On Online, Distance, and Digital Education in Indonesia

In Conversation with Dr Rahmat Budiman
Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Partnership, and Business, Universitas Terbuka

By Dr David Lim

Rahmat Budiman is the Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Partnership, and Business of Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia, and the Secretary General of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). His research interests include student services, teaching assistance, and distance language teaching. Among his recent publications include “The Digital Literacy of First-Year Students and its Function in an Online Method of Delivery”, published in the AAOUJ in 2023.

Thank you, Dr Rahmat Budiman, for joining us in this conversation. For some time now, you have been an active figure in the field of open, distance, and digital education (ODDE), contributing through Universitas Terbuka (UT), the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), and other institutions. Like many ODDE practitioners, your journey through higher education followed a non-linear trajectory. You built a base in English before taking a formal education turn by pursuing a PhD on student achievement and dropout in distance learning.

What led you to pursue a career in the field of ODDE and how would you describe your intellectual trajectory and experience thus far?

As I work for an ODDE institution, it is essential for me to understand how it operates.


Rahmat Budiman (RB): Initially, I had no desire to become a teacher or lecturer. After graduating from university, I planned to become a news reporter, but my colleague encouraged me to apply for a lecturer position at Universitas Terbuka (UT). That was in 1998. I was accepted, and although I hadn’t anticipated this path, I soon realised that I enjoyed teaching. This passion may have been inherited from my mother and grandfather, who were both teachers. The more I learned about UT, the more I appreciated my role. I believe that God Almighty has guided me to this position, and I see it as the best path for me. Because of this, I am committed to fulfilling my responsibilities to the best of my abilities. I consistently strive to be professional in everything I do.

teachers must foster students’ digital literacy and motivation to help them become more self-aware and confident in expressing their ideas during online discussions.


As I work for an ODDE institution, it is essential for me to understand how it operates. I have attended various training sessions and workshops to develop my skills and advance my professional career. Additionally, I have travelled extensively across Indonesia, engaging with students and other stakeholders. I value listening to their comments, feedback, and even complaints, as these experiences enrich my knowledge and provide me with a more holistic understanding of the field. At the same time, I am deeply concerned with addressing the individual needs and aspirations of students.

DL: You recently published a research article in the AAOUJ (2023) on digital literacy, a topic that is of key interest and relevance to ODDE practitioners across backgrounds. Specifically, your study examined the relationship between first-year students’ digital literacy and their participative rate in online classes in the context of a distance learning university in Indonesia. In the study, digital literacy was measured by the ability to use such tools as the web browser, software like Word and Excel, and webmail to send and receive emails. Can you unpack your findings? And can you try to relate digital literacy to AI literacy and critical AI literacy? By ‘AI literacy,’ I mean the functional ability to understand and effectively use basic AI technologies, such as generative AI. And by ‘critical AI literacy,’ I mean the curious yet sceptical and informed mindset toward AI, one that avoids being confined to purely pro- or anti-AI perspectives.

RB: As traditional distance teaching adopts modern technology, such as the internet, as a tool for interactive teaching and learning, students must have digital literacy to successfully complete their learning journey. This sparked my interest in exploring the experiences of first-year students. Research indicates that the first year is the most critical phase in a student’s learning journey at online and distance learning (ODL) institutions, often marked by the highest dropout rates. I also found that by the third semester, students typically cultivate strong mental readiness and self-regulated learning skills. The first and second semesters act as a developmental stage, during which students search for the most effective ways to adapt to their new environment.

My research found that most of the students we sampled possessed digital literacy. They were familiar with the internet and could effectively use it to support their learning. Overall, the study revealed that the students had a high level of digital literacy, which facilitated independent learning. However, it is important to highlight that teachers must foster students’ digital literacy and motivation to help them become more self-aware and confident in expressing their ideas during online discussions.

I recognise the need for further research to investigate whether digital literacy impacts student achievement, such as final assignment scores and overall grades. While I believe that digital literacy likely influences student performance, I acknowledge that it is not the sole factor. Other interconnected variables may also play a role in shaping achievement.

I am considering the idea of administering a digital literacy assessment, similar to a cognitive test, for new students. This would help evaluate their digital literacy skills and provide valuable feedback. If the results indicate areas for improvement, students can take steps to enhance their skills and better prepare for their studies. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to ensure that students possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to succeed in an ODL environment.

Based on my experience and observations, many of my students actively use AI, specifically generative AI. In the online classes I conducted – two in English writing and one in translation – I frequently noticed students relying on AI to complete assignments and participate in discussions.

UT operates 40 Regional Offices across the nation and serves over 670,000 students. We recognise that technology plays a crucial role in managing such a large university and student body.


I believe AI is now an unavoidable part of the learning process. Even without formal instruction, students will inevitably develop some level of proficiency in using AI. Therefore, it is essential to introduce and cultivate critical AI literacy. We must equip our students with critical reading skills, enabling them to assess and evaluate information generated by AI effectively. Additionally, the university should implement an academic policy that governs the use of AI for academic purposes, ensuring that its integration supports learning while upholding academic integrity.

DL: Digital literacy and, concomitantly, digital technology in education, are clearly critical to the education that open universities (OUs) provide. Digital technology is key to the value proposition of OUs that leverage it to reach the masses across time and space, and to provide quality education at affordable costs. Against relentless popular hype, however, technology is not the panacea to all educational problems. Rather, as Alan Tait underscores in “Open Universities: The Next Phase” (2018), it is but part of a formula that combines vision and mission to deliver the value proposition for which OUs have become renowned. Based on your critical observation, with respect to Indonesia, how prevalent is the tendency to directly or indirectly think of technology as the overriding solution to most, if not all, educational ills, be it at the level of thought or practice? How would you account for it?

RB: If we look back at history, we can see how technological advancements have ‘shaped’ – I prefer using this word to the word ‘changed’ – the development and evolution of distance education (DE). I witnessed how UT adapted to technological advancements over the years. I still vividly remember when we recorded lectures using cassette tapes. Editors had to physically cut the tape, remove errors, and reattach it by hand. Later, we transitioned to using compact discs (CDs). After completing the recordings and edits, the editors had to ‘burn’ the CDs to produce copies in a process that required considerable time. Fast forward to today, UT has now reached the “fifth generation of distance education”, a concept outlined by Taylor (2001) in his journal article, from which the phrase is drawn.

UT operates 40 Regional Offices across the nation and serves over 670,000 students. We recognise that technology plays a crucial role in managing such a large university and student body. It has significantly accelerated the transformation of our operational processes. Most importantly, technology enhances the delivery of student learning services, making them more efficient, faster, and cost-effective.

Although we have been adopting modern technology, we realise that the technology infrastructure in Indonesia is not well distributed. For instance, many areas still lack internet coverage, necessitating the continued use of traditional DE methods. However, I am confident that this challenge will be addressed in the near future. My belief is based on available data First, similar to gadgets, internet access has become significantly more affordable. Second, the government has initiated a programme to construct base transceiver stations (BTS) across the various regions of Indonesia. Most importantly, the number of students taking online examinations has steadily increased over the past four years. This trend indicates growing digital literacy among students and suggests that internet access is becoming more widespread, covering more areas across the country.

In summary, I believe technology is a powerful force in education, with even greater potential when used thoughtfully to support the development of knowledge and skills. However, it should complement – not replace – traditional teaching methods and the value of human interaction.

Most other HEIs offering DE programmes in Indonesia primarily target students in urban areas where their campuses are located. In contrast, UT focuses on providing access to education for all Indonesian citizens, including those in outermost, frontier, and underserved regions.


DL: Your home institution, UT, has come a long way since its founding in 1984, a time when DE was almost exclusively associated with the OU that pioneered the practice. Over time, however, the perceived near-exclusive link between the OU and DE (and later ODE and ODDE) has gradually been weakening. This has generally been a global phenomenon that has affected many OUs across the globe, including Malaysia, although each country has had to grapple with its own dynamics. In Indonesia, for instance, the first main cause of the weakening may be attributed to the decree issued by the Ministry of Education that authorised all higher education institutions in the country to offer DE; while the second was the COVID-19 pandemic which accelerated the pace and intensified the enthusiasm with which the conventional institutions of higher education have been adopting ODE as a core approach. Given the foregoing developments, how much turf would you roughly say UT has had to cede to its competitors who are belatedly getting onto the ODE bandwagon? How would you characterise UT’s main competitors in terms of technological savviness, pedagogical sophistication, and learner-centredness? Have these competitors’ reach been circumscribed by the archipelagic nature of Indonesia with its 17,000 islands?

RB: It is true that since the Indonesian Ministry of Education authorised all eligible higher education institutions (HEIs) to offer DE. As of 2023, a total of 27 HEIs have launched DE programmes, with UT serving as the pioneer. Many of these HEIs offering DE have visited us at UT to learn from and benchmark against our experience. UT always welcomes HEIs planning to implement DE at any level. UT recognises that increasing Indonesia’s higher education gross enrolment rate (GER) requires collaboration with the government and other institutions. While some may perceive the growing number of HEIs offering DE programmes as competition, it is equally important to view this development as an opportunity for collaboration.

To strengthen collaboration among Indonesian HEIs and accelerate the growth of DE in Indonesia, UT took the lead in establishing the Association of Indonesian Distance Education Professionals (APPJJI). Currently, APPJJI has 10 member institutions, with more expected to join in the near future. Additionally, UT founded the Indonesia Cyber Education (ICE) Institute (https:// icei.ac.id/). The ICE Institute is a curated online course marketplace that offers access to highquality online courses (micro-credentials) from leading national and international universities and providers. Through the ICE Institute, Indonesian students and communities can access courses from prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, and Tsinghua, as well as platforms like Coursera, edX, and XuetangX. UT, through the ICE Institute, actively collaborates with Indonesian HEIs, institutions, and international partners to expand distance learning opportunities and broaden access to quality education.

Considering that Indonesian HEIs began implementing DE only recently, long after UT, many are encountering challenges in developing adequate technological infrastructure. Establishing and maintaining such infrastructure, like the robust systems UT has built over decades, requires significant investment. Most other HEIs offering DE programmes in Indonesia primarily target students in urban areas where their campuses are located. In contrast, UT focuses on providing access to education for all Indonesian citizens, including those in outermost, frontier, and underserved regions. This commitment to nationwide accessibility has led UT to offer lower tuition fees, ensuring affordability for a broader range of students. Unlike other HEIs, which often lack the capacity and capability to extend their services to remote areas, UT’s long-standing infrastructure and experience enable it to reach communities far beyond major cities.

I believe that ODDE is the most practical, desirable, and effective solution for achieving equity in education, particularly from the perspective of Indonesians, whose country comprises more than 17,000 islands.


DL: Increasingly, ODDE scholars have questioned and continue to question if it is still helpful to talk in terms of ‘open’ and ‘distance’ learning at a time when these terms seem to have been subsumed and superseded by ‘digital education’. This question is in fact the focus of a special issue that is being planned by the Journal of Open, Distance, and Digital Education (JODDE) to be published in late 2025. The argument is that ‘open’ learning has come to mean too many things to different people, and these meanings are so varied that the term has lost its clarity or effectiveness in communicating a specific idea; while the word ‘distance’ in distance learning, which originates from an earlier era, no longer carries the unique proposition that it used to. Digital education, by contrast, has increasingly gained widespread favour, given that most forms of education these days are mediated by digital technologies that have become so ubiquitous that we no longer notice them.

How is this terminological and discursive shift unfolding in Indonesia, if at all, in your observation? Do you see institutions of learning there, including UT, increasingly favouring ‘digital education’ over open learning, distance learning, and other older terms like e-learning and online learning? If such a shift is detectable, do you think it tends to have been self-reflexively thought through, or it is mostly a popular case of changing flavours? Or perhaps a mix of both? At any rate, how would you envision this shift impacting, in the next 25 years or so, institutions with the words ‘open’ and/or ‘distance’ in their names, such as the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) and OUs, bearing in mind that what was once the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) has dropped the ‘open’ in its name and morphed into what is now the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU)?

RB: Actually, since 2018, ODL has grown exponentially in importance across Indonesia. In that year, the Indonesian Ministry of Education invited all conventional universities to follow the example of UT, to use it as a benchmark and gold standard in ODL, and to implement the ODL mode on their campuses. Since then, several campuses have implemented the ODL mode in their academic services, often using the terminology ‘online learning’ as their main philosophy and theme. At the same time, the importance of ODL, particularly its emphasis on the use of digital media and IT, has been increasing rapidly worldwide (and in Indonesia) since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. People across the globe are now highly aware of the importance of digital media and IT, which can facilitate student learning without the need for physical presence in the classroom.

On the shifting trend, we also use terms like ‘digital education’ and ‘cyber university’ in our marketing to prospective students. Several other campuses in Indonesia currently also use both terms in offering their academic programmes. However, ‘open and distance learning’ remains our main terminology which we have used since UT was founded in 1984. This is because Indonesians recognise UT as a pioneer of ODL, as reflected in the consistent growth of UT’s student population, which now exceeds 650,000. This trend underscores the continued relevance of the ODL philosophy. Moreover, UT is widely known in Indonesia for offering a high degree of flexibility, providing access to academic degrees without barriers related to age, location, or economic circumstances.

In my view, the changing terminologies you mentioned are largely a matter of shifting ‘flavours’ or ‘branding,’ as I believe the core philosophy of ODL remains the most important. For future academic terminology, I believe two crucial perspectives will need to be considered: the global perspective and the national/local perspective. From a global perspective, terms like ‘open” and ‘distance’ may eventually be regarded as outdated. However, advancements in digital media and IT will likely influence how these terms local perspective, the relevance of these terms will depend on how communities in each area perceive higher education delivered through ‘open’ and ‘distance’ learning. As I previously mentioned, in Indonesia, these terms remain acceptable and relevant because they address the need for access to higher education with minimal restrictions on age, finances, and location. However, in other regions, such as Hong Kong, I assume the terms may be seen as outdated, prompting institutions like OUHK to rebrand in order to attract more prospective students.

DL: To interrogate the fault lines of practice and research in ODDE – especially in the general context of the Global South and the specific context of Southeast Asia – is not to imply that everything is problematic and flawed. There is much to praise in the current state of affairs, although what counts as commendable may differ depending on the perspective of the observer. From your perspective, what do you consider the most significant achievements or strengths of ODDE practice and research in the contexts mentioned above?

RB: I believe that ODDE is the most practical, desirable, and effective solution for achieving equity in education, particularly from the perspective of Indonesians, whose country comprises more than 17,000 islands. Higher education is often viewed as a luxury due to its high costs for many. Additionally, quality tertiary institutions are primarily located in major cities, further increasing expenses as students must cover accommodation costs. In essence, ODDE embodies SDG4, which emphasises inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all. ODDE ensures equal access to affordable tertiary education for everyone. In Indonesia’s context, UT was established as a public service obligation, reflecting the government’s commitment to providing tertiary education across the nation and ensuring no citizen is left behind. Following the success of FutureLearn established by the Open University, UT, together with the 13 other institutions, established the ICE Institute as a marketplace for online courses from various tertiary education institutions in Indonesia and overseas. Collaborative research has been conducted to foster the development of online learning. The presence of the ICE Institute has widely opened more opportunities for anyone to study from anywhere with affordable costs.

DL: To close, could you please share with our readers any worthwhile readings you have done recently and which few, among these, you would recommend? These readings could include books, journal articles, novels, or any other works, whether within the field of ODDE or beyond.

RB: I would recommend Open and Distance Education in Asia: Good Practices from AAOU Members (2022) edited by Tian Belawati. This book provides comprehensive insights into the establishment and development of distance education institutions across Asia. Additionally, I would like to highlight an article I co-authored with Andre Iman Syafrony titled “The Digital Literacy of First-Year Students and its Function in an Online Method of Delivery” (2023). The article won the 2024 Literati Award for Outstanding Paper by Emerald Insight. Remarkably, it has been downloaded over 3,600 times, a milestone that reflects its global relevance and impact. I am particularly proud of this achievement, as I had not anticipated such significant engagement with our work from readers worldwide.

DL: Thank you, Dr Rahmat for your time and insights. It has been a pleasure connecting with you.

RB: You are most welcome, and I am happy to share my experience and knowledge with you.