History of Nakhon Phanom University

According to the informal off-site Cabinet Meeting in Narathiwat Province on the 2nd April 2002, His Excellency Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand at that time, suggested that a system and guidelines should be considered for all higher education institutions to link with communities at the grassroots level. It is neither the establishment of an institute campus nor a new school building was constructed that emphasized material aspects.Although numerous public higher education institutions have many buildings and facilities in various provinces, there is still a lack of good management in making full use of these buildings. The meeting, therefore, assigned the Minister to the Prime Minister's Office at that time, Professor Dr. Krasae Chanawongse, who, at that time, looked after the Office of the National Education Commission to collaborate with relevant agencies to explore and review the possible policy is that the heart of educational reform lies in teaching methods and management methods. It is important to urgently create the awareness of efficient management. Such awareness involves the use of shared resources to be most efficient and beneficial, as well as the information technology to increase quality and efficiency without investing in expensive school buildings.

The establishment of the Higher Education Institute in Nakhon Phanom Province, in addition to opening more opportunities for people in the province to pursue higher education, it is also a link to the neighboring Indochina countries both economically and socially, which will contribute to the strengthening of the country's economic development in the region. At the cabinet meeting on the 24th of September, 2002, Nakhon Phanom higher education institutions adopted the principle of merging existing higher education institutions to maximize the use of prevailing resources and appointed a committee to prepare for the establishment of Nakhon Phanom University on 30th  October, 2002 to carry out the drafting of the master plan project and the draft of Nakhon Phanom University Act. 

Nakhon Phanom University, was, therefore, becoming a university that was established from the integration of educational institutions in Nakhon Phanom Province. According to the Nakhon Phanom University Act 2005, which was announced in the Royal Gazette, Volume 122, Section 75 A, on September 1st, 2005, and resulted in Nakhon Phanom University becoming the status of "Nakhon Phanom University" since September 2nd, 2005, Section 4 of that Act includes local institutions and colleges as followings: Nakhon Phanom Rajabhat University, Mahasarakham University at Nakhon Phanom Campus, Nakhon Phanom Technical College, Nakhon Phanom College of Agriculture and Technology, That Phanom Vocational College, Nawa Vocational College, and Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Nakhon Phanom. Such local institutions and colleges have been reintegrated and re-established into Nakhon Phanom University. Nakhon Phanom University is a legal entity and is a government agency according to law Under the Office of the Higher Education Commission Ministry of Education.

Nakhon Phanom University carries out its mission under the original mission of the educational institutions and colleges that have been reintegrated together. The university aims to provide various educational programs including short course curriculums, Vocational Certificate Programs, High Vocational Certificate Programs, Bachelor Degree Programs, Master Degree Programs, and Doctoral Degree Programs. Such various programs have been developed under the reintegrative missions of various educational institutions. Those various types of programs are one of the key identities that make the newly established Nakhon Phanom University different from previous educational institutions and other local colleges in the region.

Philosophy 

Develop Ourself, Be Aware, Service the Community

Vision

Nakhon Phanom University, the university of society and community

Identity

The Creation of Multicultural Society

Identity

Public Mind and Working Skills

Organizational Values

N P U = "มหาวิทยาลัยนครพนมทำงานเป็นเครือข่ายอย่างมืออาชีพ เป็นหนึ่งเดียว"

Network : ทำงานเป็นเครือข่าย

Professionality : ความเป็นมืออาชีพ

Unity : ความเป็นหนึ่งเดียว

Missions:

The Nakhon Phanom University Act B.E. 2548 (2005) defines the university as an educational and research institution for the purpose of providing the followings: supporting and promoting academic and advanced professional education, providing teaching and research activities for supporting society and culture. The university missions are included five aspects:  (1) organization management (2) graduate students training (3) research (4) academic services  (5) arts and culture preservation. In order to formulate directions for the university development with strategic planning, it is therefore essential to explain about the policy details of each mission that has been established. The details are as follows: 

To formulate directions for developing strategic plans, the university propose policies for each mission as followings: 

1. Corporate Management Mission 

- To be an organization with a good management system.

- To Manage the university's resources to generate revenue for greater budget self-reliance and reform the system of allocation and budget spending as a mechanism to drive the university's goals.

- To Reform the human resource management system to ensure high performance and well-being of personnel to be an important force in driving the university's strategy towards its goals.

- To Develop information systems to be linked to enable data management to support decision-making by executives at all levels.

- To Develop support personnel to have work skills that are in line with the evolving technology and can use their performance to enter professional positions, specialization, and expertise.

- To Develop infrastructure and the university landscape to be a green and sustainable university.

2. Graduate Production Mission

- To Develop a student admission system at all levels to obtain high-quality students and increase the proportion of graduate studies that focus on producing graduates as a mechanism to drive towards universities for spatial community development.

- The curriculum is modern, standardized, and in line with the needs of the labor market. Graduates from Nakhon Phanom University are "transformational leaders" and have skills that align with 21st - century skills.

- To Develop the qualifications and academic positions of professors to pursue academic excellence.

- To Create graduates with an identity, desirable attributes, a background in research, innovation, and development.

- To Create a learning environment, develop and improve the learning infrastructure to be ready to support students' learning at any place, at any time, and to become a smart campus.

3. Research Mission

- To formulate research topics for solving the problems of area/community. The research mission also aims to develop early-career researchers, mid-career researchers, and senior-career researchers as for functioning as mechanism to develop the research capacity with continuity and efficiency.  

- To develop the fundamental structure in relations to research mission with efficiency, standard and quality as accepted by the society. 

- To collaborate with government and private agencies, as well as local government organizations with the applications and contributions of quality research projects. 

- To develop and promote the applications of research and innovations for social utility and community problem-solving. 

4. Academic Service Mission

- To promote academic services linked to the university's research and expertise. To develop research to be strong and integrated with teaching and learning, as well as to build the reputation of the university.

- To create a network of academic services with government organizations. The project aims to work with the private sector and local government organizations to solve problems and develop sustainably strong communities according to their expertise. 

- To develop a service hub in various areas of the Central Mekong sub-region.

- Reform the university's academic service system by establishing a center for coordination and effective integration of various schools.

- To develop learning parks in various areas of expertise of the university to be a source of learning for the community and society.

5. Mission for the preservation of arts and culture    

- To be a center for the preservation and promotion of art, culture, local wisdom, and language.

- To integrate arts and culture into teaching, research, and academic services.

- To develop and disseminate knowledge on arts and culture of provincial groups to the national level. Central Mekong Sub-region ASEAN & International.

Nakhon Phanom University’s Strategic Plan for 5 years (A.D. 2022 -2026)

        Strategy 1:  Smart Management and Good Governance

        Strategy 2: Human Resources Management

        Strategy 3: Infrastructure Development

        Strategy 4: Excellent Education

        Strategy 5: Impactful Research and Innovation

        Strategy 6: Excellent Graduate Training

        Strategy 7: Excellent Culture Community

        Strategy 8: Area-Based University for Community Development