The curriculum of the Master’s Program in English Language Education (MPBI) has gone through a long process. In simple terms, it can be described as initially almost stagnant and then gaining strength. Before the year 2000, changes were relatively minor, usually limited to replacing the content of individual courses. In the 2000s, however, the curriculum underwent substantial updates with the introduction of the Indonesian National Qualification Framework (Kerangka Kualifikasi Nasional Indonesia/KKNI), which required the curriculum to be adjusted accordingly. This year, further updates were carried out due to the rapid and drastic development of knowledge and digital literacy, as well as to accommodate Ministry programs.
Since the establishment of MPBI in September 2012, the curriculum has experienced several stages of development. Changes have primarily occurred in courses, the number of credit units (SKS), and graduate profiles.
In the effort to refine the curriculum so that it remains adaptive to evolving needs and demands, in 2017 the MPBI curriculum was reviewed and improved using several relevant references, including the Indonesian National Qualification Framework (KKNI), National Standards for Higher Education (SNPT), the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages, and the English Profiling Grid (EPG).
The KKNI was adopted as a reference because it represents the government’s initiative to anticipate globalization challenges in relation to the national education system, the national job training system, and the national equivalency assessment system. KKNI ensures that Indonesia produces human resources with measurable learning outcomes who can deliver quality contributions in their fields of work. Complementing this, the SNPT—regulated by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Permenristekdikti No. 44 of 2015)—provides a set of standards encompassing National Education Standards, National Research Standards, and National Community Service Standards.
For international references, the curriculum is aligned with the CEFR, widely used by many countries as a standard for language proficiency. Meanwhile, in the field of education, the EPG (English Profiling Grid) is used as a teacher qualification framework, also adopted by numerous teacher education institutions worldwide, to help educators assess their level of professionalism across subject knowledge, pedagogy, and supporting competencies.
At that stage of refinement, revisions were made to the program’s vision, mission, objectives, courses, credit distribution, and learning outcomes, covering attitudes, general skills, knowledge, and specific competencies.