University accreditation should be consideration for all prospective students or high school students who are willing to enroll at higher education. It aims at finding out the quality of the university which they choose, and it also points at being one of the supporting aspects of students’ achievement in the academic service field and in a workplace or in continuing their magister program.

It was the foremost idea of comparative study of junior high school students to Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) on Wednesday (17/12). Two junior high schools visiting UMY were SMA Excellent Nurul Ikhlas, West Sumatera, and SMAN 1 Metro, Lampung. The visit was with the purpose of recognizing educational programs at UMY, introducing departments, and knowing the admission procedures at UMY.

Besides, according to representatives of Admissions, Bachtiar Dwi Kurniawan, S.Fil. I., M.P.A., and Marwadi, acknowledging university details were not adequate yet if it was not with the knowledge and information regarding the accreditation of the university or the department. For one reason, Bachtiar argued that choosing university and department should discern the accreditation since it would govern students’ future job. “We have to be selective in choosing university and department because it would determine jobs which we would like to choose. If we now register to be civil servants, the university or department should be accredited at least B,” explained the Head of Promotion Division of PENMARU (Admissions) UMY.

The similar idea was also stated by Marwadi. He maintained that university accreditation was an essential aspect of a higher education that should be taken into account. University accreditation had been a policy of government and it would notice the quality of a higher education. If a university had accredited, it must be an accredited and qualified university “Nevertheless, it is a few universities in Indonesia which have been accredited. For instance, in Yogyakarta from many higher educations, it is only 3 universities which are accredited A,” he told.

Marwadi expected that the students visiting UMY could have sufficient consideration and reference to decide what university they would choose since they were students of grade XI. “Therefore, you have much time still to contemplate which one you are going to choose. If you were at grade XII, you must have decided you prospective university because you do not have a lot of time to deem any longer,” he continued.