Thinking Ahead in Educational Services at Private Universities in Gorontalo Province

Sammendrag

Governance as a governance concept continues to evolve into Dynamic Governance, which emphasizes adaptive capacity in responding to environmental changes. In the context of higher education, Private Universities (PTS) in Gorontalo Province face complex challenges in realizing dynamic governance, particularly in the aspect of educational services. This study focuses on thinking ahead capabilities as an integral part of Dynamic Governance with three main indicators: policy reflection, decision evaluation, and readiness to change policies. The study was conducted using a qualitative, descriptive-explanatory case study approach through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results show that thinking ahead capabilities in PTS in Gorontalo Province are not optimal. In the policy reflection indicator, there is a misalignment between strategic planning and budget support, regulations that tend to focus on PTN, and weak long-term planning. In the decision evaluation indicator, limited human resources and the lack of data-based evaluation mechanisms hinder policy effectiveness, resulting in stagnant decisions. Meanwhile, in the readiness to change policy indicator, despite awareness of the importance of transformation, PTS still face obstacles such as limited finances, technological infrastructure, resistance to organizational culture, lack of human resource training, and slow internal bureaucracy. In conclusion, thinking ahead within the Dynamic Governance framework at Gorontalo's private universities requires strengthening through increased budget allocation, more inclusive regulations, enhanced data-driven evaluation, human resource development, and bureaucratic reform. With these strategies, private universities are expected to be more adaptive to the dynamics of higher education and able to sustainably improve service quality.