ICDE recognises UT's world-class quality, urges full Indonesian government support

The International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) has stated that the quality of Universitas Terbuka (UT) has reached a world-class level and has asked the Indonesian Government to provide full support for the distance education ecosystem. ICDE reviewer and distance education expert from Guangdong Open University, Prof Li Kam Cheong, said during a press conference at the UT Campus in South Tangerang on Friday that UT’s success in managing more than 700,000 active students while maintaining quality standards is an extraordinary achievement. “It is very difficult to have such a robust system, and they have achieved it with quality. We sincerely hope the Indonesian Government sees this achievement and strongly supports Universitas Terbuka fully,” he said. Prof Li also highlighted UT’s significant socio-economic contribution to Indonesia. By providing very affordable education access for workers, adults, and groups with special needs, UT is considered to have nurtured economic circulation because its students can continue to work and be productive without having to leave their professions. Responding to this, UT Rector Prof Ali Muktiyanto emphasised that the ICDE’s presence to conduct an external review was fundamental. He stated that the recognition from the world-class distance education organisation serves as tangible proof of the institution’s commitment to transparency and accountability to the public. “We want to ensure that our service quality, wherever it is, in any part of the world, has the same standard. We must ensure that a student who gets an ‘A’ in Jayapura, in the same course and the same study programme, has the same quality as an ‘A’ student in Jeddah or Hong Kong,” Ali said. While the official ICDE review is conducted on a three-year cycle, UT is targeting a communication and mentoring process every year to ensure continuous quality improvement. The assessment process was carried out by three ICDE international experts from 6 to 10 July 2026, who examined UT’s self-evaluation report and conducted field visits. The comprehensive review covered the headquarters, a number of technology infrastructure facilities, data centres, and three Regional Offices. The ICDE team formulated four high-level commendations for UT, covering its unmatched national operational scale, leadership commitment to quality, robust technology infrastructure ecosystem, and the reliability of regional offices as the spearhead of student success.