Tracer study is an activity of tracking the footprint of graduates carried out by a college to its alumni 2 years prior graduation. The activity of the tracer study aims to determine the results of the process of educational activities that have been given to students as a provision when entering the working world. Educational output, namely self-assessment of mastery and acquisition of competencies, the educational process in the form of evaluating the learning process and the contribution of higher education to the acquisition of competencies and educational inputs in the form of further exploration of graduate information.
For this purpose, in Thursday, July 25, 2019, located on the first floor of ICT Building Diponegoro University, the socialization of “Web-Based Application of Tracer Study for Kaprodi and Operators in Undip” was held by Diponegoro University’s Directorate of Communication and Alumni Relations in collaboration with Section Student Welfare. Drs. Mujid F Amin, M.Pd. as the Director of Communication and Alumni Relations, delivered a report that this socialization activity was attended by 160 heads of study and 160 operators. Given the limitations of space and the effectiveness of the information conveyed, the socialization activities were carried out in two sessions, which were the morning session and the afternoon session. There were present the MBA (Deputy Rector for Communication and Business), Dr. Darsono during the opening of the socialization and Dr. Abdul Syakur, ST, MT (as the Deputy Director of Communication and Alumni Relations).
The event began with the opening of the MC, followed by prayers, reports from the head of the committee, and remarks from the vice rector for Communication and Business as well as opening activities. In his remarks, Dr. Darsono emphasized the importance of implementing tracer study for study programs and institutions. Tracer study are useful not only when the study program will face an accreditation but also can be a place to get feedback from alumni, alumni databases that are recorded based on the Study Programs and Class (year of entry), mapping the alumni as the materials to build alumni networks, an expert poll, and also as an evaluation tool to see the relevancy between institutions and the business world and industries, plus as input for curriculum improvement.
After the briefing from the Vice Rector for Communication and Business, the event continued with the material presentation by Sulasdi, S. Kom., M. Kom. (Head of Diponegoro University Student Welfare), then continued with practice and discussion / question and answer sessions. Each Head of Department and Operator is given a username and password to open the tracer study application which will be used to process the data from the tracer study.
Abdul Syakur as a vice director of alumni as well as a member of Assessor of BAN-PT added that the purpose of the tracer study is to find out the educational outcomes produced by the university, and also to understand the contribution from the university to its graduates competencies in the working world, as well as an instruments to monitor the adaptation of college graduates when entering the working world that required by the Directorate General of Higher Education. If a college graduate has expertise beyond the standard of the level needed by the company or institution where the graduate works, it means that the college has provided a superior education. The hope is that each Study Program can carry out this tracer study activity routinely and continuously so that the education process can be evaluated by implementing a positive pattern that is continuously improved, so that it can produce excellent graduates for the working world and for the higher education institution as well.