Midproject evaluation, project 497-0297 : Indonesia, western universities agricultural education

Special mid-term evaluation covers the period 1981-4/84 and is based on document review, site visits, and interviews with participants and with BKS-B, Government of Indonesia (GOI), USAID/I, and contractor staff. With effective USAID/I and contractor management and high-level GOI commitment, project implementation is largely on track. Moreover, the project has been a major catalyst within the BKS-B, providing for over half of consortium activities. U.S. graduate training is being provided to 33 M.S. and 8 Ph.D. faculty; 15 others have completed M.S. degrees and returned to Indonesia (10) or continued with Ph.D. studies (5); 4 have returned without completing U.S. degrees. BKS-B staff have also attended 2 one-month U.S. administrative courses. In-country training has been provided to 109 M.S. and 14 Ph.D. candidates and to 188 students in 9 short courses. A total of 168 BKS-B staff (of a planned 250) have attended the project's cost-effective intensive English-language training program; of the 27 who are currently enrolled or who have already passed the TOEFL test, 10-18 will probably be sent for U.S. graduate study. The project has also established inter-university networks in soils and English and identified topics for 3 others (vs. the targeted 6); the soils network has revised its curriculum and is preparing a laboratory manual. A total of 10,875 new volumes have been added to BKS-B libraries and student library usage has increased; however organization, space, and short hours are still major library problems. The target to increase faculty use of improved teaching methods (e.g., course outlines, tests, etc.) by one-third should be achieved by the end of the project. Also, at least 3 universities are creating/revising their campus plans and several have instituted credit systems (however, the latter is an indirect, rather than a direct, project benefit). Given adequate GOI funding, the consortium is in a good position to be sustained without external aid. Recommendations are made for a follow-on project.