Criterion 2 – Programme Structure and Content

Criterion 2 – Programme Structure and Content

Operational Results

2.1 The specifications of the programme and all its courses are shown to be comprehensive, up-to-date, and made available and communicated to all stakeholders.

We conduct regular review of the curriculum. Interviews and stakeholder discussions were done for the most recent revision in 2021. Three external experts in business administration also reviewed the revised program and course specifications, providing detailed recommendations to update them to meet the needs of current stakeholders.

The program specification (TQF2) and course specification (TQF3) contain detailed descriptions of the program specifications. They contain information that is helpful to present and prospective students as well as other stakeholders, and they comply with university guidelines. They consist of an overview of the program’s objectives and planned learning outcomes, course structure diagrams, a matrix outlining how the courses help students meet the PLOs, and a list of course requirements.

The course coordinator distributes and explains the course syllabus, which includes information on learning objectives, the teaching and learning methodology, assessment techniques, and the contents of each module, to each and every student during the orientation meeting before the course begins.

The TRSU website (https://www.stic.ac.th/postgraduate-program/business-administration), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sticpage), email, and Line were among the virtual channels used to inform external stakeholders (i.e., employers, undergraduate institutions, prospective students, alumni, and so on) about the program and course specifications. A marketing campaign run by a skilled marketing team in several provinces is also included in the communications. To spread the word, experts are taking part in both domestic and international education expos. Graduates of TRSU’s bachelor’s program are contacted via several channels to enroll in the MBA program.

On the first day of the semester, a current first-year student’s orientation session is arranged, and they receive an orientation booklet that includes all program and course specifications. All students are also informed of any modifications to the course content and requirements through online and in-person meetings held throughout the academic year. The program handbook and brochure are also given to the faculty members and program committee, and frequent in-person and virtual meetings are scheduled.

Table: Stakeholder communication channel

Stakeholders	Communication Channels
	Meeting	Document	Social media
Academic staff –  Academic committee –  All academic staff	-Monthly -Annually – Course orientation	Program manual / Course manual Meeting report	Website
Instructor of other faculties: –  Faculty of Science –  Faculty of Art –  International School	-Annually	Program manual / Course manual Meeting report	Website
Current students	-Biannually – Course orientation	Program manual /Course manual	Website / Facebook
Potential students / parents	Annually -Informal discussion	Program manual	Website / Facebook
Employers	-Informal discussion	Program manual	Website / Facebook
Alumni	-Informal discussion	Program manual	Website / Facebook

2.2 The design of the curriculum is shown to be constructively aligned with achieving the expected learning outcomes.

In order to develop business executives, academics, or business researchers with high competency in business research, our MBA program’s curriculum is backwardly planned to be in line with the PLOs. Nine courses totaling 36 credits—24 credits for coursework and 12 credits for thesis work—are required to earn all four PLOs. Every year, a review of the curriculum is conducted by a variety of stakeholders, including employers, alumni, current students, and professors. The curriculum committee reviewed the PLOs in accordance with the demands of the stakeholders, as seen in the figure, after discussing the comments from the stakeholders during the monthly sessions.

2.3 The design of the curriculum is shown to include feedback from stakeholders, especially external stakeholders.

The program often requests input from the students on the courses it offers, which we utilize to adjust the curriculum and learning objectives. We update the assessment forms and rubric utilized for every school year based on the comment of the curriculum committee. We sent a survey on PLO accomplishment to MBA program graduate and their employers in the academic year 2023. The score for all items was indicating highly satisfactory performance. We are creating a new survey for the academic year 2024 and will distribute it to employers, alumni, and current MBA students in order to evaluate the skills required. Seven PLOs served as the source of such skills.

2.4 The contribution made by each course in achieving the expected learning outcomes is shown to be clear.

A matrix of CLOs and PLOs, Table 2, illustrates how each course contributed to meeting the PLOs. Every course either entirely or partially contributes to the PLOs. All Master of Business Administration course offerings prepare graduates for positions in academia, business leadership, education, and research that need an understanding of business management and business research techniques. Additionally, students gain useful skills by participation in a research project where they do mock research individually, participating in all stages of the process—including selecting a research topic, drafting a research proposal, exploring data gathering process, evaluation methods and compiling a report—with assistance from experts. One of the primary courses where students can merge their knowledge, attitude, and research abilities is thesis work. We provide proper supervision for the activities this course. 

Courses	Subject specific LOs					Generic LOs
	PLO2	PLO3		PLO4	PLO7	PLO1	PLO5	PLO6
	Cognitive / Applying	Cognitive / Applying		Cognitive / Applying	Psychomotor / Articulate	Affective / Valuing	Affective / Valuing	Psychomotor / Articulate
			Foundation Courses
Foundation in Business Administration		✓		✓		✓
Principles of Accounting		✓		✓
			Required Courses
Business Economics	✓	✓			✓			✓
Accounting and Financial Management	✓	✓		✓	✓
Modern Human Resource Management	✓			✓		✓	✓	✓
Marketing Management in Digital Age		✓		✓			✓
Business Research	✓	✓		✓	✓		✓
Competitive Strategy		✓		✓	✓
Digital Technology for Business	✓	✓			✓
Seminar in Management	✓			✓	✓	✓
Thesis	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

2.5 The curriculum to show that all its courses are logically structured, properly sequenced (progression from basic to intermediate to specialised courses), and are integrated.

The training of human resources in business management and business research is the focus of this curriculum. The foundation courses, core courses, elective courses, and thesis are all included into the MBA program’s course curriculum. From basic to advanced course modules, the course is rationally organized, sequenced, and integrated across the program. Before the more difficult courses start in Semester 2, the basic courses begin and end in Semester 1 of the first year. During the first semester of the Master of Business Administration program, non-business students are required to take foundation courses such as Foundation in Business Administration and Principles of Accounting. They make it possible for learners from various backgrounds to acclimate to the program’s teaching and learning methods. After foundation courses, students have to study 7 core courses and one elective course. Core courses are Business Economics, Accounting and Financial Management, Modern Human Resource Management, Marketing Management, Competitive Strategy, and Digital Technology for Business. Students can put the lessons they’ve learned in their core courses into practice in Business Research by creating and carrying out a genuine research project with input from stakeholders and applying their problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios.

Before beginning their thesis in their second year, first-year students must pass all 24 credits of study. The thesis shows that the student is capable of carrying out carefully thought-out, internationally recognized research. Before being presented to the committee, the proposal is discussed and improved in group settings while the coursework advances concurrently. Students typically need two semesters to finish the thesis procedure from start to finish. Particular talents, morality, teamwork, communication, lifelong learning, and job skills are imparted in each course of the curriculum through group projects, field work, oral presentations, and discussions.

2.6 The curriculum to have option(s) for students to pursue major and/or minor specialisations.

Research is the core of the Master of Business Administration program. By creating their own research projects using primary data gathering in their respective areas, managing and analyzing data, and producing theses and publication articles, students gain research skills that are applicable to their future employment. This thesis research project encourages students to specialize in either a major or minor area of study for their future careers. Graduates of the Master of Business Administration program could expect a significant increase in employability. In order to ensure that they are working on the same thesis topic, students are paired as closely as possible with academic staff members for thesis supervision.

2.7 The programme to show that its curriculum is reviewed periodically following an established procedure and that it remains up-to-date and relevant to industry.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Sciences, Research and Innovation (MHESI) mandates that the program curriculum be changed either constantly or at least every five years of operation. Additionally, we discuss course content and teaching-learning strategies in the regular meetings of the academic staff to ensure that they are current and fulfill the needs of stakeholders as well as the demands of the situation. One notable example is the incorporation of information about the COVID-19 pandemic and such emergency situations, preventive, and control strategies in classes, discussions, and student research projects for their theses. The curriculum committee also keeps an eye on and reviews the programs’ general operations each year, taking into account both the positive and negative aspects. They also gather input from stakeholders, particularly academics and students, and utilize this data to guide the next round of curriculum revisions. As a result, we are certain that the program curriculum is current and appropriate for the demands of stakeholders.

The latest formal revision of the curriculum was done in 2021. 

Evidence

ID_Evidence	Name_Evidence
2.1-1	TQF2
2.1-2	TQF3
2.1-3	Orientation program
2.1-4	Curriculum revision meeting
2.2-1	Curriculum alignment with PLOs
2.3-1	Graduate survey
2.3-2	Graduate user survey
2.7-1	TQF2
2.7-2	Program committee meeting

Self-Assessment

Requirements	Result	Score
2.1 The specifications of the programme and all its courses are shown to be comprehensive, up-to-date, and made available and communicated to all stakeholders.	/	1
2.4 The contribution made by each course in achieving the expected learning outcomes is shown to be clear.	/
2.2 The design of the curriculum is shown to be constructively aligned with achieving the expected learning outcomes.	/	1
2.3 The design of the curriculum is shown to include feedback from stakeholders, especially external stakeholders.	/
2.5 The curriculum to show that all its courses are logically structured, properly sequenced and integrated.	/	1
2.6 The curriculum to have option(s) for students to pursue major and/or minor specialisations.	/	1
2.7 The programme to show that its curriculum is reviewed periodically following an established procedure and that it remains up-to-date and relevant to industry.	/	1
Overall		5