It all started with the idea of ​​Indonesian students in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, including Fadjar Notonagoro, Sumitro, and friends, who wanted to establish an economics college upon their return to Indonesia. At that time, there were no economics colleges in Indonesia, so studying economics had to be done abroad. Around 1952/1953, an economics college was established in Surabaya, named the Krisnadwipayana Economics College, founded by Dr. Ong Eng Djie (who was the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia).

A year and a half later, due to various circumstances, the university was forced to disband. With such a strong desire to pursue knowledge, former students of PTE Krisnadwipayana approached Governor Samadikoen to request assistance in continuing the legacy of their alma mater. At that time, there were only 100 economists, 15 of whom were in East Java out of a population of 84 million. Clearly, this lack of engagement with economic development was lacking.

Against the backdrop of the above conditions, upon the recommendation of Governor Samadikoen, and the encouragement of former students of the Nederlandsche Economische Hogeschool Rotterdam (NEH Rotterdam), the Surabaya Economic College Foundation was established on January 1, 1954. The foundation was established based on a notarial deed by Mr. Drs. Liem Hie Hian dated July 22, 1954. The names of the founders of the PTES Foundation as stated in the deed of establishment:

• Mas Goenadi Widjoasmoro, Head of the Surabaya Financial Inspection.

• Liem Djing Lioe, Agent Oei Tiong Ham Concern.

• Raden Mas Soeparto, Resident of Surabaya.

• Machmudin Gaffar, Chairman of Bond Importeur Indonesia.

• Soewarimbo, Head of Bank Rakyat Indonesia.

• Sheh Kuo Shen, Chairman of Chung Hua Chung Hui.

• Dietvors, Chairman of Middenstandsvereniging.

The Foundation's Board of Directors was initially chaired by Mr. RM Soeparto, the then Resident of Surabaya and founder of the foundation, and was succeeded by the next Resident, R. Ngabehi Soebekti. The YPTES deed of establishment states the following objectives (Article 2):

1. Establish economics colleges.

2. Providing education to become economic experts of one kind or another with high quality and international standards.

On September 15, 1954, the opening ceremony of the Surabaya College of Economics (PTES) was held in the hall of the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Airlangga. The event was attended by the Foundation's Board of Trustees, the Board of Curators, which for the first time was chaired by Commodore (Sea) Mohamad Nazir, who later became the Minister of Shipping of the Republic of Indonesia. The Indonesian Navy (ALRI) was deliberately involved, among other things because Surabaya was a very dominant naval city. Komt tijd komt verbetering, organizing first and organizing later, was the slogan at the beginning of PTES's steps. This was because it realized the reality where facilities were indeed very minimal, but it was the spirit that always inspired.

Lectures were held in the afternoons, borrowing the Bahari Building (now Tunjungan Plaza), the Agrarian/BPN building on Jalan Tunjungan, and a room in the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga. Lectures were held at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga thanks to the assistance of Prof. Toha (a gynecologist), who at that time was a member of the Board of Trustees of the PTES Foundation. The PTES office at that time was on Jalan Arjuno and Jalan Progo.

At its founding, PTES offered only one major: Corporate Economics. This was tailored to the expertise of the available lecturers at the time. The degree offered was only at the bachelor's level. Despite having only one major, the courses offered strict specialization, as general economics courses complemented those in corporate economics.

On November 17, 1957, a collaboration was established with the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, in Jakarta, regarding educational programs and adjustments, as PTES had previously been modeled after the NEH Rotterdam curriculum. Since then, the General Economics Department was established. PTES has also collaborated with Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

In addition to collaborating with state universities in Indonesia, PTES has established international relationships with NEH Rotterdam and a university in the Philippines. PTES was also requested by the Regional Head of Kalimantan to establish an Indonesian Commerce Academy in Jakarta. Since then, some PTES lecturers have been seconded to the Academy, which later became known as Lambung Mangkurat University.

In fact, when the PTES Foundation was first established, the administrators had already submitted a request to the President of the Republic of Indonesia to immediately incorporate PTES into Universitas Airlangga. However, due to various factors, the process was hampered, including the lack of a Higher Education Law, which left the necessary procedures unclear.

The next struggle was pioneered by R. Samadikoen, Soewondo, and Wilono (former governor of Kalimantan who later became Head of the East Java Region), President Director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Commander of the Navy.

Thanks to a very persistent struggle, finally the Decree of the Minister of Higher Education and Science No. 31/1961 was issued on August 8, 1961 which stipulated that from September 1, 1961, PTES would change to the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Airlangga .

 

Education programs

When the Faculty of Economics Universitas Airlangga (FE UA) first became a Faculty of Economics, the available majors were a continuation of the PTES program, namely General Economics and Corporate Economics. The Accounting Department was only opened in 1963. FE UA received assistance from lecturers from the University of Indonesia to establish the Accounting Department.

In order to assist the government program for higher education of skilled workers, FE UA established a non-degree program for the first time in the form of Corporate Administration Expert Education (PAAP) based on the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture No. 042/U/1975 dated March 18, 1975. When it was first opened, the program only offered accounting majors and starting in the 1984/1985 academic year, Taxation majors and Marketing Management majors were added starting in the 1985/1986 academic year. The management of PAAP, which was originally separate, since 1985/1986 has become one as the D3 program of the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Airlangga.

Meanwhile, to fulfill the community's need for graduates majoring in Accounting and Management that cannot be met through regular programs, with the Decree of the Director General of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture no. 278/DIKTI/Kep/1993 dated May 10, 1993, an extension program was opened with majors in Accounting and Management.

The Parallel D3 program was opened in 1995/1996. The study programs implemented in the Parallel D3 program consist of Accounting, Taxation, Marketing Management, Banking Management, Hotel Management, and Office Management.

In 1996, in accordance with government regulations, accreditation was carried out for both state and private universities by the National Accreditation Board (BAN). At the beginning of the accreditation process, the Development Studies, Management, and Accounting departments received a B accreditation. This spurred the enthusiasm of educational providers at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (UA), to improve their performance. Thus, in 2000, the Accounting and Development Studies departments were able to achieve an A accreditation.

 

Implementation of Education

As with PTES, the educational system at FE UA was initially implemented using a package system, consisting of six levels. There were preparatory levels I and II, baccalaureate levels I and II, doctoral level I (S1), and doctoral level II (S II). To advance from one level to another, a student had to pass all the courses offered. With this educational system, it was quite difficult for students to complete their studies immediately. At that time, the Drop Out policy was only applied to students before the baccalaureate, so at that time, most students after the baccalaureate were already looking for work, so their studies were neglected.

In 1979, the academic year changed from January to July, thus changing the academic year to 1979/1980. This year was also a transitional year, shifting from the Package System to the Semester Credit System. Education was organized in semesters, and students who failed a course only needed to retake it in the following semester. Students no longer needed to retake courses they had already passed, except to improve their grades. This change accelerated the completion of student studies, so that in 1985, a student from the 1981/1982 intake, Ms. Lindawati Gani, successfully completed her studies in less than 4 years.

Based on the decision of the Economics Consortium of the Department of Education and Culture in its meeting in October 1979, FE UA changed the name of the department:

The Department of General Economics became the Department of Development Studies.

The Department of Corporate Economics became the Department of Management.

At the start of the credit system, new students were not immediately assigned a major. After four semesters, they were enrolled in the Management, Accounting, or Development Studies departments. In 1984, a concentration of courses was introduced for the Management and Development Studies departments.

Since 1988, new students have been directly assigned to majors through the State University Entrance Examination (UMPTN), eliminating pre-major admission. To provide opportunities for students wishing to accelerate their studies, the Short Semester program was introduced in 1988.

 

Facilities and infrastructure

As in the PTES period, the initial lectures at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FE) Universitas Airlangga . Starting in 1962, FE UA was able to use the Universitas Airlangga Student Meeting Building on Jalan Tegalsari, which was faithfully maintained by Mr. Djoened. In addition to the four locations mentioned, lectures were also held at the Rajasa Building on Jalan Gentengkali.

 

Lectures were held in several locations until 1967. Starting in 1967, in addition to the Student Meeting Hall on Tegalsari Street, lectures began to be held at the FE UA Building on Airlangga Street 4, which at that time was still used together with the Faculty of Law. This building was the first building Universitas Airlangga on the South Campus. At that time, FE UA only had seven rooms available. In 1982, the rectorate provided a building for the Faculty of Law, while the building for the Faculty of Economics was under construction. After the Faculty of Law moved to the new building (as it is currently located), the Faculty of Economics used all the available rooms in the building, so FE UA had 13 rooms. Although FE UA had been provided with a new building, to maintain the historical value of the old building, the leadership at that time decided to remain in the old building, with the consequence of having to make several repairs because the building had suffered a lot of damage.

Since 1982, the Tegalsari building has not been used anymore, all FE UA activities, including lectures, administrative activities and student activities, are carried out on Jalan Airlangga 4.

Improvements are ongoing, bringing the FE UA building back to its current appearance. Funding for the renovations and beautification came from the Regional Government, alumni, and the Student Parents Association (IKOMA) of the Faculty of Economics, Universitas Airlangga.

Due to the high level of public interest in the Faculty of Economics and Business (FE) UA extension program, the existing space became inadequate. Therefore, in 1996, with funding from IKOMA, the FE UA extension building was constructed. This building is entirely dedicated to FE UA extension activities, both lectures and administration.

In May 2000, based on the desire of the FE UA leadership at the time to implement educational programs that 'link and match' with the business world, the Business Education Center (Academic Business Center) was built. The building, built next to the FE UA building, has 8 floors and was inaugurated on April 15, 2001.

To support academic activities among students, supporting facilities are needed. For this purpose, a Computing Laboratory with a capacity of 24 units has been provided. The computing laboratory is to provide computer skills for students. In addition to the computing laboratory, in 1998, 10 internet facilities and CD-ROMs were provided. As is known, the rapid development of technology must also be followed by FE UA students, so these facilities were provided. With the establishment of the Universitas Airlangga Central Library on Dharmawangsa Dalam Street, all FE UA library activities also moved there. To continue providing books and scientific papers needed by FE UA students, a reading room was provided. In this room, a place is provided for reading books and papers.

The number and use of rooms in the Faculty of Economics and Business (FE) of Universitas Indonesia (UA) have undergone various changes. Thirteen lecture rooms remain in their original locations. One of the lecture rooms on the north second floor has been renovated into the KRT Fadjar Notonagoro Room. The Gondowardoyo Seminar Room has been transformed into the KRMT Tirtodiningrat Room, which is often used for training and workshops. The leadership room has not undergone any changes, and now a leadership meeting room has been built above the leadership room between the first and second floors. The administration room remains as it was, in the north part of the building.

The Department and Study Program rooms remain in their original positions, in the center of the UA FE building, and now there are two examination rooms. The lecturer's room, which was previously in the center of the building (in the 1980s), is now in the south (formerly the Computing Lab). Considering the increasing number of lecturers, the lecturer's room was also expanded. With the increasing number of professors, a separate room was also provided. Previously, the professor's room under the late Prof. Miendrowo was located in the center of the building, now it is in the south, next to the lecturer's room. The Doctoral Room remains in its previous location, totaling nine rooms.

The increasing number of institutions within the Faculty of Economics and Business (FE) at the University of Indonesia (UA) has also created a need for space. The P3M room (located in the center) remains unchanged. The PMP and Taxation Buildings have actually been built, but because the Master of Management program only has its own building, it is now used by the MM program. The Accounting Development Center now has its own building, built with World Bank funding.

Supporting facilities needed by students are provided in the center of the building, including internet and CD-ROM access, a computer laboratory, and a reading room. The reading room provides a comfortable place to read. The bookstore remains in its original location, while the Dharma Wanita Canteen is located in the southern part of the FE UA building.

On the 1.5th floor in the center of the building, a space is provided for the Student Press Institute. Meanwhile, the two-story Student Activities Building houses student organizations, namely the Student Executive Board, the Student Legislative Body, and the Departmental Student Associations.

An extension building for undergraduate extension and parallel D3 students was built on Jalan Sri Ikana. One of the rooms in the building serves as the Muamalat Bank Cash Office. It houses 12 lecture rooms and an auditorium, as well as a banking laboratory, a hospitality laboratory, and a language laboratory. Additionally, the building provides a business center, leadership rooms, department rooms, lecturer rooms, a comprehensive examination room, an administration room, and a cafeteria.