Khon Kaen University’s (KKU) Graduate School (GS KKU) has made a significant achievement, becoming the first graduate school in Thailand to successfully pass the Education Criteria for Performance Excellence (EdPEx) 300 quality assessment. This recognition for the year 2025, awarded by the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), underscores the institution’s commitment to excellence and the collaborative spirit within its graduate community.
The success is attributed to the concerted efforts of various stakeholders, including graduate faculty, instructors from interdisciplinary programs, the graduate personnel network, and administrative units across the university, all working together systematically.
Professor Dr. Kiatchai Faksri, Dean of the Graduate School, stated that this accomplishment is a result of systematic operations, a continuous focus on quality, and the consistent delivery of value to customers and stakeholders. He emphasized the integrated cooperation between the Graduate School, its network of departments, administration, graduate faculty, staff, and graduate students. Achieving EdPEx 300 status, he noted, reflects the superior quality and standards of graduate education management at Khon Kaen University.
GS KKU operates under the vision of “Sustainable Growth in Graduate Studies for Khon Kaen University and the Nation” (Grad for Growth). Its strategic focus includes enhancing the quality of graduate research and improving the management of higher education. This is coupled with goals to produce excellent outcomes, such as high-quality research from graduate theses, effective program promotion and admissions, encouraging external research funding to support graduate research assistants, strengthening the graduate network, and upgrading modern learning support and service systems.
Past performance highlights continuous development across all dimensions. This includes an increase in the number and diversity of national and international students, particularly graduate researchers who are crucial for generating research output. The school has also elevated the quality of high-impact research from theses, leading to publications in leading academic journals, and successfully attracted and collaborated with external research funding sources. Furthermore, it has developed digital systems and innovative management practices that serve both students and graduate faculty within the KKU community, contributing value to society.
This achievement is not solely the work of the Graduate School but a collective accomplishment of the entire Khon Kaen University community. Everyone has played a role in building supportive systems and driving performance, from designing interdisciplinary curricula and managing student admissions to developing service systems and promoting high-quality international research linked to graduate programs.
The EdPEx 300 assessment serves not only as a validation of the Graduate School’s quality but also as tangible evidence of the “power of collaboration” genuinely shared by all sectors of Khon Kaen University. It reinforces the university’s vision of becoming a “leading global research and development university,” representing a shared pride in advancing graduate education at Khon Kaen University towards excellence and creating value for society.
Key Performance & Good Practice Sharing
News: Sittheera Samorn
