Page 78 - Open and Distance Education In Asia : Good Practice From AAOU Members

58 OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATON IN ASIA
Good Practices from AAOU Members

Educational Services System Educational Services for the General
The university provides several educational Public
service activities in order to help learners STOU has made great progress in bringing
learn successfully and prevent them dropping lifelong education to Thai people through its
out. The following are the examples of the educational radio and television programs.
university’s activities. Twenty-minute radio programs covering
● STOU provides both prospective and topics in a wide variety of courses are
current learners with an opportunity broadcast throughout the country. Many
to receive academic and professional course blocks also have supplementary
guidance and counseling services through television programs which last a half hour
various channels. Also, orientations are each and regularly broadcast on public
provided for newly enrolled learners television. Since2012, STOU open of STOU
to receive important information and Channel, the university’s own C-band
be well-prepared for studying in the television station broadcasting 24 hours a
distance education system. day. Moreover, STOU has offered website as
● A wide range of student clubs’ Media on Demand. All of these options are
activities are provided for learners to free and available to everyone.
meet one another, share views and
study experiences, and participate Additionally, a wide range of intensive
in collaborative academic and social training programs are organized by the Office
activities. of Continuing Education. Public training and
● One-Stop Service Center (OSS) has in-house training, have been offered to the
been designed to provide assistance to general public at the STOU headquarter and
learners and the general public easily ten Regional Distance Education Centers so
access for all services and advice through as to develop human resources in different
face-to-face interaction and electronic occupations, increase work efficiency,
communication. enhance quality of life and implement what
● Special services for disabled learners. they have learned practically.
The university provides counseling and
guidance, orientation and fund as well As the university has improved its support
as learning materials such as audio to the learners, libraries at the university
textbooks, computers with disability- headquarter and at 10 Regional Distance
specific software and hardware, voice Education Centers are the learning resource
recognition and synthesizers, print of the community to provide services for
magnifiers and scanners, text files and both the learners and the general public.
other media. Moreover, STOU Corners have also been
established as resource centers in all
provincial libraries, offering educational
media lending and reference services to
learners and the local communities.

Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU)