What drives selection decisions of private universities in Jakarta?

In many circumstances, the issues of competitiveness and selection decisions are becoming more important as a strategic focal point of the institutional function in higher education (HE). With the implementation of a social market economy in Indonesia, as an intermediary stage between socialism and capitalism, the need to incorporate competitiveness within an institutional role becomes more pressing. Despite the fact that private higher education in Indonesia grew steadily, there has been no published research on the competitiveness of private higher education. The purpose of this study is to examine the assessment of the competitiveness and selection decision of private universities (PTS) and the implications for the decision to attend a private university. The sample size is 300 students who choose to continue their education at PTS as part of the Higher Education Service Institute (LLDIKTI) Region III Jakarta. We employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the SWOT analysis, and the Business Model Canvas. The AHP results showed that a variety of variables could be utilized to choose private universities in LLDIKTI Region III Jakarta. Meanwhile, the SWOT analysis findings were located in the third quadrant (defense). In this situation, private universities have a big market opportunity, yet there are hurdles inside the private universities themselves. As a result, the PTS strategy should focus on minimizing internal PTS issues in order to capture the greater possibilities to compete with other PTS in LLDIKTI Region III Jakarta. Furthermore, the results of the business model canvas analysis proved that optimizing the role of websites, social media, alumni, scholarships, and competitiveness was expected to be able to make private universities superior and of high quality through the provision of accurate, fast, and easy information and communication channels that followed the technological developments and needs, as well as customer segments.