The Awarding of Honorary Professorships: What is Public Opinion?

Actor and businessman Raffi Ahmad received an honorary doctorate, or *doctor honoris causa*, from the Universal Institute of Professional Management (UIPM) in Thailand. He shared this news on his personal Instagram account.

"Thank you for bestowing the Honorary Doctorate (Dr. HC) upon me, from Professor Kanoksak Likitpriwan, President of UIPM, Thailand," wrote Raffi Ahmad on Saturday (29/9/2024).

He claims this degree was awarded for his decades-long contribution to the development of the conventional, offline, and digital entertainment industries in Indonesia.

The awarding of honorary professor titles, prevalent among non-academics such as politicians and artists, prompted Kompas Research and Development (Litbang Kompas) to investigate public opinion on the matter.

Survey results show that a majority, or 50.5% of respondents, deemed this practice inappropriate.

However, 44.4% of respondents stated that awarding such titles was justifiable. 5.1% responded that they did not know.

"The divided public opinion is reasonable, as those who find it justifiable point to regulations underlying the awarding of honorary professor titles to non-academics," wrote a Kompas Research and Development researcher in their report on Sunday (11/9/2024).

The awarding of honorary professor titles is regulated by the Indonesian Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Regulation Number 38 of 2021 concerning the Appointment of Honorary Professors in Higher Education Institutions.

Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the regulation states that any individual with exceptional competence or achievements may be appointed as an honorary professor by the minister, upon the proposal of the higher education institution leader.

However, the appointment must meet the requirements outlined in Article 3, namely possessing at least a doctoral degree, an applied doctorate, or equivalent competence at level 9 of the Indonesian National Qualification Framework (KKNI).

This Kompas Research and Development survey involved 530 respondents across 38 Indonesian provinces, selected randomly and proportionally.

Data collection was conducted from July 22-24, 2024, through telephone interviews. The survey's margin of error is approximately 4.32%, with a 95% confidence level, under conditions of simple random sampling.