Accreditation Results 2020

1. ABEST21 Accreditation Result

ABEST21 Accreditation Result of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Padjadjaran is as follows:
“The School’s educational and research activities have generally met ABEST21 Management Accreditation Standards and the quality maintenance and improvement of education and
research in the aforementioned academic unit are promising and good.”
Accreditation commences April 1, 2020 for a five-year period.

2. The Peer Review Team

3. The Peer Review Schedule

4. Comprehensive Review

PRT-FEB:

The School has developed a well-established quality assurance system, which PRT considers comprehensive in terms of the policy, management and process of quality assurance, and in terms of accordance with the requirements set by its key stakeholders. Although not stated in a consistent manner, the mission statement reflects the School’s efforts in addressing the changing educational and research environment. The School has taken appropriate initiatives to ensure that quality programs are offered; these included the provision of quality educational infrastructure, administrative support and academic support provided to staff and students to ensure continuous development. For the Accounting Department, the School has a number of academic staff members with professional degree. Also, the School has established good relationships with its alumni which is helpful for the School to develop updated curriculum that meets industry demand.
However, there are still some areas for improvement. The School needs to provide periodical training and staff development programs for faculty and administrative staff to ensure that up-to-date and quality education is provided. For the administrative staff, programs to enhance their communication skills (especially in English) and IT literacy would be helpful. For the academic staff, there is a need to improve their research and publication activity (especially in international journals). The School may consider appointing external examiners for each program to assist in curriculum development. Also, support for postgraduate students should be enhanced, for instance it is recommended to provide working space for postgraduate students.
In terms of the SCR prepared by the School, there are some inconsistencies, particularly in the SWOT analysis and mission statement. For the Economic Department, there is lack of specific information provided for each program. The quality of documentation needs further improvement.
Overall, the School has met the requirements for accreditation. The School has highlighted issues for improvement and the actions identified for improvement are considered appropriate.

PRT-Economics:

In general, the SCR prepared by the Economic Department of UNPAD has covered a comprehensive self-evaluation on improvement issues, strategy and improvement plans. The issues highlighted for improvement are appropriate and relevant. Most of the accreditation standards were met.
However, there are several concerns such as inconsistency of information provided, particularly in the SWOT analysis and mission statement, as well as lack of specific information on each program offered by the Economic Department. In addition, the SCR does not fully reflect the actual conditions at the Department, and some strong points that the School possesses.

PRT-Management:

Overall, FEB has well-established mission statement and quality assurance system for all of its programs. All these systems are applied in accordance with the standards required by the stakeholders. FEB also emphasizes the improvement of educational and research environment that is required by most of the global higher education institutions. All these efforts should be commended.
FEB UNPAD has a good system in place to ensure the quality of its postgraduate program. It includes FEB’s mission, internal quality assurance, educational programs, qualified faculty members and students, and educational infrastructure. UNPAD is a 62 year-old university, and FEB as one of its first established departments demonstrated a mature approach in terms of process improvement.
However, FEB needs to catch up with the current developments so that it is not left behind in terms of program offerings and educational facilities. To achieve this, faculty members need to be continuously trained and provided with suitable environment for research. Student selection is equally important for FEB.
Having said that, we suggest that FEB takes the PRT recommendations seriously, especially those related to having EE for all programs to ensure their relevancy in the ever-changing economic environment, and to providing well-established educational programs for both local and international students. Moreover, trainings should be provided to administrative staff from time to time to hone their skills and at the same time to promote competent staff.

PRT-Accounting:

• The management education of FEB-UNPAD seemed to be comprehensive starting from the establishment of the mission. FEB-UNPAD is a part of a conventional public university with a well-established system. Although it might not be perfect but the acknowledgement that improvement issues needed to be addressed based on the mission statement is commendable. Financially, the structure of a public university with steady inflow of funding does not create an issue for the financial sustainability of FEB-UNPAD. The faculty size and qualification seemed to be appropriate, but there is a need to increase the number of doctoral qualifications.
• The support in terms of infrastructure and administration seemed to be appropriate as FEB is a part of the larger public university system.
• Facilities, faculty members, professors, students, and administrative staff were all prepared to be scrutinized by the UNPAD. Therefore, we only had the chance to observe well-equipped facilities, well-organized educational systems, and meet well educated students and well-trained staff members who have been preselected. We might have been able to get some relevant information from the administrative staff.
• UNPAD has a good academic process in place. UNPAD has guidelines and documents for quality assurance, academic policy, academic standards and also for the implementation of the quality policy. The School also has a quality assurance and accreditation team.
• UNPAD has a number of ongoing accounting programs and a double degree program with international institutions. The university has good infrastructure and facilities for students. However, there is an urgent need to provide working space for postgraduate students to ensure more discussions and cross-fertilization between the postgraduate students and faculty members.
• There is a good relationship with alumni which is a major strength, especially for the curriculum review. Hence, the process of curriculum review is in place (even though it was not clearly highlighted in the report). The student/faculty ratio is good. The School also has a number of accounting lecturers with professional qualifications. However, the number of faculty members with PhDs and the number of professors needs to be increased so as to enhance the quality and prestige of the program. Also, lecturers who have master’s degree need to continue their education to pursue a doctoral degree.
• In terms of research output, the university counts the papers that are published in the domestic refereed journals. However, the School should also consider approaching international journals and aim to publish papers that meet international standards.

5. Good Practice in the FEB Education

PRT-FEB:

1) Title of Good Practice in the FEB Education

“Inclusive, Innovative and Quality Business Economic Education”

2) Reason for selecting the title stated above

The programs offered by the School address the interests of its key stakeholders and make a positive impact in the community. The value of human well-being is incorporated into the School’s management and activities, for instance the “One Professor One Village” project. Also, there is close collaboration between the School, its industry partners, the community and alumni. Hence, the term “inclusive” is appropriate for the title of the Good Practice.
The School has acted innovatively to offer programs relevant to the changing environment, for instance the Digital Business program. Hence, the term “innovative” is suggested.
In addition, the School has developed a good management system to ensure that quality programs are offered. Hence, the term “quality” is also applicable for the title of the Good Practice.

PRT-Economics:

PRT Member A:
1) Title of Good Practice in the FEB Education

“Inclusive and Innovative Economics Education and Research”

2) Reason for selecting the title stated above

The School addresses the needs of its key stakeholders through the Economics Department’s education and research activities; hence the word “inclusive” is suggested. Also, the School is making proactive efforts to offer new and innovative courses to meet with the needs of the changing environment; therefore “innovative” is suggested to reflect the good practice in providing education and conducting research in the Economics programs.

PRT-Management:

1) Title of Good Practice in the FEB Education

“The Governance of Good Practices in the Management Education

2) Reason for selecting the title stated above

• One professor, one village initiative
  This is a unique program that aims to make positive impact on the community. Through this program, a professor will mentor the lecturers and students for the integrated initiatives to develop the community. At the same time, faculty members can do action research, while students are able to practice what they learned in theory, for example to develop a small business. This initiative is a part of UNPAD uniqueness for many years because no other university is doing anything like this.
• Digital Business Program
  Nowadays, business models are evolving in tandem with the development of internet. Therefore, business models such as e-hailing have gained momentum. The vice-president of Go-Jek, Indonesia’s ride-hailing and on-demand services startup, is FEB UNPAD alumni. After its recent US$550 million fundraise, Go-Jek has officially become a unicorn, at a US$1.3 billion valuation. In the business sense, a unicorn is any privately held start-up valued at over US$1 billion. Go-Jek needed only 1.5 years from launching its mobile application to receiving that prestigious title. Go-Jek was founded by Nadiem Makarim in 2010. In its original form, the startup had a fleet of motorcycle drivers that could be called up to give passengers rides, do courier services, or deliver food.
  Based on the information gathered from the interview, the Digital Business Program had 3000 applicants, and only 42 students were accepted per intake. It shows how relevant the program is.
• Integrated Microfinance Management Program
  This program was introduced in 2012 in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, Indonesia, and it has received grants from the company in the Netherlands. Microfinance is a category of financial services targeted at individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems. The inventor is Professor Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh. He is the recipient of Nobel Peace prize award.
  Good governance ensures the quality of these programs and initiatives.

PRT-Accounting:

(1) Good Practices:

• The main strength of the accounting program at UNPAD is due to the close collaboration between the faculty members and the industry (both the private and public sectors). Another good practice is the School’s strong engagement with the alumni (which also needs to be highlighted in the report).
• The Model of management education is developed quite well by opening some concentrations, especially in master’s degree.
• University has adopted digital business course programs (the School states that the university was the first in Indonesia to do this).

(2) The reason for selecting Good Practices:

• The engagement with the private and public sectors and also with the alumni enhances the School’s curriculum and helps to align it with the industry needs, which ultimately improves students’ employability.
• Teaching appears to be the strength of FEB-UNPAD. The management of course delivery seems comprehensive in terms of:
  • Student-faculty member ratio
  • Recruitment of faculty members
  • Team-teaching, and
  • Teaching assessment.
• In the near future, management practices, especially accounting practices will drastically change due to the development of AI. Managers and accountants who received traditional management education will not be able to keep pace with the times.
• The School has been engaged in incorporating the value of human well-being into its governance and activities. This has been achieved through several unique programs such as “One professor, one village”, buddy system, and senior-junior nurturing scheme.

6. Matters to be noted

PRT-FEB:

Key issues to be noted are:

• Periodical training is to be provided to administrative staff and faculty members to develop their capability in delivering quality programs to meet the demands of the industry and the changing global environment.
• The School should address the issue of the lack of staff and student diversity, especially lack of foreign students and staff. Strategies to attract foreign students and staff need to be developed. These may include appointment of foreign adjunct professors and visiting professors. It is crucial for the School to develop a conductive learning environment for foreign students and staff, where English is used more widely on campus.
• The challenges of logistics between the two campuses should be addressed properly to create a better academic atmosphere for staff and students.
• Efforts to support academic staff to improve their research performance should be intensified, in particular in terms of promoting publications in international and top ranked journals.
• The School has many good initiatives, for instance the Academic Leadership Grant and the “One professor, one village” project. There should be continuous efforts to monitor and improve the programs to ensure their sustainability.
• The School should improve the quality of documentation. In the SCR prepared by the School, there are many inconsistencies or mistakes, and lack of clarity of information provided. Some good points or strengths were discovered during the on-site visit, but not reported in the SCR. Relevant training should be provided to the staff involved in preparing the documentation for accreditation.

PRT Economics:

• A consistent and clear mission statement for the School as well as for the Economic Department should be formulated and presented.
• The School should develop a clear student profile, and formulate plans to develop students for global exposure and to attract foreign students.
• The School should provide periodical training to staff (both academic and administrative) to enhance their communication skills, and to develop their capability in delivering relevant programs to meet the demands of the industry and the new digital world.
• The School should address the logistic challenges between the two campuses to create a better academic atmosphere for staff and students.
• The School has attractive programs such as Academic Leadership Grant and the “One professor, one village” project. Continuous monitoring and improvement is essential to ensure the sustainability of the programs.

PRT Management:

FEB needs to make more effort to increase the diversity of faculty members and students, because less than 2 percent of postgraduate students are non-Indonesian, and there are no foreign lecturers. FEB may have limited ability to employ foreign lecturers due to its status as a public university. Hence, FEB may want to address this issue through other means such as getting foreign adjunct professors or attract foreign professors on a part-time basis. It also can be substantiated by having international conferences with speakers from outside Indonesia, attended by the faculty members and students.
In order for FEB to be ready to receive more foreign students, the faculty members and administrative staff need to have a good command of English to facilitate communication. Hence, FEB’s mission on internationalization can be achieved with suitable learning environment.
Some of the faculty members already achieved international awards and are internationally known. This needs to be intensified through publication in Q1 and Q2 journals so that FEB is on par with other prestigious universities across the world.
We have highlighted the matter to be noted above. Moreover, some of the appendices to the SCR are not clear and hard to read.

PRT Accounting:

• The development of concentration in Master’s education needs to be improved.
• Please recheck the report again and make the changes as appropriate as there are many mistakes in the report. Please edit the report. For example, rephrase the mission statement of the accounting program for greater clarity.
• Please include the strengths of the accounting program in the report (see comments above). Several strengths of the program became evident during the visit/interviews. For example, efforts to ensure that the accounting program addresses the Indonesian context through the use of Indonesian case studies, and the close relationship with alumni and industry, need to be highlighted in the report.