Human Capital in Private Higher Education Institutions in North Sumatra: Determinants of Lecturer Performance and Perceived Educational Quality

This research investigates how human capital, professional development, institutional conditions, lecturer performance, and perceived educational quality are connected in private higher education institutions in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The study applied an explanatory quantitative approach and used questionnaire responses from 247 lecturers. The proposed direct and mediating relationships were examined with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Several limitations should be acknowledged, particularly the cross-sectional nature of the design and the use of lecturer self-reports to assess educational quality, both of which may create common-method bias. The findings are also tied to the setting of private universities in North Sumatra, so their applicability to other institutional contexts should be interpreted carefully. The analysis demonstrates that human capital, professional development, and institutional factors contribute significantly to lecturer performance, with human capital producing the largest effect. Lecturer performance is strongly associated with perceived educational quality (beta = 0.76). The mediation test further shows that lecturer performance partially explains the pathway from human capital to perceived educational quality. Overall, the study offers localized empirical evidence on the role of lecturer performance as an important channel through which lecturer competencies and institutional support are linked to quality perceptions in private higher education.