Ramkhamhaeng University is considering suing the Office of Higher Education Commission (Ohec) after it was named as having 40 substandard courses by the agency.
Ohec listed what it called substandard courses on its website on Tuesday. The list contained 182 courses that failed to reach commission standards for the 2015 and 2016 academic years. Of them, 68 were for bachelor's degrees, 89 for master's degrees and the rest were for doctorates.
A total of 9,099 courses on offer at 40 private and state higher education institutes were assessed.
Ramkhamhaeng had the largest number of substandard courses (40). It was followed by Chiang Rai Rajabhat University (22), Dhurakij Pundit University (16), Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University (11) and Prince of Songkla University (8).
Ramkhamhaeng University rector Wutisak Lapcharoensap accused Ohec of promulgating incorrect information that could severely damage the university's reputation.
Of the university's 40 listed courses, 23 were closed while another was not open for further enrolment, the rector said.
In the 2017 academic year, another six courses were barred from receiving students, he said, adding one more was suspended in the 2018 academic year.
Mr Wutisak said the remaining courses listed were improved in line with the required standards and registered with Ohec.
The reason why the university's courses failed to meet standards was because of a shortfall in lecturers due to retirements and sabbaticals, but the university has now recruited replacements, he said.
"I will write to Ohec as damage has been caused to Ramkhamhaeng. No talks have been held with Ohec since the list came out. As of now, we will look at filing a lawsuit," he said.
Meanwhile, Khon Kaen University, which has four courses on the list, said yesterday a lack of permanent lecturers was the cause of the problem.
Deputy university rector Denpong Sudpakdee said Ohec requires each course to have at least five permanent lecturers. However, for a period during the assessment, many lecturers retired, he noted.
Two masters and doctorate courses were not closed down because they now have new lecturers, he said.
