UMY Implements Budget Efficiencies as New Student Numbers Continue to Shrink

Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) has acknowledged that the trend of declining new student numbers in recent years is beginning to affect the campus. The university is now implementing efficiencies across several budget items, whilst ensuring that academic activities continue to run normally. This was conveyed by UMY Rector, Prof Dr Achmad Nurmandi. He stated that the number of new student applicants at UMY has been continuously declining since 2022. Whereas the number of applicants previously reached around 25,000 people, the figure has now dropped to around 18,000. ‘Since 2022 it has been declining. Previously, our applicants were almost 25,000, then they kept decreasing. Last year, there were only 18,000 applicants. So, it has dropped by almost 4,000 to 5,000 applicants over the past five years,’ said Nurmandi when met at the UMY Campus in Bantul on Tuesday (9/6/2026). According to him, the decline in the number of applicants has a direct impact on the number of students accepted. This year, UMY recorded around 12,000 applicants. Of that number, around 3,000 prospective students applied through scholarship schemes. Nurmandi acknowledged that the reduction in new student numbers means the university has to make budget adjustments. However, the efficiencies do not touch the main sectors related to the quality of education. ‘Yes, automatically we adjust various costs. Especially costs related to things other than lecturer salaries,’ he said. He emphasised that the budget for lecturer salaries, research, community service, and student mobility is maintained. ‘But for lecturer salaries, research, community service, student mobility, those remain, there is no decrease. But for other unnecessary things, there is certainly efficiency,’ he said. One form of efficiency being implemented, said Nurmandi, is reducing activities that require large costs, including some international mobility activities. ‘Efficiencies include, for example, reducing mobility abroad because it is expensive now,’ he stated. Nevertheless, Nurmandi said the university still maintains its international programmes, which are one of the campus’s strengths. This year, UMY is still sending more than a thousand students to participate in programmes abroad with support from campus subsidies. ‘That is our advantage. This year, more than 1,000 are coming in, and more than 1,000 are going out. We provide subsidies for tickets and so on,’ he explained. According to him, the challenges are increasing because travel and living costs abroad continue to rise. This condition is exacerbated by the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against foreign currencies. ‘Especially to Europe, it is very expensive now. With the increase in ticket prices and living costs because of the dollar, the rupiah weakening, this is rather difficult,’ he concluded.