84 public HEIs are considerably better than private HEIs. Public HEIs in turn can be seen
to equate to possessing high levels of symbolic capital because a high accreditation level in itself confers prestige upon the HEIs. Clearly, public HEIs are able to attract the
students with the highest grades. Further, because the accreditation level of HEIs is associated with quality, the level also represents a measure of cultural capital of being
viewed as a ‘good’ university. The next section of this chapter introduces the setting of this study, Kanjuruhan University of Malang. It provides a general profile of the
institution and the policy that governs teachers’ professional practice.
4.3 Kanjuruhan University of Malang KUM
The previous section discussed public and private HEIs in Indonesia emphasizing that public HEIs have higher capital symbolic and cultural than the
private ones. This section focuses on more specific field, KUM, and is divided into two subsections: 1 general information and 2 institutional policy that governs teachers’
professional practice.
4.3.1 General information about Kanjuruhan University of Malang
Kanjuruhan University of Malang is an accredited private university located at southern Malang East Java, Indonesia. It is a new university, but it is also one of the
oldest universities in Malang. Initially, its name was Teacher Education IKIP PGRI Malang, established in 1955. Its objective was to provide an opportunity for teachers to
continue their study because at that time few teachers were supported by the government to study. Because there were a number of teachers who wanted to continue
their study, IKIP PGRI then had extension courses that facilitated teachers to study without leaving their jobs. The classes were held over the weekend. However, due to
political development in Indonesia in 1966, IKIP PGRI could not continue to operate for almost 10 years. On 20 May, 1975 IKIP PGRI was re-established. In 1983, IKIP
PGRI obtained a diakui recognized, accreditation level and later obtained the terdaftar registered level in 1990. Based on the law on higher education UU 122012 that
every study program must be accredited by BAN, IKIP PGRI required all study
programs to have accreditation in 2000. IKIP PGRI then merged with the Advanced
School of Foreign Language STIBA Kanjuruhan on 2 August, 2001 and adopted the new name, Kanjuruhan University. The merger was undertaken in order to provide more
programs as stated in the document of World Bank 2010, p. 4.
85 The over 3,000 private institutions comprise a wide variety of academies,
schools of Religions, colleges, institutes, and universities and cater to nearly 3 million students. Many of these institutions are quite small, offering only one or
a few programs. But in recent years, some premier private universities start to emerge.
KUM which is one such ‘premier private university’ has nine faculties. Table 6 below shows the number of undergraduate students by program enrolled at Kanjuruhan
University of Malang from the academic years 2010 to 2012.
Faculty School
Academic year 2010
2011 2012
Faculty of teacher training and education
Guidance and counseling 172
106 96
Economic education 105
61 53
Pancasila and citizenship education
53 40
43 Geography education
139 125
145 Mathematics education
254 180
207 Physic education
100 92
93 Indonesian language and
Literature education 175
94 95
English education 536
379 389
Kindergarten Teacher education -
- 76
Primary School Teacher education,
163 249
257 Faculty of letters
English literature 19
28 33
Japanese literature 7
11 14
Faculty of informatics and engineering
Engineering informatics 84
45 72
Information management 6
4 6
86 Information systems
120 90
111 Faculty of economics
Management 64
89 118
Accounting 82
76 140
Faculty of law Law
35 15
46 Faculty of poultry
Poultry 34
33 41
Faculty of social science
Social Science education 15
357 387
Total 2,163
2,074 2,422
Table 6: Numbers of students enrolled at KUM for academic year 2010-2011 Source: document of student administrative services of KUM
The above table shows that the school of Social Science education increased its student enrolments significantly in 2011 and 2012. However, the number of student enrolments
at the school of Economic education fell considerably in 2011. The table also shows that the school of English education has the most students and that the school of Information
Management has the least amount of students. It indicates that school of English Education attains the most capital symbolic and cultural capitals among other schools
at KUM which strengthens its position in the field that, in turn, yields greater advantages within the field. Since student enrolment is a critical issue for private
universities in Indonesia, School of English Education therefore need to always provide and improve the service for the students to preserve its capital in order to be able to
compete in the field. The chart below describes the organizational and leadership structure at KUM.
87 Chart 7:The structure of leadership at KUM
Chart 5 above indicates that like other universities in Indonesia, KUM is led by a rector. The rector has four assistants that have different responsibilities. The first rector
assistant works in the academic division; the second rector assistant works in finance and personnel, the third rector assistant deals with student matters, and the fourth rector
assistant works in the division of cooperation and communication equipment. Each faculty at KUM is governed by a Dean and some assistants who report to the rector. The
Dean’s responsibility is to coordinate the academic activities in the faculty. Generally, the organizational structure in each faculty at KUM consists of: Dean and assistant,
Head of School and Secretary, Head of Laboratory, lecturers, staff, and other supporting units. The Dean and assistant, Head of School and Secretary, and Head of Laboratory
are appointed by the rector and their tenure lasts for four years. However, they may be reappointed if they are still eligible. The Head of School is also a lecturer in that school
and heshe is required to report to the Dean. The motto of “brilliant bright future” at KUM appears as the aspiration to attain
more capital. The motto means that KUM aims to provide the students with relevant knowledge to address the challenges in their workplace to secure a better future. As
Rector
Dean Head of School
Secretary Head of Laboratory
Lecturers Staff
Other supporting units Rector Assistant 1
Rector Assistant 2 Rector Assistant 3
Rector Assistant 4
88 stated by Purwo pseudonym, one of university managers of KUM, “this motto means
KUM prepares and creates brilliant students who will have bright future”. The total number of permanent teaching staff at KUM is 290 teachers, most of whom have a
Master’s degree. There is also a large number of part-time academic staff that teaches at KUM. However, KUM still needs more competent teaching staff to accommodate the
needs of the large number of students enrolled at the university. As stated by Purwo Interview 1, 02062012.
KUM is developing now and has more students than previous years so that it really needs more teaching staff. Most of teaching staff at KUM have a lot of
classes to teach and it has an impact on the quality of their teaching. Moreover, I think I’m not really happy with teachers’ competency at KUM because most
of them still have master degree with low academic position jabatan academic as well. There are only a small number of teachers who have doctoral degree
with professor position. As a result, the building capacity of teachers at KUM becomes the main target. Improving teachers’ quality is a must because they are
the agent of change.
The above statements indicate that KUM should be concerned about improving the
number and quality of its teachers. KUM needs to hire a number of new teachers and support teachers to continue their study and to improve their professionalism. If KUM
had sufficient teaching staff, teachers would not need to endure such full teaching schedules and they would be able to pay more attention the effectiveness of their
teaching. As mentioned in the previous section of this chapter, private universities in
Indonesia compete to attract the students to enroll. KUM attempts to position itself strategically within the field through a number of strategies. First, KUM offers cheaper
tuition fees to the students compared to other private universities in Malang. Purwo 2012 explained; “the students don’t need to pay too expensive for their tuition fee if
they enroll at KUM and they can get enough learning facilities here. Besides, KUM has an education study program that has been established long time ago compared to other
private universities”. Therefore, cheaper tuition fees are a significant reason why many students decide to study at KUM after they failed to be admitted at a state university.
Rio Interview 1, 30052012 explained:
89 I decided to study at Kanjuruhan University of Malang because I couldn’t pass
my entrance test at state university and also because I know that I don’t need to pay huge money for my tuition fee if I study at KUM. I know this after I
compare the tuition fee from other private universities in Malang.
In addition, Atik Interview 1, 30052012 presented a similar view:
After I knew that I couldn’t be admitted at state universities, I decided to study at one of private universities in Malang. When I read the brochure of
Kanjuruhan university of Malang, I could get the information that KUM offered cheap tuition fee. That encouraged me to enroll there. Moreover, KUM is really
close to my house.
Second, KUM creates an image as a multicultural university because its students come from a range of cultural backgrounds and ethnic groups such as Javanese,
Madurese, Banjarese, Sasak, Batak, Balinese, and Ambonese. In addition, a range of different religions are represented through the student body at the university such as
Islam, Christian, Buddhism, and Hindu. Furthermore, KUM provides multicultural subject, to students in all faculties. In the Multicultural subject, the students are taught
about how to think and act in the society with varied cultures and ethnics in order to uphold unity in diversity. As one of the university’s managers, Purwo Interview 1,
01062012 stated, “a special distinction of KUM is its multiculturalism that attracts the society from various ethnic groups, races, and religions”. KUM also provides an art
organization for the students to accommodate and develop their interests and talents in the arts. In addition, KUM provides a wide array of opportunities for the students to get
involved in cultural activities. For example, students perform their cultural dance in the national ceremony:
What I love from Kanjuruhan University is because of its multiculturalism. The students are from many cultures and they can express their art talent here. I can
learn other cultures. I think this is the reason why Kanjuruhan University has attracted many students including me Reni, Interview 1, 30052012.
Mada Interview 1, 30052012 all expressed an appreciation for the multiculturalism at
the university:
90 One of the good things I can see from Kanjuruhan University of Malang is
because it is a multicultural university. Its student comes from various ethnic groups with different language, culture, art, etc. Studying at KUM provides a
good chance for me to know different cultures in Indonesia.
As expressed in the above statements, multiculturalism has attracted many students to KUM because only a few universities in Indonesia have this characteristic. Most of
universities in Indonesia are dominated by students from Java Island and around the area. However, the students of KUM are mostly from East Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan,
Maluku, and Papua.
The third strategy conducted by KUM to enhance its capital is by providing various organizations for the students to support their creative and fitness needs such as
sports groups, art clubs, and activities for nature lovers, religious groups, and social events. Fourth, KUM improves its facilities to support the teaching and learning
process. New buildings are currently under construction which will provide more office space and lecture rooms, a modern library equipped with computerized systems, and
greater support for students to pursue master and doctoral programs. In addition, KUM is establishing collaborative working relationships with various social sectors such as
industry, banking, and hospitality, as well as government agencies. In addition, KUM provides a number of facilities for teachers and students to engage in rest and recreation
such as campus Wi-Fi; a variety of laboratories; badminton, volleyball, and basketball courts; and a mosque. One major change at KUM is that all classrooms are now
equipped with LCD televisions to create more effective teaching and learning processes. The strategies mentioned above have been effective in attracting the students
since enrollments in KUM are increasing every year. This suggests KUM is able to “play the game” with other private universities. Although the majority of the students in
KUM are from lower-class family and have low-ability, KUM has the potential to improve its quality by always increasing its capital. The information about institutional
policy that governs teachers’ professional practice is described in the next section of this chapter.
4.3.2 Institutional policy governing teachers’ professional practice
