Keywords

Quality Assurance, Success, Service, Reparation, Improvement

Introduction

College acts as the driver in the growth of the nation’s competitiveness through its obligation and responsibility in producing human resources who are cautious, intelligent, creative, professional, and productive. Facing the educational challenges in this global era, the Indonesian government strive to create policies concerning quality assurance system for college. However, the fact is many colleges mixes the concept and practices of quality assurance system with the concept of accreditation. Even though accreditation is a bureaucratic instrument to control quality, while the quality assurance system is the organization’s internal mechanism that becomes the blue print for the prediction of the predictive quality result that was produced and developed.

Answering the issue above could be done through Total Quality Management in Education (TQME) where the quality is the “subject” that orients to quality assurance and quality control. In its philosophical context, this concept emphasizes on the principal of consistently searching for continuous improvement with the purpose of achieving customer satisfaction, which in this care are students (Sallis & Edward, 2012). This means that “with the total quality approach, customers ultimately define quality” (Goetsch et al., 2013).

Observing and studying the problem above, quality assurance is concerned with quality service to college students is very important in facing global competition and significant in improving the quality of higher education. In this regard, the writer studies the service quality to students in Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH), Karawaci, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.

College Quality Assurance

College is an educational service whose graduates are expected to work according to the customer’s standard. The purpose, vision, and quality assurance in colleges is the achievement of customer satisfaction (McGhee & Patrick, 2016). In this regard, students are viewed as the primary customer. The increase of performance of service quality to students will be identified with the increase of applicants and a larger accountability. Although the service quality towards students is important, this must be followed with a quality output, college research reputation, and service to society.

The substance of quality understanding is standard and excellence. When quality becomes important, then quality assurance is needed (Brown & Roger, 2013). Quality assurance must be understood as the process of guarantee of a specific standard that is achieved, or the service quality can affect customer’s satisfaction in shaping customer’s loyalty. So, quality in the context of quality assurance is the process structured to increase the output produced. Therefore, the end result of the quality is a product or service that must fit with the stakeholders’ desires (Craft, 2005). The definition of quality assurance has four components: first, everyone in the enterprise has a partisipansibility for maintaining the quality of the product or service; second, everyone in the enterprise has a partisipansibility for enhancing the quality of the product or service; third, everyone in the enterprise understands, uses and feels ownership of the systems which are in place for maintaining and enhancing quality, and; fourth, management and sometimes the customer or client regularly checks the validity and viability of the systems for checking quality (Craft, 2005).

Specifically, regarding with education, quality assurance is a process that needs to produce a quality education service that fits with the standard and excellence that is expected. This corresponds to wthat Bernhard (2011) said, “the ability to satisfy the demands and expectations of direct and indirect consumers and stakeholders and the drive towards excellence”.

Methodology

This study uses the Case Study Research approach that refers to Robert K. Yin’s model. To achieve this purpose, the writer formulates a few problems that are grounded by and connected directly with conclusive study from literatures about the quality of quality assurance is service towards students. The process of this study was done from 2017-2021 dan was built through observing documents, observing the field, and interviews in UPH both structurally and semi-structurally, Yin and Robert (2015). The main purpose that is hoped to achieve in this study is discovering (construct) and reconstruct the model of quality assurance in Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) that focuses of students’ service. The focus of this study is to investigate the quality service characteristics and practices towards the students in UPH Karawaci, Tangerang.

Through structured and semi-structured interviews, the participants describe the characteristics and practices of UPH’s quality assurance that focus on students’ service. The themes featured from coding by the software N-Vivo that is accurate becomes the focus of study, which are: 1) college quality assurance success that focuses on UPH students; 2) quality service to UPH students; 3) service quality repairments to UPH students; 4) quality improvements in service towards UPH students. These themes are identified as the primary themes derived from the focus of the study from the participants who will contribute to the formulation of each theme.

Result and Discussion

These discoveries were found from the perspective of the participants regarding the quality service practices and characteristics towards UPH students (Table 1).

Table 1 Participants’ Perspective With The Emerging Themes
Theme	Participants’ Perpectives
	R	P	PM	D	K	M	HM	A	SH
Quality assurance success that focuses on UPH students
·Commitment, responsibility, and support from UPH leaders.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
·Employment of quality lecturers and staff.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Lecturers, staff, and student’s involvement in the realization of optimal service.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
·Better and assured UPH graduates.
	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
·Consistent monitoring and evaluation program from LP2MP UPH (Education Quality Development and Assurance Instute/Lembaga Pengembangan dan Penjaminan Mutu Pendidikan)	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Quality service to UPH students
·Commitment to students’ optimal potential development.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Building quality relations with students whether formal or non-formal.
	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Open constructive relations.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
·Lecturers and staff commitment and responsibility in serving students optimally (serQual)	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Repairments to UPH students’ service quality
· UPH’s strategy in managing information as feedback and feed forward from: lecturers, students, alumni, and graduate users as materials for continuous quality improvement.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
·Systematic and strategic quality repairment towards students’ service.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Measuring students’ satisfaction in receiving quality service from campus.
	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
Quality improvements in service towards UPH students
· Performance development program for lecturers and staff in academic service, administration service, and integrated students’ service.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Integrated program to support students in developing reasoning, interest, talent, and art.	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Guidance in spiritual, character, and leadership values (soft skills and hard skills),
	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
· Developing service towards students associated with: Academic Supervisor/Pembimbing Akademik (PA), counselling, scholarship service and health service	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√

This study involves forty-three participants consisting of Rector of UPH, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FaST), Head of Quality Assurance, Study Program, Administration Director, Students Association of Majors, Student Group, Alumni, and Stakeholders.

The result from these discoveries is summarized through study case tables that identify sub focus themes from participants who contributed to formulating the sub focus themes and the results.

Caption and Profile Notes:

R = Rector PM = Head of Quality Assurance K = Administration Director HM = Students Association of Majors SH = Stakeholders P = Dean of FaST D = Study Program/Dean M = Student Group A = Alumni

Quality Assurance Success that Focuses on Students

Here the researcher dives into the process of why and how UPH achieves quality assurance that focuses on students (Customer focus). Quality assurance in college will succeed if accompanied by commitment, responsibility from lecturers, staff and all this has the support from college leaders whole-heartedly. UPH’s success in giving quality service to their students are supported by five supporting factors, which are:

Commitment, responsibility and support from UPH leaders:

One interesting discovery in this study is that the participants are very observant in the commitment, responsibility, and support from the UPH Leaders factor which is a key indicator in quality assurance success that focuses on UPH students. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that says “showed that support from top executive and interinstitutional cooperation may enhance the perceptions of effectiveness of quality assurance” (Bilal, 2020). This discovery is also aligned with another study that says “This new quality culture encompasses not only an internal institutional culture centered on improving quality, but also the partisipansibility of the academic community to external stakeholders, and public trust in higher education” (Yingqiang, & Yongjian, 2016).

Employment of quality lecturers and staff:

The participant’s attention to the success of quality assurance that focuses on students, one of the indicators is strict preselection on the employment of lecturers and staff. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that stated “studies showed that students wanted to be taught by academic staff who were well versed and enthusiastic about the subject they taught in addition to academic staff being empathetic, approachable, helpful and patient, and encourage students to develop their full potential indicating that in addition to teaching and learning, students associated other factors such as relationships and feedback with quality” (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020).

Lecturers, staff, and student’s involvement in the realization of prime service:

The participants see the presence of lecturers, staff, and students; involvement in the realization of optimal service in UPH. This especially supports the ability to work optimally, the creation of conducive working environment dan trust valued in fellowship as a working team in giving prime service to UPH students. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that states “more specifically, at Ishik, quality assurance has had a massive effect mostly in enhancing the academic performance and teaching of the staff, promoting research quality and productivity and upgrading the ranking of the University” (Saeed, 2018). This discovery is also aligned with another study that states “statements under the theme relationships focused on the relationships with the lecturers and results showed that more than 84% of the partisipants agreed the relationships were a significant marker of quality” (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020).

Better and assured UPH fraduates:

The participants observe that every UPH graduate is always prepared to dive into the professional world with competence: agile thinking ability, interpersonal and communication skills, or global skills. UPH always prepare their graduates with having character, knowledge, and soft skills that is qualified in their field, and equipped with world knowledge to be ready to dive into real profession world with the challenges of the digital era and 4.0 industrial era. This discovery is aligned with the previous study in Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University that states “the presented methodolohy of monitoring student, graduantes, and employer satisfaction with education results can be used by higher education institutions as a mechanism of quality assurance for degree programs” (Belash et al., 2015).

Consistent monitoring and evaluation program from lp2mp uph (education quality development and assurance instute/lembaga pengembangan dan penjaminan mutu pendidikan):

Participants observe that the consistent monitoring and evaluation program from UPH is the key to observation during the teaching learning process to ensure and control the harmony of program execution with what was planned. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that states “the essential component of a degree program quality assessment and assurance in monitoring of stakeholders satisfaction with education results” (Belash et al., 2015).

Quality Service to UPH Students

Participants confirms that UPH’s success in giving quality service towards UPH students because UPH has a philosophy that students are subjects and important primary assets because it could be UPH’s quality determiner in the future. If the service given to students have quality, this is good for UPH’s image in the future and in contrast if the service given to students are not as good, then UPH’s image will decrease and will be seen as not good in society’s eyes.

Quality service to UPH students is a measured excellence in every semester according to what students expected and this excellence always increase in quality, even beyond the students’ expectation.

Commitment to students’ optimal potential development

Participants view UPH realize that their duty is preparing students to master science and have graduate competence appropriate with each course or faculty. To achieve all this, UPH has a commitment from when the students were accepted, they sought to find their potential so that in the process can be developed optimally. This discovery is align with a previous study in a college in Maldives that states “reported that it is the quality of the interaction that leads to the quality of the learning experience where lecturer and student relationships are the key” (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020).

Building Quality Relations with Students Whether Formal or Non-formal

Participants see that UPH’s success in giving quality service is supported by good relations and interactions between lecturers and students. Where interaction quality leads to learning quality that focuses on talent and reason development from the students themselves. This discovery is aligned with the previous discovery in a college in Maldives that sees the aspect of very good relationship affecting the students’ academic achievement (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020). Therefore, every lecturer and staff in UPH must build conducive relations with each student to support academic achievement and students’ competence progress.

Open Constructive Relations

Participants’ attention see that through the Academic Supervisor and routine counselling done in UPH, every students has a place to express their opinion to lecturers and staff. Every lecturer or staff must always be ready to hear and give solutions to each struggle or challenges that students face. This discovery is aligned with previous study that states “reported that relationship with peers played a key role in the quality of students’ learning experiences” (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020). To support this, UPH prepares a conducive classroom and campus environment that is safe and comfortable for all students. Therefore, colleges must ensure conducive learning environment between lecturers and students as primary stakeholders play and important part in college quality assurance (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020).

Lecturers and Staff Commitment and Responsibility in Serving Students Optimally

Participants see that the involvement of lecturers and staff commitment supports the creation of complete and satisfactory students’ service. Staff and lecturers’ resolve in executing this task and responsibility is their calling as educators and education resources. Therefore, the lecturers in UPH are demanded to have conducive, dynamic, and active interactive ability with the students to support the achievement of learning objective. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that confirms “students associated other factors such as relationships and feedback with quality” (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020).

Repairments to Students Service Quality

Participants see those efforts in consistent service quality repairments from UPH is success key in giving students satisfaction. UPH does continuous repairments so that all students’ expectations can be fulfilled and even the repairment result is beyond students’ expectation. Participants inform that students’ satisfaction mirrors students’ behaviour that supports UPH programs, and students are motivated to promote UPH programs in their own circles.

UPH’s Strategy in Managing Information as Feedback and Feedforward from: Lecturers, Students, Alumni, and Graduate Users as Materials for Continuous Quality Improvement

Participants see that UPH’s success in giving optimal service to students are connected to consistent quality repairment efforts through feedback and feedforward, which are efforts to develop all feedback from students effectively, efficiently, systematically, and strategically. In the process, this repairment effort has supervision or monitoring from lecturers, staff, students themselves, and LP2MP UPH. This discovery is align with previous study in a college in Maldives that states “another key finding of this study is that a vast majority of the students reported that feedback they received in class as well as the methods used to deliver (teach) modules influenced their academic performance” (Shahunneeza & Al-Hidabi, 2020).

Systematic and Strategic Quality Repairment towards Students’ Service

Participants pay close attention to repairments efforts done systematically and strategically by UPH. These repairment efforts are suitable with inputs from student, alumni, and stakeholders. Systematic so that it can be done according to the importance and necessity scale. Strategic so that it can be done accurately and effectively.

In its execution, monitoring task from lecturers, staff, students and LP2MP start all repairment process regarding curriculum, coursework, coursework planning, learning process, coursework means and infrastructure, laboratories with their equipment, supervising process from Academic Supervisors, WiFi, LCD, library, canteen, gymnasium, parking lot, etc.

Measuring Students’ Satisfaction in Receiving Quality Service from Campus

Participants observe that the role of LP2MP in measuring students’ satisfaction in receiving academic service, administration service, and student service through questionnaire, suggestion box, and direct input for lecturers are very important aspects. Students’ satisfactory as customers can be seen from the comfort they receive, and happy feeling when following the higher education process in UPH. Therefore, UPH always strive to fulfil students’ needs to increase their academic quality. All this action is grounded with the thought that students’ satisfaction is the main indicator of quality service in college. From the LP2MP data, the average students’ satisfaction in each semester is very satisfying, which is 92% or above, this result is based on quantitative approach through questionnaire. This discovery is aligned with a previous study in Zanzibar State University, Tanzania that states “there is therefore no effective mechanism for monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning in the department” (Bilal, 2020).

Quality Improvements in Service towards UPH Students

Participants’ attention observes that service quality improvements in college could be seen in the aspects of its form, reliability, responsiveness, certainty, and attention. Here the performance and dependability of lecturers and staff is needed in giving optimal academic service, administration service, and student service in UPH. Regarding this UPH always stive to understand students’ needs and wants in the strategy to improve students’ service quality. This students’ service improvement is not easy to execute, therefore UPH has well-thought and strategic planning that is effectively executed.

Performance Development Program for Lecturers and Staff in Academic Service, Administration Service, and Integrated Students’ Service

Participants observe that UPH realize that education quality in college is determined by the lecturers and staff performance quality in giving quality service for students. In order to support the service quality improvement towards students, UPH has performance development program for lecturers (academic service) and staff (non-academic - administrative service) whether internally or externally. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that states “under this paradigm of shared partisipansibility, higher education quality assurance can become “public space” for the free discussion of quality issues, rather than simply a link in a linear chain conveying external quality demands” (Yingqiang & Yongjian, 2016).

In oder to support efforts in optimal students’ service improvements, UPH also continuously give appreciation to the lecturers and staff in their performance value. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that states “to be truly successful,teaching awards and prizes need to be carefully considered, designed and aligned with a widerinstitutional strategy of rewarding enthusiastic educators” (Newton et al., 2017).

Integrated Program to Support Students in Developing Reasoning, Interest, Talent, and Art

Participants observe that the success of students’ service in UPH is very much determined by UPH’s efforts in consistently improving the service quality towards students continuously (sustainability). Efforts in improving students’ service quality which include: skill improvement activities in thinking, interest, and talent; career and entrepreneurial training or guidance activities; also activities to improve students’ well-being through counselling, scholarship, and health. This discovery is aligned with a previous study that states “to fundamentally improve the quality of higher education, we must therefore fully consider the organizational characteristics of institutions and the specialized character of academic work” (Yingqiang & Yongjian, 2016).

Guidance in Spiritual, Character, and Leadership Values

Participants argue that guidance in spiritual, character, and leadership values in UPH are a uniqueness and advantage. This pushes lecturers and staff to always improve self-competence regarding the previous points. In students’ service, students are expected to understand the relevance between science, character, morals, and leadership (soft skills and hard skills) as a reference in integrated service that UPH provides to students. In moulding characters and morals, UPH uses the spiritual guidance approach in courses, faculty, and university routinely every week.

Developing Service towards Students Associated with: Academic Supervisor/Pembimbing Akademik (PA), Counselling, Scholarship Service and Health Service

Participants observes the increase in students’ service relating to Academic Supervisor (PA) is viewed important by UPH, so students always have guidance, direction, and motivation from PA lecturers in improving academic performance and graduate competence. Counselling service is very important to develop to aid and brighten students in facing college struggles and living wisely. Scholarship services are always improved by UPD as a solution to aspiring students or students with economic struggles, as such in Covid 19 pandemic. With the scholarship program, aspiring students and students can continue studying despite economical problems. The scholarship program can also be an attraction for students to achieve in UPH’s name. Physical health services and environment health program in UPH are unique UPH programs. Meaning UPH always strive to give integrative physical health and environmental health service. This makes students feel comfortable and safe in UPH campus environment.

Conclusion

According to these novel discoveries found throughout the study in UPH with the study case method and discussions from these novel discoveries related to quality assurance in students service in Universitas Pelita Harapan, in Karawaci. The conclusions are as follow:

1. UPH’s success in students’ service because UPH has a philosophy which is students is important assets in supporting the process and future of UPH. UPH also views students as subject who must be satisfied (customer’s satisfaction). This success is supported by the factor of commitment and responsibility from every lecturer, staff in serving students optimally related to responsibility to God.
2. UPH’s success in giving quality service to students because UPH has the philosophy that students are important and quality defining primary assets for UPH. To support all these, UPH includes lecturers and staff’s role to work optimally. Building good relations and interactions between lecturers and students, as well as between students and students. Therefore, every lecturer and staff must build conducive relations with every student to support academic achievements and students’ competence development.
3. UPH’s success in giving optimal service to students are related to service quality repairment efforts through feedback and feed forward pattern, which are efforts to develop all feedback from students effectively, efficiently, systematic, and strategically.
4. Students’ service success in UPH is very much determined by UPH’s efforts in consistently improving the service quality towards students continuously (sustainability). Efforts in improving students’ service include academic service, administrative service, and student service, which include development activities for thinking, interest, and talent; coaching and guiding activities for career and entrepreneurial; also, activities in improving students well-being through counselling, scholarship, and health. All these are focus that is always improved.

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