Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 204

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of Strategic Issues on Economics, Business and,
Education (ICoSIEBE 2021)

Tracer Study Exploration of Medan State University

Graduates
Ali Fikri Hasibuan¹*, Saut M.Silaban², Fitriani Lubis³, Rangga Restu Prayogo1
¹Entrepreneurship Department, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
²,³Accounting Department, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
*Corresponding author. Email: alifikrihasibuan@unimed.ac.id

ABSTRACT
A graduate tracing study or often known as a tracer study, is a study of graduates of a university. The results of
this tracer study can be used to evaluate an educational program. Alumni are at the forefront of the study program
to always encourage them to always look ahead while at the same time attracting their younger generation to
participate and feel their success. Alumni are the determinants of quality in teaching and learning activities at the
University, both the quality of teachers, namely lecturers and the quality of education staff. The State University
of Medan as an educational institution needs to use complete data related to study tracers to evaluate available
study programs. To find out the competencies possessed by alumni with their application to the world of work and
to know the supervisor's assessment for graduates who are already working, the study program needs to conduct a
tracer study. The purpose of conducting a tracer study is to obtain information about the distribution of graduates,
graduate activities, positions and roles carried out by graduates as well as stakeholder opinions. The research
method used in this graduate search is a quantitative method through the distribution of questionnaires.
Questionnaires were distributed to graduates throughout 2019 at Medan State University with data analysis using
SPSS. The results of the study explain that the competencies possessed by graduates are in accordance with the
needs of the world of work along with the position and participation of graduates in the world of work. The results
of the study also found that the waiting period for graduates to work was only six months and graduate users were
satisfied with the work results of their graduates.

Keywords: Study Tracer, Graduates, World of Work

1. INTRODUCTION UNIMED still does not have optimal data in

managing alumni data. The alumni data becomes
Graduates are expected to have superior very important as an indicator of assessment in
competencies so that they will later become knowing and determining whether the competence
competent employees or employees. Pride is also a of graduates is in accordance with the demands of
test for the quality of the study program when they the world of work so that a study is needed on tracing
are in the world of work. Alumni is a database to get student graduates at UNIMED. The study of tracing
feedback for the development of study programs graduates is called tracer study. The tracer study
through curriculum development, learning to input activity aims to find out the results of the higher
on the existing education system [2]. The importance education process in the transition from the world of
of alumni contributions raises the desire to trace higher education to the world of work. The results of
alumni's whereabouts, while at the same time the higher education process are in the form of self-
keeping the ties of kinship and kinship unbroken assessment of the mastery of the competencies of the
when they graduate. Study tracers are a means to graduates, the contribution to the mastery of these
track the whereabouts of graduates (alumni) and competencies, as well as extracting further
measure the success of the institution in producing information to the graduates as input for future
graduates who can meet the demands of high service improvements [5]. Alumni tracer studies are
quality [4]. This is very relevant, because the success becoming increasingly recognized for their
of UNIMED alumni in social life greatly affects important role both theoretically and for practical
UNIMED's reputation in the eyes of the community.
However, data related to the study tracer at

Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.

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 Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 204

applications. Tracer studies can provide valuable

input for the relevance of higher education in the
community, both in terms of academic management ideally, there is a need for harmony between the
and the contribution of higher education to the preparation of the workforce produced by
development of the nation as a whole. This research universities and the needs of the workforce, there
was conducted to determine the characteristics of needs to be a "link and match" policy between higher
graduates, the relevance of the study program to the education and employment. In the world of
field of work, the waiting period for graduates, and education there must be a system that connects with
the level of satisfaction of graduate users. the reality that will be faced by students. This is
where the role of policy makers at the tertiary level
2. STUDY OF LITERATURE and curriculum makers at the study program level is
DEVELOPMENT OF STUDY PROGRAM to always listen and see the reality on the ground. For
BASED ON ALUMNI STUDY TRACER this reason, apart from scientific research and
discussion, an active role from alumni is needed to
The Study Program as the lowest education sub- develop study programs through providing input or
system continues to innovate to carry out its duties criticism that is needed to update the existing
as a beacon for learning. Education and learning curriculum. The development of information-based
which is the responsibility of the study program is education from alumni is absolutely necessary, so it
obliged to continuously improve its quality. In is necessary to always establish relationships, build
addition to the increasingly fierce competition networks with alumni so that apart from giving them
between study programs, preparing students to be advice and input, they also pave the way for their
ready to work, having high morals, behaviour as well younger generation in the future. Tracer Study or
as intelligence should continue to be improved. The often referred to as a tracer study is one of the steps
success of the study program is not actually on how to try to empower alumni in order to process
education is carried out because what is actually the information in the field owned by alumni for the
key to success is to lead its graduates to tread development of study programs. Tracer Study can
towards improvement, towards a better life. The measure and track the performance of graduates so
success or failure of students when they graduate is that clear indicators can be obtained about the
when students are able to work, create jobs that are number, future job profile and required training.
useful for their lives in the future. The success of Tracer studies are also needed to build, maintain and
alumni reflects the quality of the study program both manage graduates through infrastructure building to
in education, learning, and in other non-academic determine the characteristics of graduates, the
aspects [3]. Therefore, in the development of study relevance of the study program to the field of work,
programs, inevitably and must involve graduates. the waiting period for graduates, and the level of
Graduates are no longer seen as students but have satisfaction of graduate users.
evolved to become partners in building networks and
contributing to the development of study programs. 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Problems that often arise, sometimes there is a gap
This study uses quantitative research methods.
between what is obtained in education (college) and
The quantitative research tradition emphasizes data
the reality that appears in the field. Sometimes
in the form of numbers, is carried out in deductive
educational background is not related at all to work.
logic between theory and reality and creates an
Therefore, study programs are required to be able to
objective picture of social reality. The explanation
continue to innovate not only in terms of an
above has implications for several important aspects
increasingly refined curriculum, but also to continue
of the research, namely hypothesis testing and the
to enrich students with other skills outside of
use of instruments (in this case a questionnaire) with
academics that will greatly assist students when
a certain measurement system to obtain numerical
looking for work [3]. Academically, it is regulated to
data about social reality. Considering that this
always improve the curriculum every 5 (five) years
research is a tracer study, this research is not
at least as a means of evaluation as well as
intended to test certain theories or hypotheses, but
responding to what is in the field. So far, sometimes
rather to attempt to display the profile and
it seems that there is no scientific relevance between
characteristics of student graduates throughout 2019
academics and employment. In higher education,

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 Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 204

at the latest Medan State University as well as to of graduates who are working by expelling those
obtain graduate feedback about their experience who are continuing their studies or are not yet able
taking the study so far, the level of user satisfaction, to work (including marriage/military service/care for
as well as getting input for the development of the a family).
study program. This research study was conducted
The formula used is:
on students who graduated throughout 2019 Medan
State University. This study uses a sampling number of full-time and part-
technique that is purposive sampling. Purposive time jobs
sampling is a technique for determining research Employment rate =
samples with certain considerations/criteria that aim Number of full time and part
to make the data obtained more representative. The time + not working/looking for
data analysis stage is the stage that determines work
whether our research is successful or not. Data = 992
analysis is the process of organizing and sorting data 1340
into patterns, categories and basic units of =0,74/74%
description so that themes can be found and working
This figure illustrates that the level of graduates
hypotheses can be formulated as suggested by the
who work/enterprise is 74% of the response rate of
data. This study tracer research will use more data to
1340 people. This also means that there are about
be analyzed descriptively. Descriptive data analysis 26% of respondents who have not worked or decided
has two objectives, namely (1) to summarize and not to work for several reasons such as getting
describe the data; and (2) interpreting inferences married and continuing their master's degree.
from the sample to the entire population. At this
stage of analysis, descriptive statistical analysis was
chosen in order to obtain data on frequency, mean
and mode. This statistical technique is also used to Graduate Status
obtain a descriptive configuration of the
demographic and academic characteristics of alumni Work Entrepreneur
and users who participated in this study. The data in Work and Entrepreneur Continuing S2
this study will be processed using SPSS
tools/programs. Not both
11%
7%
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 11%
The number of graduates throughout 2020 is 65%
2500 people from various majors and study 6%
programs at the D3/S1 level. Of these, 1389
respondents have filled out the link. The
questionnaire is
http://bit.ly/traceralumniunimed2021 and has been Figure 1. Graduate
analyzed and interpreted as follows:
Long Waiting Period
Graduate Status
The next question is about the length of the
In the first part respondents were asked to fill in the
waiting period to get the first job. Data was obtained
respondent's status, including:
from 1340 respondents that 1239 respondents or
a) Working (full time / part time) 92% got their first job within six months from the
date of graduation, the rest got a job for more than 6
b) Entrepreneur
months. The number of 1239 who worked under 6
c) Continuing Education months is not always in line with the discussion of
point 4.1 because it could be that after 6 months there
d) Work and entrepreneurship
are respondents who stop working or continue their
e) Not both education.
This question aims to measure the graduate
employment rate, which is to measure the proportion

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collaborated with UNIMED. From the results of the

Waiting Period for analysis, it is hoped that Unimed students will be
able to take advantage of the role of scholarships as
Work an alternative source of tuition financing and
Unimed as an institution can provide more adequate
Under 6 months Above 6 months scholarships for students such as scholarships from
the Regional Government,

1239
Tuition Financing
Own/Family Fees
150
ADIK Scholarships
BIDIKMISI Scholarships
Figure 2. Long Waiting Period PPA Scholarships

This section also measures the income of AFIRMASI Scholarships

respondents who work and the percentage of Corporate/Private Scholarships
respondents who earn 1.2 times the UMR.

Distribution of Graduates'
1079
Average Income
263
800 0 25 1 10 9
600 572
400
278 224 Figure 4. Scohalrships
200
119 80
0 26 24 3 13 Relationship Study with Workers
0-500 500-2 2- 3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-8 8-10 >10
ribu juta juta juta juta juta juta juta juta Each study program at the State University of
Medan compiles a graduate profile based on the
Figure 3. Mean of Salary relevance of the field of science to the conditions of
employment and society. The closer the alumni work
to the field of science, the more appropriate the
From the data above, it can be interpreted that the market needs with the study program. From the
highest salary is around Rp. 34,000,000,- and the results of the alumni search, it was found that as
lowest salary is at Rp. 400,000, and the average many as 592 (44%) people thought that their current
salary is Rp. 2,300,000.-. Then if you look at the job was very close to their scientific field, then 16%
salaries that exceed 1.2 X UMR (UMR SUMUT IDR said it was close and 22% was quite close. The
2,800,000) there are as many as 253 people or 21% remaining 6% stated that it was not closely related
of the total respondents who earn. and 12% stated that there was no relationship
Sources of Tuition Financing between studies and work.
In Indonesia, the cost of education is included in Looking at the distribution of the data, it is
the category of not cheap. The increase in the cost of necessary to reassess the curriculum against market
education from year to year influences students to needs because of a shift in specific types of work and
choose the method of financing lectures. From the must be adapted to specific courses or even specific
search results of Unimed alumni, it was found that new study programs. But on the other hand, it is not
generally the funding came from parents. Based on absolute that the close relationship between study
Figure 4.4, as many as 77% receive tuition fees from and work can be influenced by the difficulty of
parents/family. Meanwhile, 19% of alumni received finding work in the current Covid-19 pandemic
BIDIKMISI scholarships from the government and conditions.
the rest came from corporate scholarships that

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 Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 204

Learning Model in Study Program

Relationship between The learning aspect is one of the most important
feedbacks for evaluation at Medan State University.
Study and Work Through tracer study research, there are several
aspects that are assessed, including lectures,
Very Close Close Enough Close demonstrations, participation in research projects,
Less Close Not at All internships, practicum, field work, and discussions
with the question of how much emphasis is placed
on the learning model in the study program. Table
4.1 provides information on the assessment of
592 learning aspects by Unimed alumni in 2020. In
296 218 general, the assessments given by Unimed alumni on
120 163
learning aspects are quite large. Points that received
more than adequate ratings were fieldwork and
discussion. The application of the six assignments in
Figure 5. Studies - Jobs the course also encourages the lecture model to run
optimally. If it is seen that what can still be improved
Level of Education Required in the Job is the demonstration model, there are still 15% of
respondents who say less and 6% say not at all.
One form of competition in the world of work is
the competition of job seekers who come from
various fields of knowledge and education levels. Table 1. Learning Model in Study Program
When viewed from the search results, the majority
Ver No
of respondents (74%) work according to the required y Lar Apprecia Deficie t Avera
level of education, while there are 5% who work for Lar ge ble nt At ge
ge All
qualifications at a lower level and 2% work for Lectures 37 40 0
20% 3%
qualifications below undergraduate. What is % % % 4,11
interesting is that there are around 19% of Demonstrat
ion 19 37 6
respondents who work for higher level Education 23% 15%
% % %
3,48
qualifications, this illustrates that the quality of
Participatio
alumni can compete in the market. n in
research 26 38 1
projects 25% 10%
Level of Education % % %

Required in the Job Apprentice 32 35

19% 10%
4
3,78

ship % % % 3,81
A Level Up Practice
34 30 2
26% 8%
% % %
Same Level 3,86
Field work
Lower Level 40 34
17% 7%
2
% % %
No Need for Higher Education 4,03
Discussion 40 34 0
22% 4%
5% 2% 19%
% % % 4,1

Mastery of Graduate Competencies

74% In addition to hard skills, Medan State University
alumni are also assessed on their soft skills. In this
survey, respondents were asked to provide feedback
regarding the mastery of their competencies.
Figure 6. Level of Education Required in the
Job

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 Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 204

Integrity 50% 39% 10% 0% 0% 4,36

Working with
people from
62% 31% 7% 0% 0%
Knowle… different cultures
Ability…
1000
Ability… Knowle…
Genera… and backgrounds 4,55
Ability…800 English Very High
Project… 600 Interne… Leadership 37% 42% 19% 1% 0% 4,12
Initiative 400 Compu… High Ability to take
Ability… 200 Critical… responsibility
51% 41% 8% 0% 0%
4,43
Leaders… 0 Resear… Enough
Workin… Learnin… Initiative 46% 40% 14% 0% 0% 4,32
Integrity Comm… Defficient
Loyalty Work… Project/program
33% 42% 23% 2% 0%
Adapta… Time… Very Low
management 4,06
Toleran…
Analysi… Work…
Workin… Ability to
Negoti… Ability…
present
35% 43% 20% 1% 0%
ideas/products/re
ports 4,09
Ability to write
reports, memos 36% 43% 20% 1% 0%
Figure 7. Graduate Competencies and documents 4,14
Ability to
continue
Table 2. Value of Graduate Competencies 62% 30% 8% 0% 0%
learning
Very Eno Defi Very throughout life 4,54
High Aver
High ugh cient Low
% age
% % % %
Knowledge in From the table of alumni competency scores, an
your field or 28% 56% 15% 1% 0% analysis is obtained that the competency with the
discipline 4,11 largest average mastered by alumni is Tolerance
Knowledge
outside of your
(4.59) while the smallest achievement is English
22% 48% 28% 2% 0% competence (3.28). Interestingly, aspects that fall
field or
discipline 3,9 into the high category (> 4.25) such as the ability to
General continue learning (4.54), working with people of
24% 55% 20% 1% 0%
knowledge 4,02
different cultures (4.55), adaptability (4.46),
English 9% 27% 49% 13% 2% 3,28 tolerance (4.59), working in teams (4.43) are
46% 41% 11% 1% 0% competencies that are formed. from learning outside
Internet skills 4,29
the classroom such as internships, KKN and PPL. On
33% 50% 16% 1% 0%
Computer skills 4,15 the other hand, there are several indicators that
Critical thinking 29% 47% 24% 1% 0% 4,07
indicate that the competence of graduates is
considered not optimal, such as English language
Research skills 22% 40% 33% 5% 0% 3,79 skills (3.28), working under pressure (3.78), research
Learning ability 37% 50% 12% 1% 0% 4,23 abilities (3.79), knowledge outside the field or
Communication disciplines (3.9). Especially for English language
44% 42% 13% 1% 0%
skills 4,29 skills, the English Literature and English Education
Work under study programs are of good value (>4), meaning the
29% 35% 25% 7% 4%
pressure 3,78
Time
largest contribution from the study programs outside
37% 46% 16% 1% 0% the two study programs.
management 4,19
Work
50% 39% 11% 0% 0%
independently 4,39
Working in a
team/collaborati 53% 38% 8% 1% 0% 5. CONCLUSION
ng with others 4,43
Ability to solve The conclusions of the study are as follows. First,
35% 49% 15% 1% 0% the characteristics of graduates have been in
problems 4,18
30% 45% 23% 1% 1% accordance with the needs of the business world with
Negotiation 4,02
these figures depicting that the level of graduates
Analysis ability 32% 46% 22% 1% 1% 4,13 who work/entrepreneur is 74% of the response rate
66% 27% 7% 0% 0% of 1340 people. This also means that there are about
Tolerance 4,59
26% of respondents who have not worked or decided
Adaptability 55% 36% 9% 0% 0% 4,46 not to work for several reasons such as getting
Loyalty 50% 41% 9% 0% 0% 4,41
married and continuing their master's degree.

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Second, the relevance or linkage between the fields

of science and alumni work is at a close level where
there are 44% of the opinion very closely, 16% of the
opinion closely, 22% of the opinion that it is quite
close, 6% not close and 12% stating that there is no
study linkage. Third, the waiting period for
graduates, as many as 92% of respondents get their
first job under 6 months and the rest are more than 6
months. Fourth, the level of stakeholder satisfaction
with Medan State University alumni on average, for
alumni ethics assessment of (3.7), expertise in the
field of science/main competence (3.5), foreign
language skills (3.2), use of information technology
(3.3), communication skills (3.5), Cooperation (3.7),
self-development (3.4).

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