HELP!!!!!! Cost to transfer grades at Thai UNI.

[cliveshep]

Having a mega fight here with my wife. She is at Ramkamhaeng UNI studying business on a Saturday/Sunday only basis for 2 years. It's costing me 20,000 a term. She has got credits from her High School the UNI will transfer, total 51 units she tells me. Those subjects she doesn't need to go to learn again. So parts of next term she has a month here or there off - no need to go in she says.

 

Here is what the fight is about - she says that although the UNI transfer her credits she still has to pay 800 baht per credit to transfer, a cool 40,800 for sweet F.A she argues the UNI have a right to demand - because she already agreed to it.

 

I'm struggling to pay for the stuff she IS learning, without having to pay for stuff she isn't learning. She is banging doors all over the house and it's all a bit fraught, I want to go see the Ombudsman but she says she's already agreed last year (without knowing the transfer costs) and so she is obliged to pay, it's the law she says.

 

Does anyone know anything about this? Has she got it wrong or is this the classic Thai version of rip-off Britain? How can it possibly cost 800 baht each to transfer credits - the UNI don't need to do any research, they already have all the information given to them at the start.

 

 

[Rhys]

Get in touch with the University, with a translator other than your partner.

[ballbreaker]

GF believes only credits from schools attended after HS can be transferred not HS credits. She says check Uni website for all the details.

[wildewillie89]

How can a university accept credits from high school? Universities look at the high school marks as different courses have minimum marks you need to get, as well as sit the entrance exam obviously...however, no such thing that high school subjects can give you credits. 

51 units would be more than half the course wouldn't it?

Edited May 27, 2017 by wildewillie89

[timkeen08]

Sorry to be blunt. How are you now paying the tuition and how are you to pay theses transfer fees? Through money you give your wife or directly to the University? Have you received any receipts? Why doesn't she want you to go see the Ombudsman beside the reason she gave? Have you ever visited the University with her? These are questions that I can think of right off the top having dealt with children which is sometimes necessary with my own wife in order to get the whole picture. Throwing tantrums is not a good sign. Based on your posts and what others have posted, more investigation may be needed and if you get clarification, pay the fees.

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[cliveshep]

Right - what she really meant is not what she actually said - Rhys had that right, it was a misunderstanding due to her explanation being a bit garbled.

 

It is not credits from High School nor her previous UNI (Rangsit) wildewillie89 but credits from a "High College" she attended - she didn't go into that in any depth at all but I know Ramkamhaeng did look into the credit units a year ago and declared 51 units could be credited. The UNI get the money Timkeen08 - no question of that. She calls it "High College" meaning it is of a higher level than ordinary college but not a University. No more explanation sought on that - I'll quit while I'm ahead!

 

What has been discovered is that she pays LESS in the terms where she has units she does not attend for as they are the credits earned from the previous college being transferred. So when those units are taught she stays at home and doesn't pay for learning them. THEN she pays 800 baht each for the transferred credits. The total units of the course to graduate are 135, of which 51 are transfers from previous college work. When we married and I took her to the UK she was at Rangsit University. It appears that there were only 6 possible Rangsit credits she could have used, but in "High College" as she calls it however there were 51 credits she could transfer. She was told one or the other so chose the 51 of course as they were all passing grades and she has the paperwork to prove it.

 

So at the end of this storm, no - typhoon actually - in a tea-cup - she is credited by Ramkamhaeng for 51 units she pays 800 baht each for in transfer fees BUT she does NOT pay for those same 51 units in her term fees - which is what I was grieved about. Sorry for the confusion - she is good at that bless her! So at the end of the day the total is the same whether she learns or not, which is still a rip-off but at least it is not double indemnity.

 

So thank you everyone for spurring to me to look into it more.

[wildewillie89]

1 hour ago, cliveshep said:

Right - what she really meant is not what she actually said - Rhys had that right, it was a misunderstanding due to her explanation being a bit garbled.

 

It is not credits from High School nor her previous UNI (Rangsit) wildewillie89 but credits from a "High College" she attended - she didn't go into that in any depth at all but I know Ramkamhaeng did look into the credit units a year ago and declared 51 units could be credited. The UNI get the money Timkeen08 - no question of that. She calls it "High College" meaning it is of a higher level than ordinary college but not a University. No more explanation sought on that - I'll quit while I'm ahead!

 

What has been discovered is that she pays LESS in the terms where she has units she does not attend for as they are the credits earned from the previous college being transferred. So when those units are taught she stays at home and doesn't pay for learning them. THEN she pays 800 baht each for the transferred credits. The total units of the course to graduate are 135, of which 51 are transfers from previous college work. When we married and I took her to the UK she was at Rangsit University. It appears that there were only 6 possible Rangsit credits she could have used, but in "High College" as she calls it however there were 51 credits she could transfer. She was told one or the other so chose the 51 of course as they were all passing grades and she has the paperwork to prove it.

 

So at the end of this storm, no - typhoon actually - in a tea-cup - she is credited by Ramkamhaeng for 51 units she pays 800 baht each for in transfer fees BUT she does NOT pay for those same 51 units in her term fees - which is what I was grieved about. Sorry for the confusion - she is good at that bless her! So at the end of the day the total is the same whether she learns or not, which is still a rip-off but at least it is not double indemnity.

 

So thank you everyone for spurring to me to look into it more.

Maybe a previous Diploma, that can wipe off a couple of years from a uni course if subjects match up. 
 

Why doesn't she just go to a cheaper university where she actually studies, rather than her current uni that will pass her just if you just pay the unit fees....will save you a lot of money, and she will get a better education. 

Edited May 29, 2017 by wildewillie89

[cliveshep]

It is a proper University and she studies hard. It is also cheaper than Rangsit which is in the top ten in Thailand. You do not BUY graduation, you earn it by working. It is also the nearest to us that does the course she wanted. She has to attend and do the work which is then graded unit by unit. She leaves the house at 7.00am often having to do periodic exams coming home late and exhausted.

 

They test her weekly and once a month she has a unit exam with points towards her total. She has to keep average above a certain level or they wash her out. So far so good.

[wildewillie89]

45 minutes ago, cliveshep said:

It is a proper University and she studies hard. It is also cheaper than Rangsit which is in the top ten in Thailand. You do not BUY graduation, you earn it by working. It is also the nearest to us that does the course she wanted. She has to attend and do the work which is then graded unit by unit. She leaves the house at 7.00am often having to do periodic exams coming home late and exhausted.

 

They test her weekly and once a month she has a unit exam with points towards her total. She has to keep average above a certain level or they wash her out. So far so good.

I know both universities and they are top 20-30 (800+ in world)....not even in good years do they break top 10. I have many friends who work/study back in Melbourne (where I am from), that went there (rich enough to live in Melbourne). My point is that it is private for a reason. As long as rich families pay fees then it is incredibly hard/near impossible to fail. It is why rich people go to them, cant pass the entrance exam for the better uni's so go to these ones. But my point is this, your wife has previous education so probably could have quite easily continued her studies at a cheaper/better university. Which would have saved you all these traumatic experiences and financial stresses...plus could have found a job easier due to the better name.

And many universities you can BUY degrees. One university (cant remember the name), the government now does not allow admission into teaching jobs as many bought their degrees. A university offered my father in law his masters for free just so they could use his name as advertising. On average national and international testing, Thai students pass 1 out of 5 high school exams but amazingly within the institution have a 100% pass rate, you really think private universities are much different when so much money is being thrown around? 

Edited May 29, 2017 by wildewillie89

[Trembly]

It's probably a bit late for the OP now but I'll mention this for the benefit of others who may follow :

For the total fees that a Thai wife / girlfriend ends up paying at Ramkhamhaeng you may as well pay for her to get proper English language tuition to pass the IELTS exam at grade 6.5 or above so that she can study through the Open University or the University of London International Programme. The BA in Philosophy from the latter institution is costs around THB 200,000 all in, for example. 

All pay as you go, 100% distance learning so no faffing about with uniforms, registration, lectures etc. 

If all she's after is a degree certificate however, she can do a 100% distance learning degree from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) which are very cheap and get the job done. STOU is fully accredited, so an accounting or law grads from STOU are fully eligible to take their respective professional licensing exams in Thailand.

[cliveshep]

wildewillie89 - top 10 was my wife's assertion, she obviously heard it somewhere. Still - top 20-30 is still acceptable. Like I said, one consideration was travel distance and costs, our car is big and thirsty! Then there is travel time, she is a wife with a home to look after and other responsibilities so time travelling is an issue too. This is all to help her get a decent job when I die.

 

Thanks Trembly. A bit late as you say, but I'll show her anyway. (STOU). As for the English, I teach her English but she is studying in Thai anyway, the English is a bonus for her.

[bbi1]

13 hours ago, cliveshep said:

I'm struggling to pay for the stuff she IS learning, without having to pay for stuff she isn't learning. She is banging doors all over the house

Personally I wouldn't put up with that shit if it was me, "banging on doors all over the house" while paying big bucks for her to study. Does she have violent tendencies? Why doesn't she pay for her own studies? Is she or was she currently working before deciding to study?

Edited May 30, 2017 by bbi1

[CLW]

From your first post, is the fee to transfer the credits not actually higher than your wife would study that courses again?
You wrote 20,000 per term. If she can transfer she has some days off. Transfer cost 40,800

[cliveshep]

The 51 transferred units are apparently spread over the rest of the course starting next month. It seems she gets some months or weeks off from then until graduation and she says correspondingly lower term fees - the difference paying for the transfers. All in all it's a case of plus ca change it seems.

 

She's saving the savings (if that makes sense) to pay for the transfers later on.

[CLW]

The 51 transferred units are apparently spread over the rest of the course starting next month. It seems she gets some months or weeks off from then until graduation and she says correspondingly lower term fees - the difference paying for the transfers. All in all it's a case of plus ca change it seems.
 
She's saving the savings (if that makes sense) to pay for the transfers later on.

So at the end it's​ cheaper and she has more free time.
Not bad I would say

[cliveshep]

Well, yes, good for both of us at the end of it all, just a shame we had a blazing row over what, from how she said it, I perceived as a blatant rip-off by the University. I was all set to pop down to Chan Wattana to the Office of the Ombudsman and lodge a complaint!

 

Glad we both cooled off first, I'd have looked a bit of a clot!

[timkeen08]

Just curious, how much time left to complete the degree and what is the total cost, after calculating any transfer discounts?

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[HAL9000]

This is an interesting thread. My ex-wife abandoned her Masters Degree program when she had her baby after having completed all the course work, and had only her Masters Thesis to complete. We visited a few universities to see if anyone would let her transfer her credits and just complete her thesis to get her MA. All of them told us that it was not possible to transfer credits, and that she needed to enroll with a completely fresh start in the masters program. Even the place where she was studying told her that the program had changed since she was there, but would not let her take just the 3 or 4 new courses that she lacked. After reading this thread with various posts confirming that credits can indeed be transferred to Thai universities, I am thinking there is something about our case that is different. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't remember the name of the university holding her credits, but it was one of Bangkok's major universities with a huge sprawling campus. Thanks.

Edited May 30, 2017 by HAL9000

[timkeen08]

How many years have gone by since completing her original program?

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[wildewillie89]

2 hours ago, HAL9000 said:

This is an interesting thread. My ex-wife abandoned her Masters Degree program when she had her baby after having completed all the course work, and had only her Masters Thesis to complete. We visited a few universities to see if anyone would let her transfer her credits and just complete her thesis to get her MA. All of them told us that it was not possible to transfer credits, and that she needed to enroll with a completely fresh start in the masters program. Even the place where she was studying told her that the program had changed since she was there, but would not let her take just the 3 or 4 new courses that she lacked. After reading this thread with various posts confirming that credits can indeed be transferred to Thai universities, I am thinking there is something about our case that is different. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't remember the name of the university holding her credits, but it was one of Bangkok's major universities with a huge sprawling campus. Thanks.

I am assuming she quit, rather than deferred (otherwise could have just gone back to the same uni).
Talking out of my a***, but I would say if she quit then the studied digits would have been cancelled on the system, so you can argue all you want, but the end of the day the system says nothing (which is what the institutions will look at). Usually credits have come from other 'completed' courses..maybe if she had of deferred it would not have been a big issue, or transferred before quitting. Just guessing. 

[Berkshire]

3 hours ago, HAL9000 said:

This is an interesting thread. My ex-wife abandoned her Masters Degree program when she had her baby after having completed all the course work, and had only her Masters Thesis to complete. We visited a few universities to see if anyone would let her transfer her credits and just complete her thesis to get her MA. All of them told us that it was not possible to transfer credits, and that she needed to enroll with a completely fresh start in the masters program. Even the place where she was studying told her that the program had changed since she was there, but would not let her take just the 3 or 4 new courses that she lacked. After reading this thread with various posts confirming that credits can indeed be transferred to Thai universities, I am thinking there is something about our case that is different. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't remember the name of the university holding her credits, but it was one of Bangkok's major universities with a huge sprawling campus. Thanks.

All universities have a minimum number of credits that one needs to take at that university to earn their degree.  For example, you can't do all of your coursework at some state university, then go to Harvard and take one class and expect a degree from Harvard.  Not sure why your ex would just "abandon" her Masters, she could have easily just put it on hold.   

[HAL9000]

5 hours ago, timkeen08 said:

How many years have gone by since completing her original program?
 

 

That's quite a good point. I'm trying to remember how old her son was when we were doing this. I'm thinking about 12 years old, so they may have considered the coursework stale.

[HAL9000]

3 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

I am assuming she quit, rather than deferred (otherwise could have just gone back to the same uni).
Talking out of my a***, but I would say if she quit then the studied digits would have been cancelled on the system, so you can argue all you want, but the end of the day the system says nothing (which is what the institutions will look at). Usually credits have come from other 'completed' courses..maybe if she had of deferred it would not have been a big issue, or transferred before quitting. Just guessing. 

 

Thanks for the suggestion. When we went to inquire, the university gave her official transcripts for the work, but no one would accept them in transfer.

[HAL9000]

1 hour ago, Berkshire said:

All universities have a minimum number of credits that one needs to take at that university to earn their degree.  For example, you can't do all of your coursework at some state university, then go to Harvard and take one class and expect a degree from Harvard.  Not sure why your ex would just "abandon" her Masters, she could have easily just put it on hold.   

That's a good point. Still it's strange that not even the university where she studied would accept her prior work, and that the others would not allow any of it at all to transfer.

[timkeen08]

 
That's quite a good point. I'm trying to remember how old her son was when we were doing this. I'm thinking about 12 years old, so they may have considered the coursework stale.

How about your situation cliveshep? How much time has lapsed? Just for comparison.

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[scorecard]

On 5/30/2017 at 6:27 PM, HAL9000 said:

 

That's quite a good point. I'm trying to remember how old her son was when we were doing this. I'm thinking about 12 years old, so they may have considered the coursework stale.

 

I'm aware of one uni. which has a 5 year maximum time to complete and submit the graduate thesis.

 

During that 5 years any already achieved grades can be transferred, with outgoing fee of 5,000Baht and usually another fee by the receiving university.

 

Also needs approval by the appropriate office of the ed. ministry.

 

Additionally if continuing basic semester fees are not paid all of the above becomes more complex and payment for back semesters must be paid.

 

Recently one case of a lady who just before 5 years indicted she would submit quickly. She had not paid semester fees for the full 5 years.

 

A case was made to the ministry because of sickness, in reality the sickness was much earlier and was cured quickly a long time back.

 

She paid around 600,000Baht to get it all back in order, she submitted and passed. 

[Thongkorn]

On 5/27/2017 at 3:16 PM, Rhys said:

Get in touch with the University, with a translator other than your partner.

Yes thinking what your thinking.