LAMSAMA (Indonesian Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Natural and Formal Sciences) is an Independent Accreditation Agency for Natural Sciences and Formal Sciences. The establishment of the Independent Accreditation Agency for Natural Sciences and Formal Sciences (LAMSAMA) refers to Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 12 of 2012 on Higher Education, Article 55 paragraph (5), which states that the accreditation of study programs as a form of public accountability is conducted by an Independent Accreditation Agency (LAM). In addition, Regulation of the Minister of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Permen RistekDikti) Number 32 of 2016 on the Accreditation of Study Programs and Higher Education Institutions, Article 4 paragraph (2), also states that the accreditation requirements for study programs are determined by the Independent Accreditation Agency.
Referring to the regulations mentioned above, on 27 January 2017, seven Professional Associations and Educational Institutions as initiators, together with eight Institutional Organizations and six other Professional Organizations as Supporting Institutions, agreed to establish the Independent Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Natural and Formal Sciences (LAMSAMA) and signed the Deed of Establishment of the Association “Independent Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Natural and Formal Sciences,” abbreviated as the LAMSAMA Association, which in English is referred to as the “Indonesian Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Natural Science and Formal Science.”
The seven Professional Associations and Educational Institutions acting as initiators are:
On 2 August 2019, a letter from the Minister of Research, Technology, and Higher Education approving the establishment of LAMSAMA was issued. Subsequently, on 14 October 2019, the Deed of Establishment was legalized, and on 3 December 2019, the Independent Accreditation Agency for Natural Sciences and Formal Sciences was officially legalized as a legal entity through the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights No. AHU-0011888.AH.01.07 of 2019.
LAMSAMA is an accreditation agency that focuses on study programs producing graduates in the fields of Formal Sciences and Natural Sciences, as well as graduates who are prepared to become educators and instructors in these fields.
Formal Sciences include, among others, Mathematics, Statistics, Actuarial Science, and Computational Sciences, as well as related fields. Natural Sciences include, among others, Physics, Chemical Sciences (Chemistry), Biological Sciences (Biology), and Earth and Space Sciences, as well as related fields. LAMSAMA also covers study programs in multidisciplinary fields derived from all of the aforementioned areas.
The accreditation concept of LAMSAMA is supportive rather than directive. LAMSAMA supports study programs in their growth and development and in achieving increasingly higher standards of education, without directing them toward objectives determined by LAMSAMA itself. Every good practice (best practice), improvement initiative, and advancement undertaken by a study program will receive due recognition from LAMSAMA and will be reflected in the accreditation report.
The internal quality assurance system of each study program is expected to play an active role in improving program performance. On our part, LAMSAMA assessors are trained to identify and explore the full potential of study programs to enable them to become stronger and more competitive at the global level. Graduates of study programs accredited by LAMSAMA must demonstrate two core competencies that are rigorously assessed: mastery of the discipline (subject-specific skills) and professionalism (transferable skills).
