Developing Expected Learning Outomes for the Bachelor of Business Administration Program, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince of Songkla University

Abstract

Educational standards are extremely important to educational sector worldwide because they could be used to ensure that all students attain their educational goals. To reach high educational standards, expected learning outcomes should not only be clear, measurable, and achievable, but also should reflect the needs of stakeholders. This could assist students to achieve employability. The purpose of this paper is to develop expected learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Business Administration Program, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince of Songkla University (Pattani Campus), Thailand (a developing country in Southeast Asia). The development of expected learning outcomes is in accordance with the concept of outcome based education and international standards of education (such as the ASEAN University Network Quality Assurance and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). This study collected data from the participants who were core stakeholders and non-core stakeholders using the questionnaire with open-ended questions. The categorization of stakeholders into two groups was based on the criterion used in this study. Qualitative method was adopted to thematically categorize and analyze the data. This study found that there were nine items of expected learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Business Administration Program. These expected learning outcomes included generic outcomes and subject specific outcomes that could be used to guide teaching and learning approach as well as student assessment of the program. Since the expected learning outcomes developed in this study were based on stakeholders' needs of the Bachelor of Business Administration Program located in Southernmost Thailand, they may not be generalized to other educational programs or other regions.

Identifying Lifelong Learning Skills of Students in the Bachelor of Business Administration Program

“…However, the means to accomplish PLOs of the B.B.A. program is still not mentioned by the past research [11]. This paper views the establishment of lifelong learning through curriculum design and implementation as the means to achieve PLOs.…”

“…Program were derived from the requirements of the key stakeholders, especially external stakeholders (e.g. employers, entrepreneurs, and domestic companies) [11]. Therefore, students who acquire a set of lifelong learning skills matched with PLOs of the B.B.A.…”

“…Therefore, students who acquire a set of lifelong learning skills matched with PLOs of the B.B.A. Program could enhance employability [11].…”

“…Experiential learning theory includes both cognitive and subjective aspects of learning [16]. Based on an experiential learning cycle, students engage in a concrete experience by evaluating existing concepts [11]. Secondly, students are involved in reflection on the experience [17].…”

“…Additionally, the requirements of stakeholders have an impact on the B.B.A. Program because its purpose is to serve internal and external stakeholders [11]. Thus, the requirements of stakeholders regarding students' lifelong learning skills need to be considered at the stage of curriculum design.…”