Digital Transformation in Higher Education Finance Staff Experiences with the Prima System UNY

Abstract

Utilization of the Education Fund Receipt Information System: A Phenomenological Study at the Financial Administration Unit of Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. Thesis. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Education, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, 2026. This study aims 1) to explore the dynamics of the daily experiences of financial staff while interacting with the Prima Information System 2) examine their adaptive actions and the meanings they construct regarding changes in work patterns following the implementation of the Prima System 3) investigate the meanings attached to the obstacles and challenges encountered during the adjustment process, and 4) explore their expectations and future perspectives regarding the integration of the Prima Information System in supporting their roles as educational fund administrators at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. This study employed a qualitative research design using a phenomenological approach that focused on participants' subjective experiences to understand how financial administrators at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta perceived, experienced, and interpreted their interactions with the educational fund receipt information system. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with five participants consisting of the Head of the Finance Division, one programmer, and three financial staff members representing different experiences in using the information system. The data were analysed through the stages of epoche, horizonalization, clustering of meanings, textual description, structural description, and synthesis of the essence of the phenomenon. The findings identify 45 significant statements through the horizontalization process, which form five major themes: the philosophy of centralized transparency and accountability, the experience of a unified digital workspace and bureaucratic autonomy, digital temporality and time synchronization management, efficiency distortion and technical interoperability barriers, and limitations of personal agency alongside expectations for cross-sectoral integration. The findings reveal that the implementation of the Prima System significantly transforms the operational staff's orientation toward their digital workspace (the lived space). The transition from a manual Excel-based system to an integrated all-in-one platform represents a form of psychological relief from cognitive burdens and concerns about human error. From a managerial perspective, the Prima System functions not merely as an administrative tool but also as a quality control instrument that reinforces the principles of centralized transparency and accountability in educational fund management.
Keywords: education fund receipt, phenomenology, Prima system, utilization