More private universities prepare doctorate programs

More private universities prepare doctorate programs

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): Major private universities are competing to run
postgraduate programs as the demand rises.

At least four private universities have recently been licensed
to hold doctorate programs, which are locally called Strata Tiga
(S3). The step is a milestone in the country's educational
history. As recently as last year, people who want to pursue a
doctorate degree must enroll at state-owned universities.

Starting this year, people wanting to take doctorate programs
can consider four private universities: Parahyangan Catholic
University (Unpar) in Bandung, the University of Gunadarma, the
University of Borobudur and the University of Persada Indonesia
(YAI) in Jakarta.

Unpar is the first private university to have opened
postgraduate programs in four fields of study: civil engineering,
law, architecture and economy. Gunadarma, Borobudur and YAI offer
one field, which is economics. Gunadarma was founded in 1981 as a
science and computer academy before it became a university.

Muherman Aslan, head of the licensing office of the Ministry
of Education, said private universities originally proposed to
hold doctorate programs a long time ago.

"The requirements are tough. They must have a board of
relevant scholars," he said.

He said in addition to the four private universities, the
government was examining several other educational institutions,
including the University of Trisakti in Jakarta and Indonesian
Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta.

Based on decree No. 212/U/1999 from the Ministry of Education,
any educational institution proposing to hold doctorate programs
are required to have an "A" grade for its bachelor programs as
accredited by the National Accreditation Body for Universities
(BAN PT). It also has to have a postgraduate program in the same
or similar field of study with the proposed doctorate program.

The university should have records of research in the same or
related field of study with the proposed doctorate program. It
should have an adequate number of qualified scholars to partake
in the doctorate program, which includes tutorials and research.

"There must be at least two permanent senior scholars with the
same education or background of the proposed doctorate program.
There has to be four doctors with the same field of study," said
Muherman.

He also said the conditions were tough.

"A university wanting to open a doctorate program should
submit correct and complete data, particularly in terms of the
scholars they have. So say there is a proposal from a university,
but it has only one senior professor -- we can't extend a license
then," he said.

He said more people were now aware of the need for higher
education; therefore, more private universities were proposing to
offer doctorate programs.

There are 1,558 private higher learning institutes in
Indonesia, including 283 universities, 42 institutes and 717
technical colleges.

Indonesia has 50 state universities, four state institutes and
four state technical colleges. There are also dozens of private
polytechnics and hundreds of academies.

In Indonesia, only schools under the category of university,
institute and sekolah tinggi can hold bachelor (Strata satu or
S1) and postgraduate programs (Strata dua or S2 and S3).

Raising interest

Hamdy Hady, head of the postgraduate program of YAI, agreed
that more people were now interested in undertaking a higher
education.

He said it was largely misunderstood that a doctorate degree
is a ticket to success.

"Many professionals -- who have undertaken S2 programs --
also want to enroll for doctorate programs. They think that a
doctorate degree can support their career in (commercial)
businesses," he said.

"Sure, anyone can enroll, but doctorate degrees are for
scholars. This is the highest academic degree. It's aimed in
developing science and research."

Hady said YAI's only doctorate program is accountancy.

"We also plan to open another program focusing on general
economy in the near future," he said.

To enroll at YAI's S3 program, a candidate is required to have
a grade point average of at least 3.0 and a Test of English as a
Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 500.

"There's no limit for age. A background in education is not as
important as there'll be matriculation," he said.

The tuition fee at YAI is about Rp 10 million per semester,
while the S3 is normally completed in at least four semesters.

At Unpar, interested candidates also have to have a good
academic record as well as fluency in English. Founded in 1955,
Unpar has graduated over 20,000 students.

"We require a good TOEFL score, basically to support the
research. But actually, the tutorial, seminar and dissertation
will be in Indonesian," said Hasan Mustafa, head of the
postgraduate program of Unpar.

He said Unpar did not set any target for the doctorate
applicants.

"We'll hold the program even with only one single participant,
because this is about quality not quantity," he said.

Tuition fee at Unpar is based on credit, ranging between Rp
400,000 and Rp 600,000. To complete a doctorate program, a
participant must achieve 42 credits, including a 32-credit
dissertation.