KKU Advances Beyond Good Governance Strategy, Moving Away from One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Become a Trusted Societal Role Model

16 June 2026
11:33

Khon Kaen University refines its 2026 Integrity and Transparency Assessment process by tailoring evaluation criteria to individual departmental missions, with the aim of strengthening institutional governance.

Under the vision of making Khon Kaen University a “World-Class Research and Development University”, the University Council has established transparent operations as a cornerstone of its sixth strategy: Beyond Good Governance. This strategy focuses on preventing corruption and upholding strict ethical standards, with the goal of building trustworthiness and positioning the university as an exemplary institutional role model within the community. It continues a long-standing mission, sustained over several decades, to build a management system that is both transparent and responsive to public needs.

Mrs Natsamol Tanakulrungsarit, Vice President for Legal and Communications, oversees implementation of this policy. She explained that the Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) is a key mechanism for reflecting the university’s institutional image. The assessment covers three dimensions: the Internal Integrity and Transparency Assessment (IIT), which measures internal staff perceptions regarding official duties, authority, and budget management; the External Integrity and Transparency Assessment (EIT), which captures the perspectives of external stakeholders regarding service quality and transparency; and the Open Data Integrity and Transparency Assessment (OIT), which evaluates the disclosure of basic information and online accessibility to enable public scrutiny.

The Vice President noted that the assessment scores serve as key data indicators for continuous operational improvement.

“The ITA is not merely a scoring exercise,” Mrs Tanakulrungsarit stated. “It is a key instrument for improving governance and operational transparency. The resulting scores reveal specific areas where Khon Kaen University needs improvement, allowing us to use that feedback to improve our organisational effectiveness.”

For the 2026 operational year, the university has deepened its evaluation process to overcome previous analytical limitations and identify genuine departmental challenges. Mrs Tanakulrungsarit elaborated:

“In 2026, the ITA has moved past the limitations of the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ format. It now offers an in-depth assessment tailored to specific departmental missions through a combination of standardised and specialised questions. This approach enables us to diagnose institutional weaknesses and identify risk areas across distinct workgroups with greater precision.”

The 2026 assessment also places greater emphasis on external feedback by increasing the EIT score proportion to 40 per cent. Qualified third-party bodies with relevant expertise have been appointed as evaluators to ensure objectivity and an accurate reflection of the university’s public standing.

In driving the organization toward these institutional goals, the Vice President for Legal and Communications underscored the vital role of every staff member as a core contributor to this collective effort.

“I would like all Khon Kaen University personnel to view the ITA as an opportunity for institutional growth rather than an administrative burden,” Mrs Tanakulrungsarit said. “I invite everyone to carry out their duties with integrity and transparency, ensuring that our university remains a well-governed role model, a reliable pillar, and a source of pride for society.”

Governance development at Khon Kaen University extends beyond compliance with state regulations or numerical targets. It represents the cultivation of a culture of transparency — confirming that, across its decades of operation, KKU remains an institution committed to serving society with integrity under the Beyond Good Governance strategy.