RESEARCH UNIVERSITY vs TEACHING UNIVERSITY (By: Muchlas Samani)

I don’t know when these terms started being used and when they became popular in Indonesia. As far as I remember, these terms began to be widely discussed when there was a policy to encourage universities in Indonesia to become world-class universities (WCU). It seemed that to become a WCU, one had to be a research university (RU). This interpretation can be understood because WCU is always associated with rankings conducted by Times Higher Education and sometimes by Shanghai Jia Tong. Well, the universities that occupy the top ranks in these rankings are said to be RUs.

What is the definition of an RU? People usually say that an RU is a university whose main mission is to conduct research (a research university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission). It might be clearer if contrasted with a teaching university (TU), which is usually defined as a university whose main focus is to educate students to become successful individuals after graduation (a teaching university is focused on students and strives to make their success a top priority). So, RUs and TUs have different missions, and therefore their program focuses are also different.

Since RUs and TUs cannot be compared, separate rankings should be made. Suppose there is a ranking of RUs from the very best to the less good, in the same way, a ranking of TUs from the very best to the less good can be made. Of course, the indicators used to rank RUs are different from those used to rank TUs. As far as I know, there is no university ranking specifically for TUs. If there were a TU ranking, I suspect it would prevent universities from flocking to call themselves RUs, even though they are actually more suitable to be TUs.

Which is better between RU and TU? In my opinion, they cannot be compared because they have different missions and different programs, so their main activities are different. If their main activities are different, the resources and infrastructure required are also different. It might be similar to a vegetable shop and a fruit shop. Because their merchandise is different, they require different human resources and infrastructure. Indeed, a vegetable shop also provides some types of fruit, but of course, only in small portions. Likewise, a fruit shop may also provide vegetables, but also in small portions. There may also be large shops that serve as both fruit and vegetable shops, providing both “completely,” but such shops certainly require large human resources and infrastructure. There are also small shops that provide both vegetables and fruits at the same time. However, such shops are usually not complete fruit shops and not complete vegetable shops either.

Similar to that analogy, RUs also have students and conduct educational processes, but that is not their main focus. Or even just to support the research that is their main focus. In such universities, they usually prioritize master’s and doctoral programs because they can be directly linked to the research conducted by their lecturers. Graduates are also expected to become reliable researchers, so the learning process is more like “apprenticeship” to reliable researchers who are lecturers at the RU. Conversely, TUs also have research activities, but that is not their main focus, and the research conducted is more directed to support their educational process. Where does the scientific development for updating lecturers at TUs come from? It is obtained from RUs that have similar fields of science. So the main task of lecturers at TUs is not to discover and/or develop knowledge but to use it to prepare human resources ready to enter the workforce. There may be universities capable of being both RUs and TUs, but of course, they require a lot of good human resources and adequate infrastructure for both. There may also be “small” universities that want to handle both, but it is very likely that they cannot become good RUs and also cannot become good TUs.

Perhaps the question arises, what is an example of a TU? Actually, there are many. Academies in the TNI and Polri circles are more suitable to be called TUs because their focus is on producing good TNI and Polri officers. All official higher education institutions or “ministries outside the Ministry of Education and Culture” in my opinion, are TUs because their focus is on producing graduates that meet the needs of those ministries. So where is the research? In the research and development institutions owned by those ministries.

Are all universities/higher education institutions under the Ministry of Education and Culture RUs? In my opinion, no, and each university/higher education institution should ensure itself as an RU or a TU. It is also possible to be both RU and TU but with the awareness that it requires large human resources and infrastructure. What needs to be avoided is mission ambiguity, which makes the programs unclear. Neither RU nor TU. Or wanting to be both RU and TU but not having adequate human resources and infrastructure, making it impossible to achieve.

In the context of Indonesia, it seems that more TUs are needed than RUs. Indonesia needs a lot of human resources in various operational fields of industry, both manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, trade, tourism, services, and so on. This does not mean we do not need research results to accelerate industrial development, but certainly not as much as operational human resources.

Because both RUs and TUs are needed and cannot be compared, they both require equal recognition. This means that universities that decide to become TUs and succeed well should be given equal recognition to universities that decide to become RUs and succeed well. Thus, not all universities have to become RUs, and conversely, not all have to become TUs. How the composition between RUs and TUs requires in-depth study. Reportedly, Malaysia initially only designated four universities, which later became six, as RUs. In my opinion, Indonesia also needs to formulate how many universities are assigned to become RUs and in what fields of science, according to the country’s needs. While others are better off becoming TUs to produce the human resources needed for the country’s development.

What about LPTKs? In my opinion, LPTKs are “semi-official” higher education institutions because they are under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and their graduates, who are teachers, also work in schools under the guidance of the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Ministry of Education and Culture certainly knows the qualifications and competencies of the teachers needed, how many, and what types. Thus, it can be planned how many LPTKs are needed and what their study programs are, even where the appropriate locations are related to Indonesia’s geography. Certainly, some LPTKs need to be encouraged to become RUs to conduct research on various educational-related matters. Hopefully.