post badly. My real point was, isn't it time for a dedicated branch on studying in Thailand? This would include questions on universities, applying for courses, and student visas. This has absolutely nothing to do with teaching English and I don't see why it should be tagged onto that branch. Maybe the existance of such a branch will boost interest in the subject? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 You can ask admin if you like, but the demand doesn't really seem to justify it. We get a thread started once every few months, then a few posts, then nothing. We can accommodate you here with a few threads (since it's slightly related to teaching, at least, and many of us work at the universities where you'd be studying (if studying locally)). If the activity on the threads justifies it, perhaps admin will consider expanding it into a subforum of some sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casanundra Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 (edited) Can we have a forum about studying in Thailand please? If not please answer my questions.Can I transfer my points between the British O.U. and Ramkamhaeng university? How about a similar university in Nakhon Sawan? Could I do a degree with hounous in English at Ram uni? A friend of mine studied the Thai language on a government course with recognised exams. Where can I do the same? etc etc. Thanks. Working in University Management within Thailand as I do, then I can probably be best placed to help you here. At the University where I work (Chula) they do allow some credit transfers but only for courses and subjects containing a similar subject content to what they teach on the course you intend to study on. So if for example you wanted to do a business degree and let's say for arguments sake that economics 101 was a subject on both courses and you completed successfully it at the British O.U. (open university) at a grade equivalent to a GPA 3.0 (grade B at Chula or 40% minimum pass at the O.U.) then it may be considered as a suitable credit transfer. The other way to do it and one which is considered far more acceptable is to come in from a recognised partner university who already have an agreed credit transfer program in place, which makes the process a whole lot easier to deal with. Unfortunately I don't believe the Open university is one of those recognised as a partner university across Thailand. Of course I could be wrong in this assumption. The credit transfer system does generally costs some money for admin fees and to be honest, it is often better and easier all round to just come in and do the course from scratch as the Thai admin are not often the best people to deal with for things that are out of the ordinary. To answer two of your specific questions: "Could I do a degree with hounous in English at Ram uni?" Yes, most under graduate bachelor degrees are honour degrees in Thailand "A friend of mine studied the Thai language on a government course with recognised exams. Where can I do the same?" You can study Thai language at Chulalongkorn university with recognised exams. See the link below. http://www.arts.chula.ac.th/~asc/intensive...nsive_thai.html Edited January 29, 2007 by Casanundra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Hello I have asked the Mods a couple of times to be honest if we can have a thread or sticky about this topic. I think there should be enough demand - people can live here cheaply whilst studying an online course. heck - we have a Farming In Thailand forum.........and we're probably not supposed to actually be farmers are we?! I say thread or sticky it. Please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I also like the idea of a study sub-forum. This could also maybe give details of 'interesting' online/distance learning course that can be followed whilst living in Thailand. (Bearing in mind that we don't all live in BKK where most of the courses are based). Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceBlondie Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I'll go mention it to the other mods. It seems we have sub-sub forums for curing hangnails during Songkran in Nakhon Sahmware, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I still need a leeeeeeetle more time to get that all-encompassing "study in Thailand" thread together- sorry, but my day job is interfering with my foruming. I'll search through the threads here in the Teacher's Forum, but I know there have been a couple in other forums- I'm not going to search everywhere, though, so if you know where there is one (OUTSIDE of the teaching forum) then please post a link here pretty soon. "S" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Can I transfer my points between the British O.U. and Ramkamhaeng university?How about a similar university in Nakhon Sawan? Could I do a degree with hounours in English at Ram uni? A friend of mine studied the Thai language on a government course with recognised exams. Where can I do the same? Ijustwannateach - thank you, we understand you also have to work full time. Delays are not a problem. The way i see it, I think it could be run along the lines of a forum, answering questions like the ones above. Within that forum would also be areas/threads for people studying here to discuss their actual courses. An important source of information would also be a sticky with lots of links to courses/course providers both here and in other countries. I'll start the ball rolling, http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=102325&hl= (How do i get a BA here?) which has a couple of links to proper online universities who dont mind you living in LOS and doing their course http://www.ultraversity.net/ http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home.html Does this help you? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Great, thanks, Markg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastender Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Thanks all. And helpful answers Casanundra. Incidentally, I just started an OU course in the UK. It requires 300 points to make a degree. They will credit me with 120 points from my previous study of HNC electronics. These only count as level 1 points so I'm now required to gain a further 120 level 2 points and 60 level 3. An honours requires a further 60. I have started to study English language so if and when I graduate my qualification would have no single subject and would be referred to as an 'Open Degree'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Heres some more www.londonexternal.ac.ukhttp://prospectus.leedsmet.ac.uk/main/deta...mp;attendance=3Mods. I will be honest, i trawled these links from another forum. If you think that is ungentlemanly then please delete this.I'm just trying to help thoughMark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ijustwannateach Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I'll check 'em out, shortly. My workload has increased what with the "degree-no degree" troll traffic accident in slow motion happening on the news thread. Like I said, THAT thread is a prime example of why we don't do that in here!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceBlondie Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I'll check 'em out, shortly. My workload has increased what with the "degree-no degree" troll traffic accident in slow motion happening on the news thread. Like I said, THAT thread is a prime example of why we don't do that in here!!! Speaking of witches - I mean, speaking of which thread - here she is: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...p;#entry1114008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dupont Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 (edited) I think after this latest putcsh, there will, or should be more interest in this route and it will certainly sort the wheat from the chaff. Perhaps have a zero tolerance policy on OT and trolling. I'm going to chase up the Uni's in Phuket, as they don't answer E-Mails or return phone calls. Prince of Songkhla (Phuket) have a few interesting courses, but I don't mind living in Bangkok again if I need to. If anybody is in the know, I have a college diploma in Business studies, and the first two years of a distance learning degree completed and credited. Will this cut muct ice over here. Also have my TEFL and a couple of years in over here, but I never submitted a false degree and haven't taught for 5 years or so. Edited February 1, 2007 by Dupont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Prince of Songkhla (Phuket) have a few interesting courses, but I don't mind living in Bangkok again if I need to.. Erm Dupont, please could you post what the interesting courses are from Prince of SOngkhla in this thread. That way, the mods can splice them all together into a really informative thread for people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted February 4, 2007 Share Posted February 4, 2007 Another interesting online course from the UK Open University is their MA in Education. Info here: http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01F01 There are also associated diplomas... The MA might be of interest to people like myself who already hold a degree/post-grad qualification in a non-English subject, such as science etc. This MA also includes a 'TEFL-like' module. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markg Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Another interesting online course from the UK Open University is their MA in Education.Info here: http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01F01 There are also associated diplomas... The MA might be of interest to people like myself who already hold a degree/post-grad qualification in a non-English subject, such as science etc. This MA also includes a 'TEFL-like' module. Simon Simon - excellent post - outlines exactly what people need to know. More like this please! Heres another couple of links that i have trawled...... http://www.universityofphoenix.com www.aiuonline.edu Though i'm led to believe they are kinda expensive AND you may have to "pretend" you're living in the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceBlondie Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Just a point about how we discuss this on an international forum. Our terminology varies widely. Americans have colleges, universities, junior colleges, community colleges, etc. - all of which are tertiary, above secondary level, age 18 to 108. "Diploma" can indicate the paper you got for completing 12th grade (secondary, high school), or uni degrees, including the paper issued by junior colleges, the AA degree (Associate of Arts), or a TEFL course, or that old standard, the cake decorating course. There are no PCGE's, no levels A and B, no HNC - so, lots of readers have no idea what those things mean. The honors designated by (Hon) are not clear; bachelor's in the USA are granted with 'laude' honors such as summa cum laude. Most unis use the semester system, two per year, and have such a long summer break (Jun-Jul-Aug) that it takes 8 long semesters (almost 4 years) to earn a bachelor's. AFAIK, people in the USA, or from there, who have a BA or BS but no B.Ed. courses, don't go back for a PCGE or PGCE or whatever. They might teach on a temporary certification ('emergency cert') for a year or two while taking the undergrad courses in education. I'd be lucky to get $88 per day teaching ESL in Texas, whereas folks with the education certification would earn double that. And of the 50 states, Texas is one that issues no B.Ed.'s! You get a BBA, BA, BS, or BM and also take all the education courses along with your subject major courses. Would somebody from the UK, Australia, and outer Patagonia care to post the terminology from their home country? Can I take a course from the Univ. of Tierra del Fuego? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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