American degree from Thailand

B-SCHOOL

The university wants Pune students to study in Thailand.

With an eye on increasing its student strength by nearly 80 per cent -- from 223 to 400 full-time students -- over the next two years, Nicola Hewett, Assistant Director of Admissions, Webster University, Thailand, visited Pune with to establish tie-ups and strategic partnerships with universities for its programmes and invite HR personnel of the IT industry to its campus for placements.

Established in Thailand since 1999, the university offers undergraduate, graduate and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programme. It is located 185 kilometres southwest of Bangkok in the Cha-Am/ Hua Hin region.

Being the only Asia-Pacific (APAC) campus in Thailand for the Missourie-based Webster University, which has 100 campuses in the US alone and four in the UK, Hewett notes that studying in Thailand offers the students an American degree recognised by the North Central Accrediting Association in the US and the Thai Ministry of Education while still being close to their home and parents and saving money in the process. "It is possible to get a degree in Thailand for 50 per cent of the price in the US," said Hewett while sharing that in the US, the same degree would have cost $27,000, in England, $24,000 and in Thailand, $12,000.

Ajay Randhawa, Head Business Department, Webster University, said, "Officials from the university are also visiting, Myanmar, Philippines and Bhutan in a bid to increase its student body by 80 per cent from 223 to 400 by the end of the fall semester in 2008."

With an acute shortage of skilled resources for the booming IT industry here, the institute is also meeting with various HR personnel from the city. Companies like i-Flex, Jopasana, Syntel, KPIT Cummins, Indus Software, Harbinger System, Codito Technology, ITCube Solutions, Modular Infotech and others have evinced an interest in the university. "HR people from over 12 companies have registered for a seminar we are conducting on our university," said Hewett.