Bina Nusantara must introspect

Bina Nusantara must introspect

Published in The Jakarta Post of Nov. 6, 2000 are two letters,
one complaining of poor service at Bina Nusantara University, and
the other responding to the complaint.

As someone who is financially supporting a mature, intelligent
and hardworking student in the same program (MMSI Dual Master's),
I have been hearing the same complaints, and others, for more
than a year. Thus, I tend to believe that what the complainant
reported has much basis in reality. I am continually astounded
that so many poor educational and administrative
practices appear to be common at this very expensive private
university that boasts of cooperation with reputable
international universities.

It also seems that the university may have indirectly
acknowledged at least some of these complaints as a result of the
publication of the letter, since I have heard that a number of
the problems identified have suddenly been rectified.
Unfortunately, Ms. Anna Maria's printed response, on behalf of
the MMSI program, indicates yet another example of a less than
sophisticated approach to educational management: chastising the
complainant's poor academic performance is not a proper response
to his specific complaints (it is known as ad hominem, in fact).
Possibly, even, the complainant's alleged poor performance may
have partly resulted from Bina Nusantara's poor quality of
service.

Perhaps it is time for Bina Nusantara's ISO 9001 certification
and its BAN accreditation to be reviewed. Certainly it seems it
is time for Bina Nusantara to do some serious introspection and
improve its quality of service, for the good of all.

TIM BABCOCK

Adjunct Professor

York University, Toronto

Canada