Thongsook Internation BA (Questions for students)

[roboticeye]

1. How would you rate the work load (from 1- too easy to 10- overloaded)?

2. Do you take tests like any normal college class? What are those like?

3. Is Thongsook out in the boonies or is it near necessary things if you plan to live near the school?

4. I have read that the classes are roughly 8 hours per day, 5 days a week for up to 10 weeks. Is this hard on you?

5. What kind of learning do you actually do for 8 hours a day in school? (sorry, I just can't imagine a 8 hour school day for college. Just curious)

I look forward to reading the replies. Thanks

[brucetefl]

Honestly we do not have many students who post here. Nellyp is one. Phosphorescent is another.

But I hope you will allow me to respond since I am the founder of the program.

1. How would you rate the work load (from 1- too easy to 10- overloaded)?

Honestly I think its about a 3. This is a Thai university. We are professional and serious, but we are not trying to create a US degree in Thailand with this program. The level of difficulty is below that of Western degrees, just likes most (if not all) Thai universities. Its also focused on Adult Learners who are working.

2. Do you take tests like any normal college class? What are those like?

Mark Uekervitz, the new head of the program, is standardizing all the courses to include a group presentation and a short (3 to five page) paper. No exams.

3. Is Thongsook out in the boonies or is it near necessary things if you plan to live near the school?

Its kind of out in the boonies as its near the Southern Bus Terminal. But there is a 7-11 and market right across the street and alls and shopping centers in the vacinity.

4. I have read that the classes are roughly 8 hours per day, 5 days a week for up to 10 weeks. Is this hard on you?

Yes. But there is no real viable alternative.

5. What kind of learning do you actually do for 8 hours a day in school? (sorry, I just can't imagine a 8 hour school day for college. Just curious)

Some lecture, some group work, some presentations.

[brucetefl]

By the way, you study Monday through Friday but you can study as many or as few weeks as you choose.

[roboticeye]

By the way, you study Monday through Friday but you can study as many or as few weeks as you choose.

Thank you for the replies, Bruce.

I was really curious about the tests. I saw that you have statistics as a course requirement. Is this not a math course? How would one do a presentation on a math course?

Again, sir, thank you for you replies.

[brucetefl]

Good questions. There are obviously some rare exceptions to the rules, like Statistics.

[richard10365]

1. How would you rate the work load (from 1- too easy to 10- overloaded)?

Honestly I think its about a 3. This is a Thai university. We are professional and serious, but we are not trying to create a US degree in Thailand with this program. The level of difficulty is below that of Western degrees, just likes most (if not all) Thai universities. Its also focused on Adult Learners who are working.

Bruce, you're probably underestimating the difficulty of your classes. I never studied in a university in the west but I would not say the level of difficulty of Payap University International College was a three. We used textbooks from the US, foreign teachers from around the world, and often had homework that would consume most of my out of class hours when I wasn't sleeping or eating. Comparing other International Business Management (B.B.A.) curricula from the USA and Payap's looks very similar in structure.

A three doesn't sound very challenging. I would give Payap's IBM degree an 8 to a 10 on the difficulty meter for students with good study habits. This means they are looking for a GPA of above 3.5. Unless of course they are a genius and would probably end up with a high GPA at Payap or any other top rated university around the world. Those who want to just pass with a 2.0 minimum would have a difficulty level of a 5 but would probably have to take many classes again because they failed the class. It took me 5 years to graduate from Payap with a GPA of 3.7 and it was a lot of work and I did fail classes. I think many international programs in Thailand are like this. It was hard but I wanted to learn and think I got an excellent education.

[brucetefl]

Thanks for the comments richard but I am going to stick with a 3. Here is why:

Even in the US there is a range. I went to one university where it was so competitive you had to work extremely hard to get a B in a general education class. Lets call that an 8, because I have to imagine that Harvard or Stanford are more difficult.

I went to another university where if you showed up and read the book you were pretty much guaranteed a B. Lets call that a 5.

But both of these universities are more rigorous than your average Thai university.

Edited August 13, 2014 by brucetefl

[richard10365]

Thanks for the comments richard but I am going to stick with a 3. Here is why:

Even in the US there is a range. I went to one university where it was so competitive you had to work extremely hard to get a B in a general education class. Lets call that an 8, because I have to imagine that Harvard or Stanford are more difficult.

I went to another university where if you showed up and read the book you were pretty much guaranteed a B. Lets call that a 5.

But both of these universities are more rigorous than your average Thai university.

Good points Bruce...haha...I've been out of school for more than 20 years when I went to study at Payap. My work ethic was pretty good but a bit rusty on studying. Maybe it just seemed difficult to me..haha

Edited August 14, 2014 by richard10365

[janinalena]

I just started my Masters Degree at Chiang Mai University, in an International Program and I come straight from a Western Uni. I was actually very worried, that the quality of education could not live up to what I was used to back home. But I must say, most of the teachers ( foreign and thai) seem very knowledgable and on western standards. And the workload is way, way more. 150+ pages readings a week + summaries + weekly presentations is pretty time consuming.

[brucetefl]

Not sure where you you studied in the US but thats not even up to my "party school" standards. Not far, but more like 150+ pages of readings in multiple subjects. The one thing Thai universities (and all Thai education for that matter) seem to excel at is giving a lot of busy work like writing summaries. Count me out.

I just started my Masters Degree at Chiang Mai University, in an International Program and I come straight from a Western Uni. I was actually very worried, that the quality of education could not live up to what I was used to back home. But I must say, most of the teachers ( foreign and thai) seem very knowledgable and on western standards. And the workload is way, way more. 150+ pages readings a week + summaries + weekly presentations is pretty time consuming.

[zeichen]

"150+ pages readings a week + summaries + weekly presentations is pretty time consuming."

Graduate programs are night and day different than undergraduate. The attrition rate is suppose to be quite high.

Hate to break it to you but even in Humanities for grad school I was reading 300+ pages a week per class and had 3 classes.

Having taught in quite a few universities in Thailand (Non EFL) I must say that even the top schools here are probably only a 5-7 on difficulty factor.

I am pleased that Bruce is quite honest about the program. I know that he is also trying to promote it but at least he is not making it more than it is.