The influence of internal control and internal quality assurance implementation on the quality of higher education institutions: The case of Indonesia / Hafiez Sofyani

Hafiez , Sofyani (2023) The influence of internal control and internal quality assurance implementation on the quality of higher education institutions: The case of Indonesia / Hafiez Sofyani. PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya.

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Abstract

Quality has become a significant global issue in many higher education institutions (HEIs). Efforts to improve the quality have led many governments in various countries to revise their HEIs management and governance regulations. In Indonesia, efforts to improve HEIs quality are conducted by revising the quality assurance system, management, and governance practices of HEIs, particularly related to the implementation of internal control (IC), internal quality assurance (IQA), and the development of information technology (IT) for both control policies (IT-IC and IT-IQA). This study examines the extent to which HEIs in Indonesia have implemented IC, IQA, ITIC, and IT-IQA. This study also examines the role of these four variables on HEIs quality. The research framework is developed based on the theory of resource-based view (RBV) and resource orchestration. Using a resource orchestration perspective, IC is designed as the moderating variable. This study uses a mixed-method approach with a sequential explanatory design comprising two stages. First, a questionnaire survey (quantitative phase) was carried out involving 457 respondents from 251 HEIs in 31 of 34 provinces in Indonesia. The number of respondents were 206 from the IQA unit and 251 from the IC unit and HEIs management members. The survey was undertaken to examine the extent to which policies of IC, IQA, IT-IC, and ITIQA have been implemented and how these four policies benefit HEIs quality. The Partial Least Square (PLS) technique is used to test the relationship among the variables. Second, semi-structured interviews (qualitative phase) were conducted with 26 selected respondents. The results revealed that the implementation of IC, IQA, IT-IC, and IT-IQA in Indonesian HEIs is at a moderate level. Some aspects require improvements, including control environment, risk assessment, monitoring, IT organizational controls, IT process controls, IT soft variable controls, and IT-IQA. All hypotheses proposed in this research were supported. In detail, the findings show that both effective IC and IQA implementations were positively associated with HEIs quality. Additionally, effective IC can strengthen IQA and HEIs quality relationships. Further, when IT-IC was positively associated with effective IC implementation, IT-IQA was also positively associated with effective IQA implementation. In addition, the study found that the strength of the regression model is moderate at an adjusted R2 of 0.504. Further, the f square score of the IC moderating effect, explains that the effect size can be considered as a medium, 0.017. The test results also indicated that the moderating effect is quasi in nature. Furthermore, in general, the interview results also confirmed the findings of the hypothesis test results. Interview results also provided a detailed and contextual explanation of how the relationship between variables in the theoretical framework could occur. Findings from this research provide essential input for regulators, policymakers, and management of HEIs. As suggested by RBV and resource orchestration theories, to increase HEIs’ competitiveness, seen from their quality, Indonesian HEIs need to strengthen the role of their internal resources, especially the four variables involved in this research.

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