Quality Assurance for Sustainable Higher Education: Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

Competition to ensure sustainable conditions for graduates’ knowledge, skills, and competencies (KSC) and employability for sustainable development of human resources has long been present in higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of this study is to examine the roles of educational processes, practical activities, and research activities as key determinants to predict KSC and employability in the context of medical education in Indonesian HEIs. Moreover, this study also reports the role of facilities in predicting educational processes, practical activities, and research activities. This survey study obtained data from 1086 respondents, who are students of two medical schools. The data were analyzed by assessing the measurement and structural model in the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM). Overall, all hypotheses were supported; the strongest relationship emerged between facilities and research activities, while the lowest relationship was present between practical activities and employability. From a theoretical perspective, the findings offer a conceptual framework related to HEIs’ quality management factors. Highlighting the significant relationships, appropriate policies can be produced for more quality institutions in improving graduates’ KSC and employability for the labor market.