On 9 April 2025, Asst. Prof. Dr. Akadet Manoleehagul Acting Vice-President for Legal Affairs, Human Resources, and University Council Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gan Chanyawudhiwan Acting Vice-President for Academic Services, Cultural Preservation, and International Affairs, along with the administers of STOU, staff of Distance Education Staff Development Academy (DESDA) and Faculty Members who have been awarded UK Professional Standards Framework Fellowship (UKPSF) from Advance HE, warmly welcomed Mr. Ian Hall, Head of Membership (International) Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) for the visiting for exchanging experiences, creating mutual understanding, as well as policy guidelines for developing teaching systems and supporting learning in distance education according to the Professional Standards Framework (PSF) Version 2023 of STOU.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Theerawut Thammakun, Director of DESDA spoke on the success of PSF and The SMART Programme of STOU. This was followed by a discussion regarding the challenges/current issues that STOU was facing and the goals that Advance HE could support STOU in addressing these issues. Mr. Ian Hall also provided an update on Advance HE regarding current challenges in higher education, key projects, membership benefits, and opportunities for STOU.
UKPSF was a professional standards framework widely used in the United Kingdom for teaching personnel in higher education, such as professors, instructors, researchers, and learning support staff at universities. The UKPSF was under the supervision of Advance HE, which was an organization in the United Kingdom that promoted excellence in higher education. The UKPSF was an internationally recognized standards framework for assessing achievement in teaching and supporting learning in higher education. Its objective was to provide guidelines and standards for those involved in teaching and supporting learning in educational institutions.
Throughout nearly 5 years, STOU had continuously encouraged both academic and supporting staff to receive certification of these standards from Advance HE. Currently, there are 54 certified personnel, divided into 29 with UKPSF certification and 25 through the Smart Programme.
