Curriculum transformation toward outcome-based education (OBE) in an Indonesian State Islamic University: An institutional case study

Authors

  • Nurul Hudha Purnomo UIN Syekh Wasil Kediri
  • Ahmad Abdun Salam UIN Syekh Wasil Kediri
  • Bongani Innocent Nkambule University of South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56587/bemi.v4i2.182

Keywords:

curriculum transformation, Islamic higher education, Islamic Values, outcome-based education, strategic planning management

Abstract

Background: Outcome-Based Education (OBE) is mandated in Indonesian higher education to address the misalignment between graduate competencies and labor-market demands. However, its institutional implementation in Islamic universities remains underexplored, particularly regarding governance processes, measurable compliance, and the integration of Islamic values and Maqashid Syariah into curriculum design.

Purpose: This research aims to analyze how an Islamic university systematically plans, executes, and evaluates its OBE-based curriculum transformation.

Method: This qualitative case study analyzes the institutional transformation process at UIN Syekh Wasil Kediri during the 2025–2026 academic period using a strategic management perspective. Data were collected from 10 informants directly involved in the OBE curriculum development process that is the Vice Rector I, the Head of the Quality Assurance Institute (LPM), the Head of the Curriculum and Learning Center, Deans and Vice Deans I, and representative Heads of Study Programs together with curriculum development teams, via semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, processed using Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña's interactive model.

Findings: The transformation unfolded through three interconnected stages, diagnostic gap analysis, capacity-building workshops, and action-oriented mentoring, culminating in inductive policy codification. Document review across 25 undergraduate study programs (PPG excluded) revealed substantial non-compliance (54% FUDA, 38% FTIK, 27% FASYA, 7% FEBI), rooted in a forward-design logic that fitted learning outcomes to pre-existing course lists rather than the reverse. While workshops built conceptual understanding, interview evidence showed this did not translate into operational capability, the subsequent mentoring phase closed this gap through problem-embedded, learning-by-doing engagement with each program's own curriculum documents, generating psychological ownership and enabling 23 of 25 programs (92%) to finalize compliant OBE curricula. Institutional policy was deliberately codified only after these field-tested solutions emerged, functioning as institutional memory rather than an untested top-down prescription. Islamic values such as religious devotion, ethics, and Maqashid Syariah, were embedded as measurable Graduate Learning Outcomes (CPL) indicators rather than peripheral co-curricular content.

Implication: Theoretically, this study conceptualizes institutional OBE transformation as an organizational learning process involving diagnosis, conceptual alignment, capacity building, and institutionalization. Practically, it proposes a staged governance model—diagnosis, capacity building, mentoring, and policy codification—that can be adapted by similar institutions, while the integration of Islamic values remains context-dependent.

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Published

2026-10-11

How to Cite

Purnomo, N. H., Salam, A. A., & Nkambule, B. I. (2026). Curriculum transformation toward outcome-based education (OBE) in an Indonesian State Islamic University: An institutional case study. Bulletin of Educational Management and Innovation, 4(2), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.56587/bemi.v4i2.182

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2026): In Progress

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Nurul Hudha Purnomo, Ahmad Abdun Salam, Bongani Innocent Nkambule

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