Universitas Terbuka (UT), one of Indonesia’s state universities, is approaching its 40th anniversary. Currently, UT boasts 551,030 students and over 2 million alumni spread across the globe. On Monday, July 29, 2024, UT held an Academic Seminar at the Universitas Terbuka Convention Center (UTCC) in Pondok Cabe, South Tangerang, to kick off the second graduation ceremony of the 2023/2024 academic year. The seminar’s theme was “Shape a Quality Future, Advance Globally with UT.”
The seminar began with a welcome address from Dr. Mohamad Yunus, S.S., M.A., Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs. He emphasized that increasing student numbers is not the ultimate goal; providing high-quality, standardized education is paramount. To ensure quality, UT adheres to the quality assurance standards of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE). On June 5, 2024, UT received its fifth certificate from ICDE. Additionally, four UT study programs—Law, Management, Accounting, and Development Economics—have earned international accreditation from the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA). Most notably, on July 2, 2024, UT was awarded an ‘A’ Accreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT).
Following this, A .Rachmat Wirawan, S.H., M.H., and Dr. Albert Gamot Malau, S.Si., M.Si., from the Centre of Research and Community Service (LPPM) UT, presented on filling out the Tracer Study. The Secretary-General of the UT Alumni Association (IKA UT), Drs. Leles Sudarmanto, M.M., MBA, also delivered a presentation.
The seminar’s keynote was delivered by Prof. Dr. Ir. Ari Purbayanto, M.Sc., Executive Director of BAN-PT, titled “The Role of Higher Education Quality Assurance in Preparing Quality Graduates.” He highlighted that educational advancement relies on well-implemented, consistent, and ongoing quality assurance processes with continuous quality improvement. UT is recognized for its quality due to its adherence to these processes, producing competent and job-ready graduates, with an Internal Quality Assurance System (SPMI) surpassing the National Higher Education Standards (SN Dikti)
The seminar also featured the presentation of the University Accreditation Certificate (APT) by BAN-PT. Prof. Dr. Ir. Ari Purbayanto, M.Sc., presented the certificate to UT Rector Prof. Ojat Darojat, M.Bus., Ph.D., accompanied by BAN-PT Assessor Prof. Dr. Mulyono S. Baskoro, M.Sc., Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Dr. Mohamad Yunus, S.S., M.A., and Head of the Quality Assurance Office Prof. Dr. Mohammad Imam Farisi, M.Pd.
In his remarks, Prof. Ari Purbayanto addressed UT students, saying, “You should be proud to be UT students because UT has now demonstrated its quality assurance achievements with an ‘A’ accreditation, the highest ranking with 7 quality standards set by BAN-PT.” He added, “UT is one of the best universities in Indonesia in terms of educational quality, being part of the top 3 percent of higher education institutions (127 out of 4,423) with ‘A’ accreditation.” Prof. Ari urged students to contribute to UT’s continuous quality improvement and encouraged them to recommend UT to others.
UT Rector Prof. Ojat stated some important points in his speech, emphasizing UT’s commitment to providing broad access to higher education for all Indonesians. Since its founding, UT has aimed to deliver quality education that meets government standards. The year 2024 marks a milestone for UT as it received its first-ever ‘A’ Accreditation for Higher Education (APT) from BAN-PT, as per Decree No. 1282/SK/BAN-PT/Ak/PT/VII/2024, dated July 2, 2024.
Prof. Ojat concluded by stating that the APT accreditation is not the end goal but a step towards ensuring that UT’s educational services are of the highest quality, producing graduates who are truly qualified and well-regarded in society and the job market.
