Universitas Malikussaleh Achieves Excellence in Higher Education Accreditation

Malikussaleh University campus in Reuleut, North Aceh, Indonesia. The university has five campuses in various cities.

Malikussaleh University (Unimal) in Aceh, Indonesia, has made history since its founding. The campus, a source of pride for the Pase community, has received Excellence accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT). The results were officially announced in the Online Higher Education Accreditation System (SAPTO) application on Tuesday (July 8, 2025).

Unimal earned a total score of 365 in the field assessment conducted from June 10-12. The assessors assessed nine criteria: vision, mission and strategic objectives, governance and collaboration, quality assurance, student affairs, facilities and infrastructure, finance, human resources (HR), curriculum, research, community service, and outputs.

Unimal Rector, Prof. Dr. Herman Fithra Asean Eng, stated that Excellence accreditation for a university symbolizes that the institution has met the established requirements with a commitment and quality that can be accounted for based on national standards. Achieving this Superior accreditation marks a new milestone for Malikussaleh University. The university, which was nationalized on August 1, 2001, is now able to compete with large and renowned universities. "We should be grateful for this achievement," said the Rector.

One aspect of the assessors' assessment that strongly supported Unimal's achievement of this Superior accreditation is that Unimal has leveraged various local strengths, potential resources, and the needs of the community and industry in Aceh and the surrounding region. Several strategies implemented to strengthen Unimal's position include the development of study programs relevant to local needs (such as Sociology, Sharia Economics, and other related programs) and collaboration with national and international industries.

Efforts to achieve this Superior accreditation began in 2019, when Unimal was proclaimed "hebat" during the 74th Indonesian Independence Day ceremony on August 17, 2019, at the Reuleut Campus field. This is implemented through achieving superior accreditation for study programs, improving infrastructure, enhancing the quality of the curriculum, improving educational services, digitizing the infrastructure, increasing the quantity and quality of domestic and international collaborations, and other elements required to meet the nine indicators for assessing higher education accreditation.

Unimal currently has 23,398 active students, 48 ​​study programs across seven faculties. Unimal also has 19 professors, a number that has increased dramatically in the past two years.

Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), Unimal has achieved Superior accreditation for the first time. This achievement was undoubtedly made possible through the support and assistance of various parties. "We would like to express our gratitude to all those who have helped and supported Unimal in achieving this Superior accreditation," Herman concluded.[]