What Have We Actually Done?

This morning, Wednesday 26 August 2026, we began the day with a road trip to Bandung. Tomorrow, Thursday 27 August 2026, we will attend the graduation ceremony for undergraduate students of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), including our daughter, Najwa Rashika, a student of the Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

A student’s academic journey finally arrives at an important moment: graduation. Yet behind every graduation there is always a long, unseen process, from lectures, practical work, research, supervision and examinations to the various academic activities undertaken over many years.

Elsewhere, on the same days, many lecturers are busy with different work. The period for filling in the Lecturer Workload (Beban Kerja Dosen, BKD) has once again become part of the academic routine. Lecturers reopen their records of activities over the past semester, gather evidence of the implementation of the Tri Dharma, enter these activities into the SISTER system, and some also serve as BKD reviewers to examine performance reports.

BKD is not merely administrative work. The BKD entries provide a picture of how a lecturer has carried out his or her Tri Dharma duties. Filling in the BKD should also be an opportunity for lecturers to look back over the previous semester, at what has been done, what has been achieved, and which areas still need improvement.

BKD has at least two purposes. First, for the lecturer personally. The performance record reported is linked to the fulfilment of professional obligations and career progression. For lecturers who have obtained educator certification, meeting the BKD is also connected to the certification allowance provided by the government. Second, for the institution. Lecturers’ BKD reports are one reflection of how a higher education institution implements the Tri Dharma. Educational activities, research, community service and other academic activities carried out by lecturers can be seen from the BKD recapitulation. That recapitulation becomes important data for higher education institutions in the accreditation and clustering process.

Every time we fill in the BKD, there is an important question worth reflecting on: ‘What have we actually done?’ In a system with minimum requirements, there is always the possibility that someone will make the minimum threshold the final goal. As long as the required number is met, the obligation is considered complete and the report is considered safe.

Yet more than that, the spirit of a performance assessment system should not merely ensure that someone reaches the minimum threshold, but should encourage work that genuinely produces benefit. This is where honesty becomes important. A scientific work written jointly, for example, may indeed involve many authors. But what is more important than simply listing names is the real contribution of each author. The same applies when a lecturer reports books, publications, research, community service or intellectual property.

A lecturer may have a BKD report that is not filled with spectacular activities, but everything reported was genuinely carried out. Conversely, a report that appears highly productive does not necessarily reflect genuine contribution if some activities were undertaken mainly to meet administrative requirements. At this point, BKD actually becomes more than a form or a digital system. It can become a mirror of a lecturer’s integrity.

A BKD report prepared only to appear compliant can give the institution a mistaken picture. Leaders see good figures but do not know the real problems. A study programme appears productive, but that productivity may not fully reflect the impact produced. In the end, what is harmed is not only the administrative system, but also the institution and the public who entrust education to higher education institutions.

This is becoming increasingly important because higher education institutions are now required to demonstrate increasingly measurable performance. Accreditation, publications, intellectual property, partnerships and various other performance indicators are indeed necessary. Without measurement, it is difficult for an institution to know whether it is developing.

A lecturer may record many activities in one semester. But a more meaningful measure is whether the students taught genuinely received a better learning experience. Whether the research conducted produced new knowledge. Whether the scientific publications produced contributed to the field of study. Whether the community service carried out genuinely benefited society.

Tomorrow I will attend the graduation at ITB. The graduating students will of course receive diplomas, transcripts and other academic evidence. But when they enter the world of work and community life, what will truly matter is the knowledge, skills, character and abilities they bring from higher education.

The same applies to lecturers. We can enter many figures into the system, but in the end what students will feel is the quality of the teaching we provide, the example we set, the research we produce, and the benefit we genuinely deliver. For that reason, the BKD reporting period each semester becomes an opportunity to ask more deeply: ‘What have I actually done, and what benefit has it brought to students, knowledge, the institution and society?’

Allah SWT says: ‘O you who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what it has sent forth for tomorrow, and fear Allah.’