ONLINE THESIS MENTORING IN UNIVERSITAS TERBUKA POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM

Abstract

Universitas Terbuka is a university that implements a distance learning system. The term distance means that learning
is not carried out face-to-face, including mentoring students in writing a thesis. One of the modes of thesis mentoring
is online. The purpose of this study is to analyze online mentoring that has been carried out by supervisors and students
in the Universitas Terbuka postgraduate program. This study uses a survey method that has successfully recruited
117 students and 106 supervisors from all regions in Indonesia. The results of this study indicate that 1) the most
effective media in the mentoring process are Video Conference Applications (Zoom Meeting, Google Meet,
Microsoft Teams, etc.) and Chat Applications (WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, etc.); 2) the most effective media for
sharing files are email and chat applications (WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, etc.); 3) The most effective file format for
the mentoring process is Word; 4) the most effective media for providing notes for improvement is a Word file with
Comment facilities on Word and Video Conference Applications (Zoom Meeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams,
etc.; 5) and 38% of students and 30% of supervisors think that online mentoring has not optimal.