3.1 Link and Match Mechanisms in Off-Campus Learning Tracks
The structural realignment of higher education under the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) policy shifts traditional curricula from rigid disciplinary silos toward competency-based experiential learning. From the perspective of workforce readiness, MBKM functions as an essential framework designed to elevate graduate employability by integrating off-campus industrial tracks directly into undergraduate degree structures (crossref-10-21009-jmp-v15i1-50679, 2024). However, when evaluating the practical operationalization across higher education institutions, significant disparities emerge between national policy expectations and local implementation capacity. Initial assessments of institutional readiness demonstrate that university faculties encounter substantial administrative friction regarding course equivalency validation, collaborative partnership agreements, and uneven resource allocation across departments (W3128865117, 2021). Moreover, theoretical critiques examining the ontological and epistemological foundations of MBKM highlight that an uncalibrated transition toward off-campus placements risks compromising deep disciplinary knowledge in favor of short-term vocational utility (doaj-db8d885a267746bebd3efdd4f0d3ea7b, 2024). Connecting this philosophical tension to practical curriculum design indicates that achieving authentic graduate employability requires higher education institutions to maintain a balanced synthesis between rigorous academic epistemology and flexible professional competencies.