The success of higher education institutions can be seen
from several indicators. One of the indicators is the institutions that
can produce outputs and outcomes with the competence in relation
to the needs of society. The graduates’ academic achievement can be
described through their grade point average (GPA). There were 79
graduates who got Cum Laude predicate at the Department of
Islamic Studies, IAIN Imam Bonjol Padang in the 1st Period of
graduation which was held on August to September and in the 2nd
period on March, from the academic year of 2011 to 2015. The
lowest GPA was 3.50 while the highest GPA was 3.93. The
graduates who got Cum Laude have worked in several fields of jobs;
such as Islamic Religion teachers, staffs in government offices,
banks, and political parties both in West Sumatra and out of
Sumatra. The study showed that there is no significant contribution
of GPA with their career. It implied that GPA will not determine the
graduate career either as a teacher on Islamic studies or as a teacher
on social science and civics education. It also found that the
graduates who work in out of field of studies were caused by the
demand of the schools because of lack of teachers.
Keywords: Cum Laude achievement; type of career; career relevancy