Higher Education and Human Resources
Discussion College Functions
According to Djokopranoto & Indrajit, (2004) higher education is an activity in an effort to produce educated people.
Meanwhile, in accordance with Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 60 of 1999 concerning Higher Education, the objectives of higher education are:
Prepare students to become members of the community who have academic and or professional abilities who can apply, develop and or enrich the repertoire of science, technology and or the arts.
Develop and disseminate science, technology and or art and seek their use to improve the standard of living of the people and enrich the national culture.
The development and progress of a nation is largely determined by the extent to which human resources master science and technology to be utilized for the welfare and prosperity of the nation. An institution that is relevant and responsible for producing superior and quality human resources who master science and technology is a university. Higher education as a center of excellence should be able to produce quality human resources to face the era of globalization which is full of challenges and quality or quality competition. The level of progress of the nation is largely determined by the progress and development of higher education institutions.
However, one thing we cannot ignore is that the progress and quality of higher education is largely determined by graduates from MA/SMA, MTs/SMP, and MI/SD as inputs or raw materials for these universities.
Therefore, improving the quality of education must comprehensively cover all levels of education.
In various literatures, universities actually have three functions that must be carried out. First, the function of human resource development, second, the function of knowledge and technology, and third, the function of change in society. These three functions of higher education must be fully understood by the managers and the academic community of higher education.
The first function of higher education is to build human resources. In fact, the implementation of education both at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels are all aimed at building the human resources needed by a nation. A nation will survive if it has quality human resources, especially knowledge and skills. This knowledge and ability is built through education, including higher education. Therefore, every higher education must carry out its function as a developer of human resources.
If it is associated with the economic field, universities must be able to develop aspects of capital related to human beings, so that the wheels of the economy can grow in a nation. Even if there is an economic crisis on a global scale, the nation will be able to survive these economic shocks. On the other hand, if a nation does not have or prepare its human capital as well as possible, especially in this era of globalization, economic growth will stagnate.
The second function is to develop science or science and technology. The development of science or science and technology in some universities is sometimes forgotten or not noticed. So far, the development of science and technology at several universities has only focused on carrying out learning activities for students, but related to the activities of conducting various research efforts as research development efforts have not been widely carried out. Even if someone has done it, it cannot be said to be optimal, in fact it tends to be just a mere formality. The various development research that will be carried out, of course, must not go out of the corridor of developing science and technology in various fields at the university concerned.
In accordance with its meaning, science is a collection of theories and processes that are built on empirical facts, then formulated in a statement that can function later. The scientific theories that have been built are not only descriptive but also predictive and control. An understanding of science as mentioned above, perhaps will find common ground if in its application level it is also based on the religious paradigm, because there is no conflict between science and religion (especially Islam). The rationale is that when science will be applied, we will think about the norms and values that will be developed. For example about nuclear technology, even though there is no conflict with religion. But when it will be applied, the question will arise for what nuclear technology is? If you want to fight, kill, or destroy other people, of course it is very contrary to religious values, but if it is for welfare, such as power generation facilities, it will certainly be a good deed.
Returning to the importance of a university conducting development research, in addition to the needs of the university itself, it is also hoped that universities that have a high production level will produce superior and quality human beings as researchers with relevant and useful research results. In addition, it also supports partnerships between universities as research institutions and various sectors of life such as the industrial or trade sectors as important elements in national development.
This is what should be the future vision of a university, to prepare reliable human beings, not only in the learning process they do, but also have careful planning in the learning and research process. In essence, research in various fields of science and technology must always be encouraged by a university, in an effort to produce quality alumni and at the same time increase their competitiveness, both among domestic universities, gratefully able to compete with universities abroad.
The third function of higher education is to make changes in society, towards a better direction, not vice versa, even worse.
Universities are expected to be able to manage, control, engineer, improve and reconstruct society. Social order, social behavior, and social change are endeavored to remain based on the philosophy of life that exists in society.
For the community, an assessment of a university is not only seen from the building walls that look tall and beautiful, but the extent to which the university is able to provide positive impacts on the changes caused by its activities in society. It's not enough to stop there, the changes enjoyed by the community are not limited to those around the college campus, they should be able to extend to regional and national levels, even internationally, so that from being just an agent of change, it becomes an agent of change. a leader in change (leader of change). This is one indicator of the significance of a university that can make people survive, in the face of various life challenges that are changing and getting tougher every day.
The Role of Universities
From the three functions of higher education as described at length above, then what we call the role of higher education emerges.
These roles are known as the Tridharma (three services) of higher education, the three of which are integrated with each other. The tridharma includes: first, education and teaching, second, research and third, service.
The first tridharma of higher education is education and teaching. This role becomes the foundation in the implementation of a university, because it is more directed to the development of human resources. One of the indicators of the quality of education and teaching is related to semester credit units (SKS). SKS is the weight given to each course which shows how many meetings were held, how many tasks had to be done by students and lecturers, how many efforts were made by students and lecturers in improving themselves through face-to-face activities. advance, self-study and do assignments. For example, one course weighs 3 credits with a time
unit of 50 minutes. This means that students must attend lectures 3 times 50 minutes, times 14 meetings (12 lectures), 1 Mid-Semester Examination (UTS) and 1 Semester Final Examination (UAS) in one semester. Plus 3 times 50 minutes of doing assignments from the lecturer, plus 3 times 50 minutes of doing assignments or self-study.
If students carry out the SKS well, it will produce students with quality learning outcomes. However, this success will be achieved if the lecturers do their job well. Lecturers must come to class 3 times 50 minutes 14 times meeting to interact with students. Lecturers also need careful preparations to give their teaching. Then the lecturer must check all the assignments of students and return them to students, so that it is known whether the work carried out by the students is right or wrong. In addition, lecturers are also required to always read at least 3 times 50 minutes. Thus the lecture materials that will be taught to students will always be up to date.
Lecturers are an important parameter in the process of controlling higher education institutions because of their very central position, placing lecturers as the main human resources holding key operational tasks and responsibilities of higher education institutions.
With professional skills and close relationships with students and peers, lecturers greatly determine the development of the institution, influencing the intellectual and social environment of campus life.
Therefore, all efforts made with the aim of improving the performance of lecturers as teaching staff in universities in a comprehensive manner need to be carried out so that their functions and roles can be carried out optimally in order to achieve organizational goals.
Although it has been implemented, the lecturer professionalism development program in Indonesia has not shown encouraging results. Several state universities in Indonesia are already included in the list of the best universities in the world, even though they are still ranked number one. Likewise with the private sector, there are a number of private universities whose quality is reliable and on par with universities abroad.
Data held by the Research and Development Department of the National Education Ministry shows that of the 120,000 permanent lecturers at private universities and state universities in Indonesia, there are still 50.65 percent or around 60,000 of whom have not received a master's degree or just a bachelor's degree. According to other data, the total number of lecturers at PTN is 240,000 people, 50% of whom do not have the educational qualifications equivalent to a master's degree. Of these, only 15% of lecturers have doctoral degrees. When compared to universities in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, where the number of doctorates has reached more
than 60%, it appears that lecturers at Indonesian universities are still far behind.
Law No. 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers requires university lecturers to have at least a master's degree. The law states that primary and secondary education educators are required to have at least a bachelor's degree. Meanwhile, to educate at the undergraduate level of academic education, at least have a bachelor's degree (S2), while for postgraduate programs are doctorates (S3) and professors.
This fact is ironic considering that one of the great aspirations of universities in Indonesia is to become a world class university. With 50% of lecturers who are still qualified for S1, it will be difficult in the near future to achieve these goals. Moreover, in the midst of such conditions, there is no significant effort from the lecturers to improve their professionalism as the main element of higher education. Some of them are even less aware that the teaching profession, like other professions, is also related to the dimensions of knowledge, expertise, and ethics that need to be continuously developed. Unfortunately, these dimensions are not paid much attention to by the lecturers, so it is not surprising that the spotlight and criticism continue to be addressed to them.
Among the criticisms that are often raised regarding the quality of university lecturers in Indonesia are: First, currently the interest of some lecturers to continue reading and conducting scientific research in their scientific field has decreased. They seem to be satisfied with the doctorate or Ph.D they have achieved. They are no longer busy with scientific research which is their main task to contribute new things in their scientific field. Even if they do a research, usually it is not meant to discover new things or contribute something that is beneficial to society, but to gain promotion or achieve a professorship position.
The results of research by Djokopranoto & Indrajit, (2004) from FKIP, University of Muhammadiyah Surakarta, which were published in the journal Cakrawala Pendidikan, November 2010, Th.
XXIX, No. 3 states that, based on data at the PTS Research Institute in the Surakarta area, the average number of research titles proposed by lecturers in one year ranges from 10%-20% of the number of lecturers at the PTS concerned.
Second, not a few lecturers think that their main task is only to convey knowledge or assign scientific research to students. They often forget that they are educators in the broadest sense. On their shoulders they carry a responsibility that goes beyond the walls of the campus, namely to educate students, both in terms of science,
mentality, way of thinking, behavior, and so on. But sometimes it is very unfortunate that there are some unscrupulous lecturers who are far from being role models for their students. As written in TEMPO Interaktif Bandung, dated February 11, 2010 regarding the disclosure of a plagiarism case that befell a Professor of the Department of International Relations, Parahyangan University, Bandung. Even worse, as written by tabloidjubi.com on July 3, 2010 about the phenomenon of free sex between lecturers and students in Papua.
Even though there are cases of plagiarism, free sex is carried out by a few individuals, whose numbers are not proportional to the number of lecturers who are still consistent with their duties, but it cannot be denied that the behavior of these individuals has tarnished the teaching profession.
Third, many lecturers avoid their main duties as educators in various ways to cover their shortcomings. For example, by applying
"scientific despotism" because they are unable to overcome critical dialogue with students, running away from the main topic of the lecture to pass time because they do not master the material, or giving assignments and then letting students argue on their own with the excuse of training them to discuss, and so on. An example of an attitude of avoiding assignments can also be manifested in the lack of face-to-face meetings done in class. The results of Ambarwati's research published in the maxi journal in 2009 showed that the presence of lecturers in the teaching and learning process at one of the universities in Ambon city showed that the number of face-to-face meetings that should have been at least 18 times per semester was only filled with an average of 11 meetings.
According to the results of Sumardjoko's, (2010) research as quoted above, judging from the attendance data of lecturers in class, it can be said that the quality is not too bad because the average attendance of lecturers in class is 70% of the standard set. In fact, for private universities that already have a quality assurance institution, the attendance rate for lecturers in the class can reach 90%.
Some of the conditions above are very likely to occur because among the lecturers there are still various weaknesses. According to Buchari, (2003) the problems encountered among lecturers are: Lack of reference for lecture materials, Foreign language skills are very low, Placement that does not match the required qualifications. Lecturers who are placed come from various social classes, regions, ethnicities, ages, behaviors that blend into one academic community so that unwanted access may occur if each cannot adjust well.
This condition shows that there is still a wide gap between the ideals and the real conditions of university lecturers in Indonesia
today. This condition is of course influenced by various factors, such as education management, economy, social reality, and others.
Therefore, to fix it also requires a comprehensive lecturer professionalism development program that involves various parties, ranging from universities, government, to the community.
Lecturers are an important component in improving the quality of education. This has been confirmed in the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System Article 35 paragraph 3, that to achieve the quality of education standards it is not only determined by the elements of the education staff, namely lecturers, but also how the university is managed based on content standards, processes, graduate competencies, facilities and infrastructure, management, financing, and evaluation of education that can be implemented by a standardization, assurance and quality control body for education.
In the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers, article 1 paragraph 2 states that,
"Lecturers are professional educators and scientists with the main task of transforming, developing, and disseminating science, technology and art through education, research and community service". The position of lecturers as professionals has the function of increasing the dignity and role of lecturers as agents of learning, developers of science, technology, and the arts, and serving the community to improve the quality of national education.
Lecturers at universities have a strategic role in terms of academic and student development. Lecturers are professionals who determine what is best for their students based on professional considerations. Many acknowledgments state that the development of the quality of education can be pursued through the development of the quality of lecturers. This can be seen from the findings of previous research that in education applies "the man behind the system"[4], humans are the key factors that determine the strength of education.
In fact, education as a service industry is a "front line provider and determine the quality of service delivery system", lecturers are at the forefront in determining service quality [5]. Higher education that is innovative, quality, and responsive to global developments and local challenges, its success lies in its development and development efforts. The main drivers of growth, namely university lecturers.
Theoretically, many factors can influence the role of lecturers.
According to [6] states that the factors that influence individual behavior are effort, ability, and environmental situation. The tridharma of the two universities is research, the content of which is more related to the development of science and technology. Research
is considered as a tool to develop science and technology. Education and research conducted by lecturers and students are directed at developing cooperative abilities, ways of thinking and working actively and creatively, and not to be left behind, must be carried out continuously, so that they have a contribution to changes that occur in society towards a better direction and are based on values. - high value.
The third tridharma of higher education is service, namely activities carried out by the academic community such as lecturers and students in community development so that changes occur for the better, both for the short, medium, or long term based on the knowledge gained from education and teaching. and research results.
Even though the product of a university is community-oriented, a principle that must be adhered to is not only to give fish, but also to prepare the hook. For this reason, activities that are community development or social engineering need to be increased in intensity.
The purpose of this activity is to empower the community to be able to stand on their own, which is facilitated by the university.
Universities must really show their role actively by carrying out activities to build a good society.
The coaching efforts carried out by a university, of course, should never be outside the disciplines developed at the university.
For example, universities that work in the field of religion, it is certain that the concentration of community development carried out is related to religion as well. Even though it is possible to establish inter-institutional work relationships, then also conduct coaching in terms of entrepreneurship, but its nature is only as an addition, the main focus remains on the religious field.
The three functions and roles of higher education institutions that have been described above have interrelationships between one another. If one function or role is lame, let alone all three, it will be difficult for the university to be qualified, not to mention if the target is able to compete, it will certainly be even more difficult. One more thing, the existence of the function and role of higher education is associated with the existence of a larger education system. This means that all people involved in the administration of higher education, from leaders, lecturers to administrative staff, must always be directed to improve the quality of education in their minds.
The function and role of higher education as an educational institution must also be able to guarantee the provision of quality services to its students. Quality services are services that provide satisfaction to stakeholders. Satisfaction is not only felt by students,