History Of Ramkhamhaeng University

History

King Ramkhamhaeng the Great, the third king of the Sukhothai period, is renowned for his invention of the Thai alphabet. He was called Poh Khun, meaning “Father lord” , for his benevolence, leniency, and thoughtfulness toward his people. When people ran into any difficulty or conflict which they could not solve among themselves, they could ring the bell which was hanged in front of the King’s palace, the King would then personally hear the cases and judge the case himself.

Before the establishment of Ramkhamhaeng University in 1971, Thailand has long suffered what might be called “ a crisis in the quest for higher education “ because the number of high school graduates seeking seats to the universities outnumbered the admission capacity of all universities combined. The problem finally prompted the parliament to pass a law authorizing the establishment of Ramkhamhaeng University or R.U.
The University has provide four study programs in 1971 :
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Business Administration
Faculty of Humanities
Faculty of Education
In 1974, three more faculties were operated:
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Political Science
Faculty of Economics
Ever since, Ramkhamhaeng University has been progressively developed and served the publics as one of Thailand’s foremost institutions for higher education.
In the academic year 1996, the university has provided three graduate study programs:
Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)
Master of Education
Master of Arts ( Political Science)
Based on the principle of “equality of opportunity” to all regarding higher education, RU provides teaching and learning systems both on-campus and via distance learning. The university teaches a wide number of subjects in the social sciences and humanities, and also offers courses in all the major branches of science as well, including engineering and health science, and provides international programs, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This is a goal that Ramkhamhaeng University is continually striving to achieve without compromising academic excellence in any way.
At present, Ramkhamhaeng University offers Bachelor’s Degree Programs, Master’s Degree Programs, Ph. D. Programs, International Programs and Pre-degree Programs in 10 Faculties and the Graduate School. In addition, the university also provides a wide range of excellent academic and administrative support facilities, total of 18 Institutes/Offices /Centers. The total number of students enrolled at Ramkhamhaeng University is approximately 430,000 each year, consisting of nearly 400,000 undergraduate and 35,000 graduate students.
Given its long–standing commitment to providing equal opportunity in the field of education for all Thais throughout the nation, since 1995, guided by the vision of the Former President Rangsan Saengsook, Ramkhamhaeng University, in cooperation with government agencies and members of the private sector in the region, has established 22 RU Regional Campuses, in Honor of His Majesty the King, covering all regions of Thailand, as well as 36 regional examination centers. The university provides various Special Programs at the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree levels, as well as short-courses, in 47 provinces, as well as in Bangkok; RU’s Special Programs are well-known and constitute a role model for supporting lifelong learning for all. The overall aim is to make a wide variety of academic services available to the community and to society at large, and to foster the development of human resources, both in the public and private sectors.
Based on the global vision of the Former President Rangsan Saengsook, the University has expanded in terms of providing equality of opportunity in higher education, not only throughout the country, but worldwide as well. The university also provides opportunities for Thais residing overseas, having been in the process of expanding Ramkhamhaeng University worldwide since 2003; as a result, the university provides undergraduate and graduate programs of study for Thais in 27 countries worldwide, having 36 examination centers in those countries. In this regard, the university has received generous support and assistance from Royal Thai Embassies and General Consulates in these countries, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Also, in honour of His Majesty the King, Ramkhamhaeng University has also established an Overseas Academic Services Center to oversee this venture
University staff development
The university’s staff is roughly grouped into two parts: the academic staff and the supporting staff. The academic staff itself is divided into lecturers and non-lecturers. There are 767 lecturers, 584 non-lecturers and 2,467 supporting staff. R.U. provides programs through co-operation and assistance of foreign universities for short-term training, Master’s and Doctor’s degree programs to increase faculty member’s skill, partially with R.U. financial support. They are encouraged to advance themselves and keep abreast of new academic developments through research, taking part in conferences, seminars and workshops both locally and internationally.