Essentials of Managing Research Quality in Thai Universities

Abstract

In Thailand, the increasingly burdensome regulations and oversight mechanisms imposed by state agencies have contributed to a compliance-oriented culture of research in most universities. Any deviation from the stipulated practices can result in swift action by state agencies, such as the Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC) and Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA). This paper draws on relevant data from secondary sources, such as QS Rankings, Google Scholar Transparency Citation Index, IMD, and SCImago Journal and Country Rank from the Scopus database (Elsevier B.V) and also includes primary data from a survey conducted in May 2019. The survey results indicate that Thai universities must enhance incentives, such as grants, scholarships, assistantship, and improve advising skills of Thai faculty, attract foreign talent, and improve Ph.D. operations by providing rich online resources and focus intensely on efficient management of graduate programs.

Keywords: OHEC, IMD, Rankings, Research, Quality

JEL Classification: M14, M15, M19, M53, M53, M59, O3, 038, P36