**5. International performance indicators linked to education**

The need for an institution of higher education to attain the status of a world-class university is an important objective for many universities in Indonesia. The Indonesian government has emphasized the need for the internationalization of universities through the 2003–2010 Higher Education Long-Term Strategy (HELTS), which declared that universities in Indonesia were expected to significantly improve their competitiveness and quality so that they could compete globally [49]. Following the HELTS 2003–2010, the Directorate General of Higher Education outlined HELTS for the period from 2011 through 2020, which focuses on integrating internal and external quality assurance and developing a higher education institutions database [30]. The status of a world-class university will bring benefits and a prestigious impression to the university, but there will be many challenges that must be faced to attain world-class status recognition. It is noted that Indonesian universities need to improve quality and undertake reforms pertaining to matters such as funding, policy, institutional and academic quality, and access to get a better position at the regional and global levels [6].

There are a range of ranking systems to assess universities. These include Shanghai Jia Tong University Rankings, Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, International Rankings Expert Group & The Berlin Principles, Global University City Index, World Education News & Reviews (WENR), Academic Ranking of World Universities, and QS World University Ranking. The purpose of the rankings system is to inform universities, governments, graduates, employers, and prospective students about the standing of a university internationally according to pre-set criteria [31]. The rankings system in general has a Western bias and is predominantly used to rank universities in advanced economies and are used to highlight reputational standing and support brand marketing [32]. The rankings can be gamed and there are critiques of the methodology and applications of the systems [33].

For Indonesia, nine universities are ranked as world-class universities according to QS World: Universitas Indonesia (UI), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM), Universitas Padjajaran, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP), Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS), and Universitas Brawijaya (UB) [34]. Apart from the inherent biases of the world rankings system, they are based on individual universities and do not incorporate the total tertiary education system or the entire education system.

There are indicators of the internationalization of universities. The universities with the largest numbers and shares of international students are found in the USA. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranks universities by their globalization through a review of rankings for students and staff by internationalization, international co-authorship of publications, and international reputation metrics. In 2022, the highest ranked universities according to the internationalization criteria were the University of Hong Kong; ETH Zurich; Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne; and the University of Oxford [35]. Indonesian universities were not listed in these rankings.

The OECD [36] provides a benchmarking assessment of 15-year-old students proficiencies in reading, mathematics, and science. From the 2108 report, Indonesian students scored below the OECD average in reading, mathematics, and science. A smaller proportion than the average of Indonesian students performed at the highest levels of proficiency in at least one subject; at the same time a smaller proportion of students achieved a minimum level of proficiency in at least one subject [36]. Despite these results, the OECD noted that the results had remained constant over the last decade in which there had been a major expansion in school enrolments.

The UN and the World Bank provide system evaluation of education and economic performance. The Human Development Index (HDI) assesses a country's development trajectory using measures of life expectancy, schooling, and GNI per capita, as compared to other countries. For Indonesia, the HDI value was 0.694, in 2017 and it was ranked 116 out of 189 countries. The HDI for Indonesia increased from 0.528 in 1990 to 0.694 in 2017. On all measures of human development, Indonesia improved. The key measures are life expectancy, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling, and GNI per capita increase [8]. The HDI for Indonesia suggests from 1990 to 2017 that well-being has improved as life expectancy (better health), schooling (education and opportunity), and material well-being (GNI per capita) have improved. The education system has contributed to this improvement, but the education measure applied is schooling based.

The Human Capital Index [37] indicates the extent to which a child who reaches 18 years of age accesses human capital in terms of health and education. It is an indicator of the future productivity of the workforce. In 2018, Indonesia ranks 87 out of 157 countries and ranks low within Southeast Asia and low relative to its income. The HCI score was 0.53, indicating that children who reach 18 years of age only access 53 percent of potential human capital. This suggests a problem with the availability and quality of schooling. For Indonesia, life expectancy and health have improved, as has the HCI ex score. Between 2012 and 017, the HCI score for Indonesia only increased from 0.50 to 0.53 [37]*.*

The Gender Equity Index (GEI) from the World Economic Forum [38] measures gender-based disparities across a range of criteria. The GEI examines national gender gaps for economic, political, education, and health criteria. Indonesia was 95th out of 136 countries in 2013 and its ranking declined from 68th in 2006 to 95th in 2013. The overall disparity for women was around two-thirds of that for men in terms of labor force participation, health, education, and empowerment. The four areas that constitute the index are economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, education attainment, and political empowerment. For the GEI, the challenges are found across all the criteria. For education, women have comparable participation rates to men in schooling, but their participation falls behind in post-secondary education [15]. There are structural barriers that females face in participating in HE and in transitioning into formal sector jobs, this is especially so in rural areas where there are infrastructure shortages and the demands of supporting families and rural enterprises [16].

Indonesian universities do not rank globally according to the different world ranking systems. While different criteria are used across the ranking systems, Indonesian universities, with a few exceptions, are not included in any of the global ranking systems. When reviewing the education system there are several challenges revealed in the systems evaluations outlined above. These include relatively low rates of participation in post-secondary education, the capabilities of students in core competencies, questions around the quality of the education system, and equity and

*Challenges and Opportunities to Internationalize the Indonesian Higher Education Sector DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110658*

opportunity in the system, especially for females in post-secondary education. For individual universities, the challenge is to improve the quality of staff and programs, improve access for females, and better match jobs with graduates [19]. Within this set of challenges, the internationalization of the HE sector has an important role to play in addressing these objectives.
