Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University -- Sukhothai Regional Academic Services and Community Relations Centre.

STOU Sukhothai Centre at a glance

STOU carries this province's name and is headquartered 400 km away in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi -- which is the reason the university is usually written out of any list of what Sukhothai has. That is half the story. STOU also operates a permanent, staffed centre inside Mueang Sukhothai, and for a distance learner living here it is the practical face of the university.

The centre stands on about 10 rai of public land at 4 Moo 7, Sukhothai--Kamphaeng Phet Road, Ban Kluai sub-district, Mueang Sukhothai. Construction ran from 28 July 1994 to 27 July 1996 and it opened to the public on 1 December 1997. It was renamed from Regional Distance Education Centre to Regional Academic Services and Community Relations Centre on 14 January 2021, and is one of 11 such centres nationwide.

Services, from the centre's own description: a library and educational-media collection, study and careers guidance, student registration services, sale of application packs and enrolment of new students, and meeting rooms used for tutorials and university activities. Teaching itself is at a distance; you enrol in STOU, not in the centre.

Notable facts

• STOU's campus is in Nonthaburi, but the university is physically present in Mueang Sukhothai through this centre -- the two facts are often confused into one wrong one.
• Opened 1 December 1997 on roughly 10 rai at Ban Kluai; renamed 14 January 2021; one of 11 STOU regional centres in Thailand.
• A study, library, guidance and registration point for distance students -- not a teaching campus with resident faculty.