While Indonesia has been active in supporting internationalisation through research collaborations and student mobility scholarships1 it is a relative latecomer to embracing transnational education (TNE), particularly in comparison to other ASEAN countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.
In recent years, however, the Indonesian government has relaxed some regulations governing TNE, creating potential openings for UK providers. Yet conflicting and unclarified regulations have made this a challenging space to navigate. In 2016, the British Council published research exploring the Indonesian TNE environment and the models allowed by law and endorsed by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (DIKTI). With the regulatory environment continuing to evolve, we revisited the research in November 2018. The following table provides our updated findings.
TNE Model and Definition | Degree and Teaching | Research Finding Summary |
Model: Branch Campus Definition: The Main Campus in ‘country A’ establishes a satellite campus in ‘country B’ that is geographically apart and independent from the Main Campus | Who awards the degree? Branch Campus Where does the teaching take place? Branch Campus Who teaches? Branch Campus faculty | Under Law 12/2012, foreign universities must collaborate with local tertiary institutions, obtain a licence from the government, run the institutions on a non-profit basis and give priority to local lecturers and teaching personnel. Regulation of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education No. 53 of 2018 on Foreign Universities stipulates that a foreign university can only establish a presence on a not for profit principle within a special economic zone in Indonesia and must also comply with various requirements, including: 1. It must have obtained accreditation in its home country 2. The foreign university or its study programmes must be ranked within the world’s best 200 based on the evaluation of the Ministry 3. It must offer at least two study programmes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and 4. The curriculum offered by the foreign university in Indonesia should be in accordance with the curriculum in its home country and the compulsory Indonesian national curriculum (including religion, Indonesian language, Pancasila and citizenship courses integrated into its curriculum). |
Model: Franchise Definition: Main Campus from ‘country A’ authorises a partner institution in ‘country B’ to offer, either as a whole or in part, the approved study programme | Who awards the degree? Main Campus Where does the teaching take place? Partner institution Who teaches? Partner institution faculty, and sometimes faculty from the Main Campus. | Current regulations do not allow this form of cooperation yet. |
Model: Joint Degree Programme Definition: Main Campus from ‘country A’ partners with an existing local campus / institution in ‘country B’ to provide one collaborative programme with periods of study at each location. One degree is awarded bearing often two or more institutions’ names, seals and signatures | Who awards the degree? Main Campus and its local partner campus award one degree Where does the teaching take place? In both campuses Who teaches? Faculty from both campuses | This cooperation (including blended delivery)2 is allowed and accommodated under MOE Regulation No. 14 of 2014 and further regulated in the Directorate General Guidelines. |
Model: Double/Dual Degree Programme Definition: Main Campus from ‘country A’ partners with an existing local campus/institution in ‘country B’ to provide one collaborative programme with periods of study at each location. Each institution awards separate programme completion credentials bearing only its name, seal and signature. | Who awards the degree? Main Campus and its local partner campus award two separate degrees Where does the teaching take place? In both campuses Who teaches? Faculty from both campuses | This cooperation is allowed (including blended delivery) and accommodated under MOE Regulation No. 14 of 2014 and further regulated in the Directorate General Guidelines. |
Model: Twinning Programme Definition: Main Campus from ‘country A’ partners with an existing local campus/institution in ‘country B’ to develop an articulation system that allows students to take course credits at local institutions and/or Main Campus. | Who awards the degree? Main Campus Where does the teaching take place? Could be in both campuses Who teaches? Faculty from both campuses | This cooperation (including blended learning) is allowed and accommodated under MOE Regulation No. 14 of 2014 and further regulated in the Directorate General Guidelines. |
Model: Distance Learning Definition: Delivery of courses through independent learning materials or via distance technology (online) directly with the student or through partnering with a local institution. | Who awards the degree? Main Campus | Currently, this TNE model is prohibited in Indonesia under Circular Letter of the Directorate General No. 2630/D/T/2000 which states that Distance Learning may only be organised by Universitas Terbuka according to Government Regulation No. 30 of 1990 previously amended Government Regulation No. 57 of 1998. |
The British Council is not aware of any overseas institutions who have established a branch campus in Indonesia so far.
Although overseas distance learning qualifications are not officially recognised in Indonesia, data from HESA shows that 285 people in the country were registered on UK distance learning programmes in the 2016-17 academic year; most of these students were enrolled on Master’s degree courses.
For further information regarding TNE in Indonesia, British Council contact person: Muhaimin Syamsuddin (muhaimin.syamsuddin@britishcouncil.or.id)
1 Ministry of Research, Technology and HE or DIKTI (2018): http://kelembagaan.ristekdikti.go.id/
2 DIKTI announced in July 2017 that the Government allowed joint / dual degree programmes delivered through blended delivery. Blended delivery is defined as a programme in which 50% of a course is delivered face-to-face (ideally delivered by an Indonesian university) and the remaining 50% of a course is delivered online (ideally by an overseas university).