by Prof. Misri Gozan,

Chair of the Indonesian Engineering Executive Committee-Indonesian Engineer Association Professor of the University of Indonesia

In recent months, academic discourse in Indonesia has been enlivened by the issuance of the Regulation of the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia Number 53 of 2023 concerning the Quality Assurance of Higher Education. Special attention is focused on Articles 81 paragraphs 1 and 2, which regulates the possibility of an extension of the accreditation of study programs and tertiary institutions automatically, by relying on data from the Higher Education Database (PD Dikti) as the only source of information.

The basic question that arises then is: Can the accreditation process which is a strategic mechanism to ensure the quality of higher education is simplified and submitted entirely to the automation system? Could technology replace the role of human critical review in assessing the quality and accountability of higher education institutions?

Accreditation is not just quantitative data aggregation

credible accreditation and integrity cannot be built only on the basis of quantitative data aggregation. The accreditation process requires a comprehensive review of a variety of qualitative documents and information that reflects the journey of institutions, including curriculum development, learning strategies, to the quality of graduate achievements.

For example, the assessment of the relevance of the curriculum cannot be done only by reading the structure of the course, but requires an analysis of the linkages to industrial needs, alumni feedback, and the actual learning process. Therefore, the ideal accreditation assessment is carried out through a combination of document evaluation and field visits that enable the assessors to confirm findings in the field directly.

The challenge of the national data system reliability

The credibility of the accreditation automation system is very dependent on the reliability of the data available at PD Dikti. The history of national data management shows that the system has not been fully free from technical problems, delays in renewal, or data discrepancy due to reporting of reporting at the institutional level. Evaluative study from the Ministry of Education and Culture Pusdatin in 2022 revealed that around 18% of Dikti Dikti data from private universities still contain incompatibility in input in academic reporting.

Under such conditions, making PD Dikti the only reference in the accreditation extension will open a debate space and risk to reduce the validity of the results of quality assessment. In addition, the accreditation institution will still bear the legal and moral responsibility if it is later found that the quality of the study program decreases dramatically after the accreditation extension is automatically implemented.

Threat to international recognition

Accreditation is an instrument that is not only important in the national context, but also closely related to international recognition. Famous accreditation institutions such as ABET (United States), Jabee (Japan), and CTI (France) in principle do not recognize the automatic extension scheme without data -based assessment and validation data.

Indonesia has now succeeded in placing Iabee as a full member of Washington Accord and gained provisional status from Seoul Accord, and is taking the recognition process for Sydney Accord. The application of the automatic extension system is at risk of canceling the recognition that has been obtained, given the mechanism is not in line with the principle of outcome -based assessment that is recognized globally.

Consequences for accountability in the long run

Permendikbudristek number 53 of 2023 set an automatic accreditation validity period for five years for study programs and eight years for higher education institutions. The long span of time can contain the dynamics of significant changes, both in aspects of leadership, academic policies, and resource management.

In that context, the absence of periodic assessment involving human observations opens the gap of early detection failure to decrease in quality. Responsibility for public accountability becomes blurred, because no party checks substantives of the performance of education providers during the validity period of the automatic accreditation.

Risk of confidence erosion of the accreditation system

Accreditation is a form of social contract between educational institutions and the community. If this system loses its credibility due to automation that is not designed with the principle of caution, then the biggest loss will be borne by students. The trust of graduate users, both domestic and foreign, can decrease dramatically. This has the potential to harm the nation's competitiveness in the global arena, especially when Indonesian graduates are no longer recognized equally by institutions and industries abroad.

Recommendation

Automation in the accreditation process should be placed as a tool for administrative efficiency, not as a substitute substantial assessment that requires the presence of human appraisers. The hybrid model that combines information technology with professional assessments by independent assessors is the most realistic approach today.

The government should compile an accreditation automation roadmap that includes the integration of the PD Dikti system with the Internal Quality Assurance System (SPMI) and the involvement of the accreditation institution for field verification. In addition, efforts to strengthen data management at the institutional level through training and provision of integrated quality management information systems are very important.

Thus, automation can continue to encourage efficiency, but does not sacrifice the principles of accountability, transparency, and credibility which has become the basis of the national and international accreditation system.

The same points of mind in this paper have also been published with a different style of language on March 25, 2025 at https://www.indonesiaupdate.id/2025/03/25/mkahkah-acdine-kampus-diautomation/