Twelve study programs across five faculties at UGM simultaneously underwent accreditation evaluation by the Akkreditierungsagentur für Studiengänge der Ingenieurwissenschaften, der Informatik, der Naturwissenschaften und der Mathematik (ASIIN).
The five faculties that underwent evaluation include the Faculty of Geography, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA UGM), the Faculty of Forestry, the Faculty of Agricultural Technology (FTP UGM), and the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FK-KMK UGM).
ASIIN conducted the accreditation evaluation, which was divided into three clusters: the cluster of computer and electronics, the cluster of agriculture and nutrition, and the cluster of geography.
Professor Supriyadi, the UGM Vice-Rector for Human Resources and Finance, stated that the current accreditation evaluation is the largest group in UGM’s accreditation journey with ASIIN.
“It covers the accreditation for 12 study programs simultaneously across five faculties,” the vice-rector said at the UGM campus.
Professor Supriyadi appreciated the university’s leadership, deans and vice deans, department heads, and program coordinators for their preparation regarding the evaluation conducted by the ASIIN accreditation agency.
UGM’s vision is to be a world-class and superior national higher education institution. One strategy pursued is consistent quality monitoring, including evaluating input-process-output and the educational outcomes of study programs.
“UGM actively communicates and collaborates with internationally reputable accreditation bodies as external evaluators to recognize the quality of existing study programs,” Professor Supriyadi said.
One of these institutions is ASIIN, which has been involved since 2015 in maintaining quality, conducting continuous accreditation, and providing improvement recommendations for evaluated study programs.
It is proven that out of the 12 programs visited this week, 6 of them are extensions or reaccreditations for the second cycle.
“We realize that there is always room for improvement. We hope this accreditation process will benefit the programs, departments, faculties, and the university. We look forward to positive outcomes from this accreditation process,” Professor Supriyadi hoped.
The ASIIN accreditation evaluation occurred for three days, from 22-24 April 2024, at UGM. For the cluster of computer and electronics, the evaluation was conducted by Professor Paul Grimm, Professor Raif Muller, Jun., Professor Dennis Riehle, Mr. Wilfridus Handaya, Ms. Joanna Darmawan, and Mr. David Witt.
Professor Carsten Mann, Professor Markus Frank, Professor Dian Handayani, Mr. Almansyah Sinatrya, Ms. Dina Riska, and Mr. Daniel Seegers evaluated the agriculture and nutrition cluster.
Meanwhile, Professor Rudolf Juchelka, Professor Wolfgang Kanz, Professor Juergen Peters, Mr. Mohamad Lugas Sujatmoko, Mr. Kurniawan Agung Aristo, and Dr. Michael Meyer evaluated the geography cluster.
According to Professor Wolfgang Kanz, this evaluation means UGM wants to improve the quality of education by inviting experts from different countries and perspectives to understand the perspectives existing at UGM.
“So, an external perspective, I think, will be perfect for giving us a self-experience and having thoughts on improving the existing education quality,” expressed Professor Kanz.
Professor Wening Udasmoro, the UGM Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching, stated that UGM has more than 250 study programs and aims for these programs to gain trust from international institutions like ASIIN.
Therefore, it is about improving the quality of education and how UGM can maintain its identity and become increasingly recognized as an international institution.
Professor Indra Wijaya Kusuma, the Head of the University Quality Assurance and Reputation Unit at UGM, conveyed a similar sentiment. This ASIIN visitation was the largest for UGM, with 12 study programs in 5 faculties, whereas the average is usually only 6 study programs.
“This time, the number of programs is the highest because usually there are only six programs, but this time there are 12 in 5 faculties,” Professor Kusuma said.
Regarding the ASIIN visitation activities, he explained that UGM had submitted forms to ASIIN well in advance for examination. As a follow-up, they wanted direct confirmation from UGM to ensure that everything submitted had been carried out according to the existing standards.
“That’s the meaning of accreditation, which is international from Germany, recognized by the government. That’s why they came directly to UGM to see the facilities and discuss with leadership, starting from the rectorate, deanships, and departments down to the study programs. They also engaged with students and non-teaching staff, alumni, and users,” he explained.
Professor Kusuma mentioned that the ASIIN assessors rated it positively from the beginning. However, the official assessment results from ASIIN will only be sent two months later.
So, the accreditation results of the twelve study programs take time, and the assessment results are expected to be released around July 2024.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that the assessors said everything was good based on discussions and observations during the three days on campus.
“However, they must report to the ASIIN committee first in Germany. The visitation dynamics are interesting because it can be seen from the answers that the students are satisfied, the users are satisfied, and the alumni are also satisfied,” he added.
“There was nothing that made the assessors demand something specific from UGM. This is not the first time; we have more than 40 study programs accredited by ASIIN, and it’s already common.”
Author: Agung Nugroho
Photographer: Firsto