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Another feature of the students we interviewed is that they come from the neighbouring area. They chose
the university they study in, because it was close to their home place and because their parents were in accordance
with their choice. The willingness to stay close to their home place can be understood in familial terms, but also,
maybe mostly, in financial terms. By being able to study near their parents’ home, students do not have to find and
pay for another lodging option and can save money on transportation.
Most of the companies we interviewed regretted the lack of knowledge, either basic or specific, of the
students they welcome. This idea was backed up by students themselves with, for instance, a student deploring the
low quality of his classmates: “
many dropped out after first year because students from Arts cannot pass basic
courses
”. Students and companies’ head of human resources added that high quality students are needed for co-op
education because they will have to handle efficiently both academic requirements and job assignments. As one
company said, “
Low performance students are an overload for companies
”.
To attract good students, one company suggested that “
it is important to inform many secondary pupils
about the opportunity of co-op programmes”.
North Thailand University has also tried to attract part-time
students, coming mainly from companies. But it has been very hard for them to follow the programme and
emphasis has now being put on full-time students. These few remarks show us that though the scope of
recruitment of students shall be wide, selection is needed to attract high-calibre students.
1.2 Selection process
The selection process at the entrance of the co-op programme is twofold, from students and from universities.
Students chose to join the co-op programme in that university first, as mentioned earlier, because the
institution was close to their home but also because it was famous. They expressed the feeling that the public
university they chose is both famous and good.
Students chose to follow a co-op curriculum to get practical skills and have the chance to get experience
in a company while studying. They all emphasised this willingness to gain both academic knowledge and skills in
the company. They also said that by joining a co-op programme, they will work while they study, and therefore
get some money. This will be valuable for them in financial terms, but also academically and professionally. They
have a very positive attitude towards co-op education, thinking it can be a way to join together many facets of
education and financial inputs.
Students need to pass the national university entrance exam to get into public universities. This
admission system has been widely criticised during the last years, however it still remains the main key of entry
into public universities. We interviewed only public universities and therefore we asked about the selection
process to join co-op programmes.
South Thailand University and Northeast Thailand universities said that all their programmes include a
“
co-operative period
”, so, next to the national entrance exam, there is no specific selection to get into them.
During the last couple of years, North Thailand University focused on specific programmes to
implement co-op and selection was made to screen students for them. Concerning the programme we analysed
