In many campuses, writing productivity often increases only when approaching the Lecturer Workload (BKD) reporting period, then declines again once administrative obligations are met.
HIGHER education is never short of knowledge. Every day, lecturers teach, conduct research, mentor students, engage in discussions, and interact with various societal issues. Ironically, this wealth of experience does not always transform into writing that can be passed on to the public.
This phenomenon does not suggest that lecturers are devoid of ideas. Instead, it signals a more fundamental issue: the lack of a deeply rooted culture of writing as a scientific tradition. The challenge for higher education today is not merely to increase the number of publications, but to build an ecosystem that makes writing a natural part of academic life.
Writing as Academic Identity
A lecturer essentially performs three main roles: developing knowledge, transmitting knowledge, and providing benefits to society. These three roles find their most sustainable form through writing.
Ernest L. Boyer, in his monumental work Scholarship Reconsidered (1990), reminded us that the meaning of a scholar needs to be understood more broadly. According to Boyer, academic activity is not just research to discover new knowledge (scholarship of discovery), but also includes the integration of knowledge, the application of knowledge in real life, and the development of teaching and learning (scholarship of teaching and learning) (Boyer, 1990).
This view is highly relevant for Indonesian higher education. A lecturer does not have to wait for a major research project to start writing. Teaching experiences, reflections on learning practices, results of community service, and analyses of local issues can all become valuable scientific works.
Thus, academic productivity is not just a matter of the number of articles. It is more about the ability to transform experience into knowledge that others can learn from.
From a Culture of Reporting to a Culture of Contribution
The BKD system clearly has an important function as an instrument for the accountability of the 'tridarma' (three pillars of higher education). The issue here lies not in the existence of BKD, but in the orientation that sometimes shifts. When publication is viewed primarily as an administrative requirement, the intrinsic motivation to share knowledge can weaken.
Boyer even criticized the tendency of an academic culture overly dominated by the publish or perish spirit, a condition where publication is treated more as a measure of individual success than as a contribution to the development of science and society.
A paradigm shift is essential. Higher education institutions (in this case, especially lecturers) need to move from merely thinking about “what must I write to fulfill BKD?” to thinking more fundamentally: “what ideas are worth contributing to science and society?”
This mindset shift will change how lecturers view the activity of writing.
An Ecosystem that Produces Writers
Writing productivity is rarely born from individual motivation alone. It grows more easily in a supportive environment. Campuses that succeed in building an academic culture usually have regular discussion spaces, writing groups, publication mentoring, peer review, and appreciation for scientific work.
Even popular scientific writing in campus media has a strategic role. Such articles act as a bridge between academic language and the needs of the community. A campus certainly cannot just speak to fellow academics. It must also be present as a center of thought that addresses public issues, especially those faced by the local community and local government.
At STIEKIA, the development of such an academic culture is not entirely absent. In this blue campus with the motto “dare to move forward, become smarter,” there has long been the scientific journal “JUMPA,” periodic publication of collaborative books by lecturers, and a “Popular Scientific Article” space on the campus website, although it still feels lacking in content. Perhaps there are still related matters that need attention. Perhaps most active lecturers are still burdened by structural tasks, and the culture of writing still needs to be better conditioned as one of the main roles of a lecturer in developing ideas, rather than just chasing targets to fulfill workload requirements.
For STIEKIA, the opportunities for such development are wide open. Various issues in management and accounting, regional economic issues, entrepreneurship, cooperatives, MSMEs, digital transformation, organizational governance, and human resource development in Bojonegoro can all become a laboratory of ideas that can continuously produce writing and build a beneficial scientific tradition.
Islamic Perspective: Immortalized Knowledge
The tradition of writing has deep roots in Islamic civilization. The first revelation began with the command to read (QS. Al-'Alaq: 1–5), then Allah stated: “Nun. By the pen and what they write.” (QS. Al-Qalam: 1)
The pen in that verse is not just a tool, but a symbol of the continuity of knowledge. What is written has the opportunity to outlive its author.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also said: “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to others.” (Narrated by Ahmad)
In academic culture, that benefit can be realized through writing that enriches knowledge, improves educational practices, and provides solutions to societal problems.
Ali bin Abi Thalib (RA) also emphasized the recommendation to record every piece of knowledge acquired so that it remains strong in memory: “Bind knowledge by writing it down.” This expression aligns with the view that human memory has limitations, making writing the best safeguard for the knowledge that has been learned.
Meanwhile, Imam Al-Ghazali also provided a very famous motivation regarding the immortality of a written work. He once said: “If you are not the son of a king and not the son of a great scholar, then be a writer.” This statement means that through writing, a person's name will remain alive and be remembered eternally by history even after they are gone.
The general view of scholars also states that writing can prevent forgetting, become a legacy of civilization (a legacy of benefit and knowledge for future generations), and also serve as a medium of struggle—a form of 'amal jariyah' (continuous charity) and a form of real 'dakwah' (preaching) whose rewards continue to flow as long as the work is read and provides benefit.
Conclusion
Higher education institutions will always have buildings, curricula, and administrative systems. However, the soul of a campus lies in the ideas that are continuously born from its lecturers. BKD remains necessary as a performance management tool. However, performance reports should be the footprint of intellectual productivity, not the final goal.
A mature academic culture is marked by lecturers who do not wait for deadlines to write, but rather make every teaching, research, and community service experience a seed of ideas worth passing on.
Thus, a great campus is not one that only produces many reports. A campus that is “daring to move forward and becoming smarter” is a campus that continuously builds an intellectual culture that gives birth to thought and gives birth to ideas.
Suprapto Estede, editor of the lecturers' collaborative book and associate professor at STIEKIA.