The National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT) conducted the Stage 3 Monitoring of the Doctoral Program in Economics (Program Doktor Ilmu Ekonomi/PDIE), Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS). The assessment was conducted virtually on Wednesday–Thursday, 24–25 November 2021. The assessors appointed for this assessment are Prof. Dr. Samsubar Saleh, M.Soc.Sec., from Universitas Gadjah Mada and Prof. Dr. Agus Suman, S.E., DEA, from Universitas Brawijaya.

Representing the Rector of UNS at the opening session, the Vice Rector for Academic and Student Affairs of UNS, Prof. Ir. Ahmad Yunus, M.S., stated that UNS had marked one year since its transition from a Public Service Agency State University (PTN BLU) to a Legal Entity State University (PTN BH). He emphasized that UNS continues to strengthen educational quality, particularly in accreditation.

“Up to this year, 15 study programs at UNS have undergone international accreditation visitation. Next year, we aim to increase this number to at least 20 study programs to meet the requirements of UNS as a PTN BH,” he stated.

He further explained that study programs that have obtained “Excellent” accreditation from BAN-PT and have demonstrated consistent strong performance over at least two assessment cycles are proposed for international accreditation.

Prof. Yunus also highlighted the significant role of the quality assurance institution at UNS, which conducts internal monitoring and evaluation each semester, along with internal audits at the end of the year. In addition, quality assurance oversight is carried out by BAN-PT and independent accreditation agencies.

He expressed his expectation that the BAN-PT assessors would provide guidance and support during this Stage 3 Monitoring, particularly for the PDIE FEB UNS Taskforce Team.

In his remarks, Prof. Samsubar explained that the monitoring process aimed to confirm the data previously submitted by the PDIE Taskforce Team to BAN-PT. He conveyed confidence that the team had made optimal efforts and emphasized that the assessment would focus solely on the submitted documents. He encouraged the team to use the two-day Stage 3 Monitoring to refine or supplement data, as long as it remained within the accreditation period.

Supporting this suggestion, Prof. Agus expressed his confidence that the team had prepared the required documentation thoroughly. He noted that the monitoring session provided an opportunity to improve or add relevant data, provided it remained within the scope of the accreditation timeframe.

The virtual on-site assessment began with confirmation of data from the Higher Education Self-Assessment Report (Laporan Kinerja Perguruan Tinggi/LKPT), followed by sessions with the accreditation team and internal quality assurance implementers.

On the second day, the agenda included independent work by the assessors to prepare the draft minutes and monitoring recommendations, followed by the delivery of feedback and the signing of the official report.