Master of Governmental Studies (MIP) of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta achieved ‘A’ accreditation based on the Decree of National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education No. 3336/SK/BAN-PT/AKRED/M/XII/2016 officially announced on December 27th, 2016. The ‘A’ accreditation was gained after six-year establishment. In fact, the master degree program had obtained ‘B’ accreditation in 2014.
Director of MIP, Dr. Dyah Mutiarin, M.Si., stated that the previous accreditation is issued till January 2019, but the master degree program proposed reaccreditation. “The program parties created a task force to compile and synchronize data, and send to National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education. The, the accreditation visit was in 2016.,” Dyah told in an interview on Wednesday (25/1) at MIP office.
Dyah mentioned seven standards to attain to the ‘A’ accreditation. First, it was dealing with a distinct vision and mission. The program attempts to be superior in ASEAN. Second, the standard was regarding collegial governance which refers to an ability to decide and take risks together. Third, the standard was about students and alumni. The program has shown that 90 percent of the graduates have supplied labor markets.
“The alumni are encouraged to possess experiences in student exchanges and international conferences. Fourth, to meet the next standard, the program parties required to teaching staffs as the human resources to abilities which are similar to certified doctoral degree holders. Fifth, the standard was related to the higher education curriculum filling profession community services. Indeed, the student exchange curriculum of this program was the same as overseas partners’ curriculum. Sixth, the standard was regarding facilities. To provide good facilities for the students, the program relies on funding from not only students but also non-governmental organizations, center government, and local government,” she maintained.
Seventh, the most vital standard is dealing with the lecturers’ research and publication. To enhance the teaching staffs’ capabilities, they are obligated to publish their work each semester. “Besides those seven standards, Alhamdulillah, the internationalization of this program became a plus point,” she inserted.
Even though this program has obtained ‘A’ accreditation, the internationalization should be fostered. “The program parties are eager to provide joint degree or double degree with reputable universities. That’s our homework. We also expected to have professors so that we can offer a doctoral degree program of Governmental Studies. We also wished that this master degree program can support this university to be top 500 universities of QS Star,” she hoped.
