Distance Mentoring System for Students under Academic Mobility Curriculum : A case Study of a Mobility Curriculum of PSU Trang Campus

Abstract

This research employed the credit transfer academic mobility curriculum, 3+1 type at Prince of Songkla University Trang Campus as a case study. The research aimed to 1) examine factors that challenge students’ ability to adapt to new environments during their overseas study period; 2) assess students’ satisfaction of the current distance mentoring system provided by the curriculum; and 3) identify ways to improve the mentoring system. Data were collected from a group of 18 Thai students who studied two semesters in a university in China; 2 Thai mentors; and 2 Chinese representatives from the university in China. Data were collected through survey questionnaires; students’ Facebook status updates, and semi - structured interviews.

The results 1) indicated that the strictness of curriculum requirements and students’ lack of overseas experiences could hinder students’ adaptation to new learning environments while pre - departure activities provided by the curriculum and students’ optimism help them overcome the challenges of overseas study; and 2) showed the students’ small satisfaction with the system’s procedures and medium satisfaction with the mentors. All the research findings were used to re - structure the mentoring system, which has been renamed Me@Overseas. The new system highlights the importance of communication process, mentors’ personality and communication skills, and the relationship between mentors and mentees. The findings of the study further suggest that the university’s administrators will need to support the mobility curriculum in terms of supporting policies as well as communication gadgets. The administrators might need to have more frequent meetings with the administrators of the overseas university to seek mutual solutions for problems that Thai students frequently encounter.