Abstract:

Widening participation has been a prominent topic in the higher education (HE) policy agenda worldwide since the 1970s. In Indonesia, equity-related issues pertaining to broadening access to HE has been at the forefront of the policy agenda since the beginning of the country’s democratic transition in the late 1990s. There has been an impressive increase in the enrolment rate in the past decade, with a doubling from 2001 to 2010. The growth in supply of HEIs does not meet the growing demand. Government`s ability to expand the supply of public HEIs is constrained by the budget, and the fact that the private sector has dominated the tertiary education market for the last 20 years. However, the elite public, and most of the private HEIs, rely on student fees, and are quite expensive for those who come from a disadvantaged background.

The purpose of this paper is: a) to take stock of governmental policies (last decade) at the national level with respect to widening access to HE, not least by underrepresented groups such as those located in peripheral geographies and emanating from lower socio-economic strata; and, b) investigate the degree of alignment (coupling) between national and sub-national or provincial policies and initiatives to enhance access to HE and efforts (policies and strategies) by individual universities across the public and private sectors.

The research questions driving our inquiry are:
1. How have equity issues related to widening access to HE been addressed by the national government in the last decade?
2. What is the degree of alignment between government efforts (policies) and those of individual HE institutions (strategies) when it comes to promoting access to HE?

We adopt a multiple case-study design comparing two types of institutions – (2) public vs. (2) private – across the (2) chosen geographies. Conceptually, the paper builds on Burton Clark’s (1983) triangle of coordination, focusing on the interplay between governmental policy, market mechanisms and institutional strategies, in addition to the extant literature on the topic.

The data show that access to HE has decreased for students from remote areas, both due to lower quality of senior high school in some districts and a new admission system of public universities that encourages students to choose local universities. National government has addressed equity issues at different levels. Community colleges are for meeting access goals from students in remote areas, and to build knowledge and skills suitable to needs in these communities. The government is offering scholarships for clever students from poor families, and affirmative programs for students in remote areas. The universities are attempting to meet the need for access for underrepresented groups by cooperating with local and remote communities. Universities are also sending students and professors from different background to solve practical problems in cooperation with the locals, to motivate young people to become students, to improve quality of education, and offer a preparation program for student from low quality high schools. These efforts are probably of high value, as the younger population in rural areas are sensing few incentives for pursuing HE. Interviews with academic managers in universities also confirmed that poor quality in primary and secondary education in rural areas is creating major barriers for students from these areas regarding access to HE.

Keywords:

Access to higher education, widening participation, equity policies, Indonesia.