EVALUATING MASTER'S THESIS COMPLETION AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES THROUGH A CONTEXT-INPUT-PROCESS-PRODUCT FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Timely thesis completion is central to master's-program quality, yet aggregate completion statistics can obscure process bottlenecks. This study evaluates academic progression and thesis completion in the 2024 cohort of the Master of Economics Program at Pattimura University using a descriptive-critical program-evaluation case design guided by the Context-Input-Process-Product framework. Institutional evidence comprised five Rector's Decrees issued from February to April 2026 and a SIAKAD academic-record snapshot dated June 18, 2026 for all 35 active regular students, supplemented by document review, one unstructured interview with the Head of Program, and observation of system functions as qualitative corroboration. Milestones were coded as Proposal Seminar, Research Results Seminar, Thesis Defense, and formal graduation clearance. By the snapshot date, 28 of 35 students (80.0%) had completed formal graduation clearance, 33 of 35 (94.3%) had completed both seminars, and 28 of 33 (84.8%) had progressed from the Results Seminar to Thesis Defense. Mean GPA was 3.91 (range 3.80-3.98). The principal bottleneck occurred after the Results Seminar, while progress monitoring remained largely retrospective. Findings support explicit milestone governance, documented supervision, privacy-conscious progress monitoring, and targeted early support. Because evidence derives from one program, one cohort, and limited qualitative corroboration, conclusions are analytical rather than causal or statistically generalizable.