Depok, LAMSAMA — The National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (BAN-PT) carried out a monitoring and evaluation (Monev) activity on the Independent Accreditation Institute for Natural and Formal Sciences (LAMSAMA) on Friday, September 22, 2023, at the LAMSAMA Office, Multidisciplinary Laboratory Building, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia, Depok. This activity followed LAMSAMA’s submission of its 2022 Annual Report to BAN-PT and is part of the Accreditation Council’s (Majelis Akreditasi) mandate to monitor, evaluate, and supervise the performance of each independent accreditation institution in accordance with the provisions of the Minister of Education and Culture Regulation (Permendikbud) No. 5 of 2020.
BAN-PT Accreditation Council Visit
The visitation was conducted directly by the BAN-PT Accreditation Council team, consisting of Iman Herwidiana Kartowisastro, Ph.D., and Dr. dr. Muhammad Isman Jusuf, Sp.S. On the LAMSAMA side, the Monev activity was attended by the leadership, including Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Abdul Haris as Chair of the Accreditation Council, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Drs. Ir. Mitra Djamal, IPU., ASEAN Eng., as Director of the Executive Board, and the LAMSAMA Deputy Directors: Prof. Dr. Iwan Sugihartono, M.Si., Dr. Dra. Melania Suweni Muntini, M.T., Muhammad Abdulkadir Martoprawiro, M.S., Ph.D., Prof. Drs. Roto, M.Eng., Ph.D., Prof. Dr. Muktiningsih, M.Si., and Prof. Dr. Intan Detiana Muchtadi, S.Si., M.Si.
During the discussion, the BAN-PT Accreditation Council explored various aspects of organizational governance, decision-making mechanisms, human resource management, and the consistency of policy implementation supporting study program accreditation processes. BAN-PT noted that LAMSAMA already has a complete organizational structure with formal documents outlining the duties and functions of each body. However, BAN-PT also provided several recommendations, particularly emphasizing the need to strengthen internal regulations in the Articles of Association and Bylaws (AD/ART), including clarifying decision-making mechanisms at the council level and the governance relationship between the council and supervisory board.
BAN-PT also assessed that LAMSAMA has implemented several recruitment and HR management procedures, although more comprehensive evidence is needed to demonstrate consistent implementation over the past two years. The evaluation team also appreciated LAMSAMA’s compliance with regulations set by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) and BAN-PT, as well as the completeness of supporting accreditation documents, such as assessor guidelines, assessor code of ethics, accreditation procedures, and Study Program Accreditation (APS) instruments.
LAMSAMA Leadership Response
The Director of the LAMSAMA Executive Board, Prof. Mitra Djamal, stated that this Monev activity provides an important space for reflection to strengthen institutional governance.
“We view this Monev activity not merely as a regulatory obligation, but as a critical moment to ensure that LAMSAMA is on the right track in guaranteeing the quality of accreditation in the natural and formal sciences. We are committed to following up on all recommendations provided to continuously improve the quality of accreditation services,” he said.
Similarly, Prof. Intan Detiana Muchtadi, Deputy Director for Quality Assurance and Cooperation, emphasized that BAN-PT’s evaluation provides valuable insights for strengthening the internal quality assurance system.
“The input from BAN-PT helps us identify areas that need improvement, particularly in ensuring that each body in LAMSAMA operates according to the principles of transparency, integrity, and accountability. We hope that closer coordination with BAN-PT can continue, especially regarding the implementation of new policies such as Permendikbud 53/2023,” she said.
At the end of the session, LAMSAMA also conveyed several expectations to BAN-PT, including the need for regular coordination, special meetings to discuss the implementation of the latest accreditation policies, clarity on the conversion of international accreditation results, and mechanisms for automatic extensions under the new regulations. LAMSAMA also looks forward to BAN-PT’s guidance regarding the vision for developing an accreditation system integrated with international standards to strengthen the role of independent accreditation agencies in the national higher education ecosystem.
Through this Monev activity, BAN-PT reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that every independent accreditation institution carries out its duties according to good governance principles, while LAMSAMA reaffirmed its readiness to continuously improve the quality of accreditation services in the natural and formal sciences as part of efforts to maintain the quality of higher education in Indonesia.
