a Strategy for Argosy University (online) to establish in Indonesia [3 of 10]

Why – tier two – the Argosy angle


The overarching marketing strategy for Argosy University's penetration into the Indonesian market is one of opening up a surgical conversation. Surgical because we have already established a specific targeted demographic, with good academic and marketing rationale behind it (primarily adult learners from corporate strategic alliances and the naturally transitioning youth to university, in that order). A conversation, because at this writing higher education in Indonesia is at a crossroads.

The fact that online education in Indonesia (and many other countries) does not have the same measure of respect as a brick and mortar University, as elsewhere noted. On the downside, this necessitates the need to make distinctions, define terms and otherwise communicate the viability of online education when done right. On the upside, this leaves little to no competition, depending on how this is measured.

The other significant aspect for the crossroads higher education conversation for Indonesia is the cleaning up of corruption. Indonesia has had a decade’s long struggle focused on the improvement of its government and its government agencies. Indonesia's last few decades have continued to strengthen democracy and diminish corruption. University World News reported in 2010 a massive project on the part of Indonesia's national board for higher education to address this issue exactly (http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20100114191152158). Indonesia's higher education continues to stand on good work as it reaches for ever better expression (as evidenced by the BAN PT’s 7,319 institutions acknowledged).



The Conversation Context

Setting the stage to offer the potential higher education consumer the unique choice of American education online, tailored to appreciate and respect the Indonesian culture, will benefit greatly when credentialed properly. This is accomplishable relatively quickly and easily in the short run as well as with relative equal ease long term. The icon of an American higher education is no small thing (http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings). The overwhelming majority of the top schools, by far, are American universities. Let us now turn to the conversation of accreditation itself.

In United States, recognition and accreditation is the domain of the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

In Indonesia, the BAN-PT is an external “QA” (quality assessment) institution in Indonesia; it is the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education, and a unit of the Ministry of Education. In Indonesia, there are four levels of diploma before one reaches the baccalaureate level. There are also four levels of accreditation (A through D, D representing not accredited).

Of the 7,319 institutions acknowledged, only 15 afford a doctoral degree at an accreditation level “A” school. This represents a demand, regardless of Argosy University offering an "American" university experience.

With 60% of the population on Java Island, geography alone represents a strategic opportunity as well.

As for the rest of the world, there is currently a tangle of both good and bad concerning accreditation. We will look at these in a moment, and now let us simply acknowledge that there is a short-term and long-term vision. In the short-term, Argosy already embraces one of the highest accreditations the United States offers; and can therefore address BAN-PT requirements, as they are. For the long term however, it would be useful for Argosy to position itself as a quintessentially global University of the highest caliber.