Data Envelopment Analysis for the Efficiency of Higher Education Departments at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Indonesia

The quality of higher education is vital for a country’s future, not only in terms of transferring knowledge to younger generation but also for supporting economic development. This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the relative efficiency of 38 academic departments at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Surabaya, Indonesia. The input factors are the number of lecturers, the number of staff and budget allocations, whereas the output is the performance achievement level. The empirical analysis incorporates two traditional DEA models: the Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) and the Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) models with input orientation. The results indicate that the CCR model considers five departments efficient while the BCC model considers ten departments efficient, five of which are those considered efficient by the CCR model. It may seem counterintuitive that a department with an output performance achievement below 100% is deemed efficient, and vice versa. However, the underlying principle of efficiency under input-oriented DEA model is resource utilization. Finally, we provide recommendations for the departments with low efficiency scores to improve their performance.