South Tangerang, July 2025 – Universitas Terbuka (UT) has once again made a proud achievement in both the global and national education arena. According to the latest release of the Ranking Web of Universities (Webometrics), UT has seen a significant jump in its rankings. At the international level, UT’s leap is impressive: in July 2025, it climbed to 4,547th place from 5,136th in the January 2025 edition, out of a total of 32,000 universities worldwide. 

On the national stage, UT rose from 81st place in the July 2024 and January 2025 editions to 77th place in the July 2025 edition, out of 3,685 universities ranked by Webometrics. 

This achievement is tangible evidence of UT’s commitment to strengthening its digital visibility, excellence, and academic openness, in line with its role as a pioneer of Distance Higher Education (PTJJ) in Indonesia. 

A Result of Strategic Digital Transformation 

UT Rector, Dr. Mohamad Yunus, S.S., M.A., affirmed that this rise in ranking is the result of a focused strategy implemented by the university. 

“UT has taken various strategic steps to enhance its digital visibility, excellence, and openness, ranging from optimizing UT’s official website, encouraging faculty and student publications in reputable journals, to strengthening UT’s presence on various global academic platforms. We are doing all of this so that UT becomes more widely known and makes a real contribution to the development of science,” he said. 

Dr. Yunus also emphasized that digitalization is not just about supporting administration but is the foundation for building a campus that is adaptive and connected to the world. 

“We have integrated online learning services, strengthened our institutional repository, developed the MyUT portal, and optimized UT’s social media as an academic communication channel. These efforts have a direct impact on the Webometrics Visibility indicator, which is one of the key factors in this ranking,” he added. 

The Vice Rector for Academic Affairs and Acting Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Cooperation, and Business at UT, Prof. Rahmat Budiman, M.Hum., Ph.D., stated that this achievement is a result of UT’s strategy to expand international collaborations and encourage globally reputable publications. 

“This increase in ranking affirms that UT is not only focused on the quality of teaching but is also capable of competing on the international stage in research and publications. This is an important step towards UT’s vision of becoming a World Quality University and a World Class University,” he explained. 

Prof. Rahmat added that this success will strengthen the trust of the public and global partners in UT, while also opening up more opportunities for collaboration in research, faculty and student exchanges, and cross-border academic partnerships. 

“The challenge ahead is to maintain this consistency and continue to climb. We believe UT can become a key player in the development of science, education, and digital transformation, both nationally and globally,” he stated. 

Webometrics, an initiative to promote and open public access to scientific publications to increase the academic and institutional presence on the web, has been published since 2004 by Cybermetrics Lab, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Spain. It evaluates universities based on three main indicators: 

• Visibility – the impact of web content measured by external links and references from other sites. 

• Openness – the total number of academic citations as a reflection of open access to knowledge. 

• Excellence – the number of highly cited scientific publications in reputable journals. 

The increase in UT’s ranking in the July 2025 edition shows that the comprehensive transformation implemented by UT is bearing real fruit. With a strong vision, progressive leadership, and the collective spirit of the academic community, UT continues to move towards higher achievements in the world of global higher education. 

This achievement is not an end but the beginning of UT’s continuous commitment to building an inclusive, innovative, and impactful digital campus for society, the nation, and the world.