The Implementation of ISO 9001 Certification to Improve the Competitive Advantage of Private Higher Education

Abstract

At the 2005 World Trade Organization meeting, a General Agreement on Trade in Services was signed. The education sector was included as a part of the service business sector and Foreign Higher Education was allowed to be established in Indonesia, which raised the question: "Is the National Higher Education ready to compete with Foreign Higher Education?". This research investigated the level of improvement of the Quality Management System (QMS) implemented in a Private Higher Education that has ISO 9001 Certification. This research employed a survey method and descriptive analysis of three independent variables, namely the level of motivation of the study program to achieve ISO 9001 certification, the level of implementation of ISO 9001 Certification and the improved performance of the QMS. The findings revealed that the achievement of study program motivation and the level of implementation of ISO 9001 certification fell into “good” category (applied but not fully implemented). It indicated that the study program image, the growth of student interest (market share), the assurance quality of the academic process and the competitive advantage of the graduates could be achieved well. In addition, the performance improvement of the Study program QMS was at a high level.