Integrated Framework with IDSPA Mechanism for Sustaining Quality Academic Programs

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) has expanded from a training institution to become the largest university in Malaysia, with 34 campuses, 4 colleges, 13 faculties, and 9 academic centers strategically located across the country. It continues to increase access to education, thereby contributing to the nation-building process by producing skilled professionals and shaping the future. The university provides more than 500 academic programs covering a wide range of disciplines. This paper examines the competitiveness of the academic programs by assessing their popularity, enrollment rates and graduate employability using an assessment tool called IDSPA (Index of Academic Program Competitiveness). Based on the IDSPA analysis results, out of 442 academic programs being analyzed, 78.5% of the academic programs are well maintained and some may require curriculum revisions, 16.2% may require rebranding efforts while 5.2% may need to be discontinued. How can an institution ensure that its academic programs remain relevant, competitive, and sustainable? To address the issue effectively, we propose a framework model for maintaining sustainability in academic program offerings.