Engagement Strategy to Reduce the Number of Inactive Students at Marshal Suryadarma Aerospace University

Abstract

Introduction: This research aims to identify the impact, causal factors, and engagement strategies that can be implemented to reduce the number of inactive students.

Objectives: The object of the research was to examine students of Marshal Suryadarma Aerospace University. Where students are a vital component in the learning process, but in the process, various challenges result in inactive students. The phenomenon of non-active students is a significant problem in the world of higher education, especially at Marshal Suryadarma Aerospace University.

Methods: The research method used is a qualitative approach with in-depth interview techniques with various stakeholders, including students, lecturers, and campus administration.

Results: The results showed that inactive students have a broad impact, both for individuals, namely cost / financial losses, loss of career opportunities, loss of opportunities to improve skills, decreased motivation, psychological pressure, loss of opportunities to complete studies on time or delay graduation, loss of energy, loss of academic social networks, complicated reactivation processes, and feelings of shame when having to repeat with younger generations of students, as well as for institutions, namely tarnishing the good name of the campus, losing sources of income or university finances, disrupting university operations, affecting data reporting in PDDikti, and hampering the construction of campus facilities.

Conclusions: Factors causing inactive students are categorized into curriculum factors (difficulty in adjusting the curriculum, lagging behind courses, difficulty adapting, the length of the RPL program

value conversion process, whitening plans, difficulty getting grades, difficulty taking credits), students (career or busy work, health problems, lack of confidence, feeling neglected, and not in accordance with the study program), family (not getting scholarships, economy, motivation, and family problems), lecturers and education personnel (poor communication between lecturers and students, lack of academic guidance, many assignments in each meeting week, and difficulty completing the final project), campus environment (study program management in managing employee class students, education personnel or study program staff services, campus community, and a less supportive environment), and socio-economics (difficulty finding relevant internship opportunities, choosing other universities that are more in line with expectations, and difficulty accessing transportation).